How to Import Walmart Settlements into Xero

Why Walmart Settlements Are Tricky for Xero Users

Walmart Marketplace is growing fast, and more bookkeepers are encountering Walmart settlement reports for the first time. Unlike Shopify (which has a simple per-transaction fee) or even Amazon (which has extensive documentation and tooling), Walmart's settlement report format is less well-known, and the tooling ecosystem is thinner.

If your client uses Xero as their accounting software, you face an additional challenge: there's no direct integration between Walmart Seller Center and Xero. Tools like A2X and Link My Books focus on Amazon and Shopify, leaving Walmart sellers to figure out their own import process.

This guide walks you through the complete workflow: downloading the settlement from Walmart Seller Center, building a balanced journal entry, formatting it for Xero's manual journal import, and uploading it.

Understanding the Walmart Settlement CSV Structure

Walmart's settlement report is a CSV file with these key columns:

• Transaction Type: The type of event — SALE, REFUNDED, ADJMNT (adjustment), Reserve
• Product Name / SKU: Identifies the item
• Gross Sales: The total sale amount before any deductions
• Commission: Walmart's referral fee (typically 6-20% depending on category)
• Fulfillment Fees: If using Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)
• Shipping Revenue: Shipping charged to the buyer
• Tax: Sales tax collected (marketplace facilitator tax)
• Refund Amount: Customer refund amounts
• Payable to Seller: The net amount after all deductions

Each row represents a single transaction within the settlement period. The settlement covers a specific date range, and the total Payable amount is what Walmart deposits to your bank account.

Transaction Types Explained

SALE — A completed order. The row shows Gross Sales, Commission deducted, any fulfillment fees, and the net Payable amount.

REFUNDED — A customer refund. Gross Sales is negative, and Commission may show a partial credit (Walmart refunds a portion of the commission on refunds).

ADJMNT — An adjustment by Walmart. These can be positive (reimbursements for lost/damaged inventory, pricing errors) or negative (chargebacks, penalty deductions). Always review adjustments manually — they often require special accounting treatment.

Reserve — Walmart may hold a reserve on new or flagged accounts. Reserve rows reduce your payout without being a fee or expense. They're released in future settlements.

Step 1 — Download from Walmart Seller Center

1. Log in to Walmart Seller Center
2. Navigate to Payments > Statements
3. Select the settlement period you want to download
4. Click Download to get the CSV file

Walmart settlements are typically generated every two weeks. Make sure you download the detailed transaction-level report, not just the summary.

Pro Tip: Check for Multiple Settlement Periods

If you're catching up on bookkeeping, Walmart keeps settlement history for up to 18 months. Download each settlement period separately for cleaner journal entries.

Step 2 — Build a Balanced Journal Entry

Now aggregate the settlement data by category. Sum all values across every transaction in the settlement:

Sample Aggregation

Suppose a two-week settlement contains 45 orders and 3 refunds:

Category	Amount
Gross Sales	$8,450.00
Shipping Revenue	$380.00
Commission (referral fees)	-$1,098.50
WFS Fulfillment Fees	-$425.00
Refunds (net)	-$285.00
Commission Credit on Refunds	$37.05
Net Payout (Payable to Seller)	$7,058.55

Balance Check

Verify that your numbers balance:

Gross Sales + Shipping Revenue
  - Commission + Commission Credits
  - Fulfillment Fees
  - Refunds
  = Net Payout

$8,450.00 + $380.00 - $1,098.50 + $37.05 - $425.00 - $285.00 = $7,058.55 ✓

Journal Entry

Account	Debit	Credit
Checking Account (Bank)	$7,058.55
Walmart Commission Fees	$1,098.50
WFS Fulfillment Fees	$425.00
Refunds Issued	$285.00
Product Sales		$8,450.00
Shipping Revenue		$380.00
Commission Fee Credits		$37.05
Totals	$8,867.05	$8,867.05

The entry balances. Total debits equal total credits.

Step 3 — Format for Xero Manual Journal Import

Xero's manual journal import accepts a CSV with specific columns. Here's the format you need:

Required Columns

Column	Description	Example
Narration	Journal description (same for all lines)	Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15
Date	Journal date (DD/MM/YYYY or MM/DD/YYYY based on Xero org settings)	15/01/2025
Account Name	The Xero account name (must match exactly)	Sales Revenue
Line Amount	Positive for debits, negative for credits	7058.55
Description	Optional line-level description	Net payout to bank

Formatted CSV

Narration,Date,Account Name,Line Amount,Description
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Business Bank Account,7058.55,Net payout
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Walmart Commission Fees,1098.50,Referral fees
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,WFS Fulfillment Fees,425.00,Fulfillment
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Refunds Issued,285.00,Customer refunds
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Sales Revenue,-8450.00,Gross product sales
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Shipping Revenue,-380.00,Buyer-paid shipping
Walmart Settlement 2025-01-15,15/01/2025,Commission Fee Credits,-37.05,Refund fee credits

Important Xero Formatting Rules

• Line Amount sign convention: Positive = debit, negative = credit. This is the opposite of what many people expect.
• Account names must match exactly: If your Xero account is called "Sales Revenue" but you put "Product Sales" in the CSV, the import will fail. Copy account names directly from Xero.
• Date format: Check your Xero organization settings. US organizations typically use MM/DD/YYYY; UK/AU organizations use DD/MM/YYYY.
• Encoding: Save as UTF-8 with BOM for best compatibility. Some CSV editors strip the BOM, causing encoding issues with special characters.

