The Sneaky Problem with Marketplace Payments and Split Deposits

All-in-one platforms seem awesome at first. You know, your POS, website, and online orders are all in one spot. But there's a hidden downside a lot of business owners don't see until they're stuck trying to match up deposits or find lost cash.

What's Up with Held Funds?

When you go with a marketplace-style platform (like Toast, Shopify, or MindBody), your payments don't come straight to you. The platform grabs all the customer payments, then decides when and how to pay you. That means they're the main payment handler, not you.

That setup gives them the power. They can delay when you get paid, change payout amounts, or hold your money for things like chargebacks or if they think you broke a rule. You might see different amounts in your payouts, weird timing, or missing money without a good explanation.

For accounting folks, it's a total mess. You can't easily match sales to deposits because what lands in your bank doesn't match what your reports say.

Why This Is Happening More

Platforms like this setup because it's easier for them – one account for tons of businesses. It also helps them manage risk and make extra cash with sneaky processing fees. But for businesses, it makes it harder to see where your money is.

Marketplace payments are getting common in areas like restaurants, fitness, healthcare, and retail. The more you depend on these all-in-one setups, the less you control your payment info, reports, and how things work.

The Trouble with Split Deposits

Another issue is split deposits. That's when some of the payment goes to you and some to the platform. Think delivery or service fees are going somewhere else. These splits cause accounting headaches, lost potential income, and compliance risks if you don't keep track.

Over time, little mistakes add up to huge reconciliation problems, especially if you have multiple locations or brands.

How to Keep Your Business Safe

You don't have to ditch your current system, but you should get back control where it matters.

Know who's in charge of your payments. If it's not you, you're not really in control.

Keep your payment processor separate from your platform. Use a gateway or something that connects your POS or website to your own payment account.

Match up every payment. Make sure every sale lines up with every deposit.

Keep track of platform fees. Lots of platforms add sneaky fees that you can't see on your monthly statements.

Ask questions before you switch systems. Be sure you know where your deposits will come from, how fees work, and what happens if you leave the platform.

What It All Means

Platforms made for ease often take control of what's most important – your money. As you grow, those easy systems can cause complicated problems behind the scenes.

At PlutosPay, we help businesses sort out these problems, take charge of their payments, and create setups that make sense for how they run. You don't have to lose sight of your money just to make things easier for your platform.