Managing Stripe rolling reserve transactions for bank reconciliation

If you do not have a rolling reserve with Stripe, create journal entries and group transactions to track your Stripe processing fee funds and expenses for the (beta) bank reconciliation process.

If Stripe subjects you to a rolling reserve, manage your rolling reserve transactions in addition to processing fees using the steps below.

One-time setup for a rolling reserve amount

You'll need to make an additional adjustment for your group transactions to manage the rolling reserve.

For example: Stripe withholds 10% in a rolling reserve, releasing it back to you in 90 days. A guest pays $1,000. The full $1,000 is reported by Stripe to Guesty in the relevant reservation, but only $900 is sent to your bank account.

Create a separate cash account in Guesty to represent Stripe as an external fund holder.

Step 1: Create cash account

In Guesty, create a new cash account called "Stripe rolling reserve". Don't assign any properties to the new account. This is an internal ledger in Guesty that accurately represents where your funds are currently held.

Step 2: Create transaction category

Create a new Accounting transaction category called "Stripe rolling reserve" to be selected when creating a journal entry.

Once set up, record and reconcile the movement of funds between Stripe and your bank account using the steps below.

Transfer funds (ongoing)

Step by step:

1. In your Stripe account, download transactions for a set timeframe. Perform this task daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on your volume of credit card transactions.
2. Identify credit card or processing fees and rolling reserve transactions.
3. In Guesty, create separate journal entries for the fees and the rolling reserve:
   1. Create one journal entry for the total of all credit card fees on the same date. Debit Accounts Payable PMC and credit cash for credit card fees.
   2. Create one journal entry for the total rolling reserve transactions on the same date.
      • If Stripe collects more rolling reserve funds than it disburses:
        • Debit cash account: stripe rolling reserve
        • Credit cash account: the relevant bank account
      • If Stripe disburses more rolling reserve funds than it collects:
        • Debit cash account: the relevant bank account
        • Credit cash account: stripe rolling reserve
4. Create a group transaction that includes the journal entries and the relevant payment transactions from the check register to match your bank statement.

Reconcile rolling reserve account (ongoing)

Treat these external processor accounts as cash or savings accounts during reconciliation.

Periodically, compare the balance in Guesty's "Stripe rolling reserve" account with the actual balance reported by Stripe. This helps ensure transactions were recorded correctly and match what is truly held externally and internally.

For historical entries recorded improperly, create a journal entry between the accounts to correct prior postings. For example, move an expense posted to the trust account to the Stripe account.