Step 4 — Import into Xero

1. Log in to Xero
2. Navigate to Accounting > Manual Journals
3. Click Import
4. Upload your formatted CSV
5. Review the preview — verify account mappings and amounts
6. Click Post to create the journal entry

Common Import Errors

"Account not found" — The account name in your CSV doesn't match any Xero account. Fix: copy the exact account name from Xero's chart of accounts.

"Journal doesn't balance" — The sum of all Line Amounts isn't zero. Fix: verify your debits (positive) and credits (negative) sum to exactly zero. Watch for rounding issues — Xero requires the journal to balance to the penny.

"Invalid date format" — Your date format doesn't match the Xero org settings. Fix: check Settings > General Settings > Date Format in Xero.

"Duplicate narration" — Xero warns if a journal with the same narration already exists. This is just a warning, not an error — you can proceed if this is a new import.

Automating the Conversion

Building this CSV manually every two weeks is tedious and error-prone. SettleBooks automates the entire process:

1. Upload your Walmart settlement CSV
2. SettleBooks parses the file, identifies all transaction types, and categorizes fees
3. Review the journal entry and adjust account mappings if needed
4. Export as a Xero-compatible CSV — properly formatted with correct sign conventions and encoding

The exported file is ready to import directly into Xero. No manual formatting, no sign convention confusion, no encoding issues.

Convert a Walmart settlement for Xero now →

Common Mistakes

Mistake 1: Ignoring Reserve Rows

Walmart may hold reserves on newer accounts. Reserve rows reduce your payout but aren't fees — they're temporary holds. Don't record them as expenses. When the reserve is released in a future settlement, you'll see a positive Reserve row.

How to handle reserves: Create a "Walmart Reserve" balance sheet account (Other Current Asset). Debit the reserve when held, credit when released.

Mistake 2: Confusing Commission and Payable

The Commission column shows Walmart's fee. The Payable to Seller column shows the net amount after all deductions. These are not alternatives — Commission is deducted from Gross Sales to arrive at Payable. Don't record both as expenses; the Payable amount is your bank debit.

Mistake 3: Sales Tax Treatment

In most states, Walmart is the marketplace facilitator for sales tax. They collect and remit tax on your behalf. The Tax column in the settlement is a pass-through — it increases Gross Sales but is also deducted before Payable. For most sellers, you can exclude tax from your journal entry entirely since it doesn't affect your P&L.

However, consult your tax advisor. Some states have exceptions, and if your client has nexus in states where Walmart doesn't collect, you may need to track tax differently.

Mistake 4: Wrong Date Format for Xero

This is the number one import error. Xero uses DD/MM/YYYY in UK, AU, and NZ organizations, but MM/DD/YYYY in US organizations. If your Xero org is set to UK format and you provide US-formatted dates, the import will silently parse dates incorrectly (e.g., 03/04/2025 becomes April 3rd instead of March 4th).

Always verify your date format in Xero Settings before building your import file.

Chart of Accounts Recommendations for Walmart + Xero

Xero Account Name	Account Type	What Goes Here
Sales Revenue	Revenue	Gross product sales
Shipping Revenue	Revenue	Buyer-paid shipping
Walmart Commission Fees	Expense	Referral fees (Commission column)
WFS Fulfillment Fees	Expense	Walmart Fulfillment Services fees
Refunds Issued	Revenue (negative)	Customer refunds
Walmart Advertising	Expense	Sponsored Products spend (if applicable)
Walmart Reserve	Other Current Asset	Temporary payout holds
Other Walmart Fees	Expense	Adjustments, chargebacks, penalties

Xero Tracking Categories

If your client sells on multiple marketplaces, consider using Xero Tracking Categories to tag each journal entry by marketplace. This lets you run P&L reports filtered by marketplace without maintaining separate accounts for each.

Set up a tracking category called "Marketplace" with options: Amazon, Shopify, Etsy, Walmart, eBay. Apply the relevant option to each line of your Walmart journal entry.

Summary

Importing Walmart settlements into Xero requires three steps: aggregate the settlement data by category, format it as a Xero-compatible CSV with the correct sign conventions and date format, and import via Xero's manual journal feature. The most common pitfalls are date format mismatches and sign convention confusion. For a faster workflow, use SettleBooks to automate the conversion and export a ready-to-import Xero CSV.