Rolling reserve
A payment provider withholds part of each payout for a period as a buffer against future disputes, refunds, or losses.
See it
What it is
When payouts are smaller than sales, a rolling reserve may be holding the difference. A processor or acquirer withholds part of each batch against later chargebacks, refunds, or losses, then schedules each slice for release while new slices roll in.
You usually encounter it when a payment provider sees elevated risk from the industry, delivery window, dispute history, or rapid growth. Track reserve deductions and releases separately from processing fees so the cash is not mistaken for an expense.
Gotcha: a reserve can create a serious cash-flow gap even when sales are healthy. The percentage, holding period, release conditions, and right to use or retain funds come from the provider agreement. Reconcile against that schedule and do not assume every withheld amount will be released on the first expected date.
Ask AI for it
Add rolling-reserve accounting to Stripe payout reconciliation. For every settlement, calculate the contract-configured reserve percentage, post the withheld amount to a reserve asset bucket keyed by processing and expected release dates, and keep it separate from fees and payable cash. Import Stripe Balance Transaction reserve adjustments, releases, and loss offsets idempotently, match them to the original buckets, and show opening reserve, new holds, applied losses, released funds, closing reserve, and overdue expected releases in the ledger and dashboard.