What are multiple settlements?
In some cases, merchants can break down a single card transaction into multiple settlements while settling the transaction with your bank. They could be doing this because they are charging the total amount in parts. This behaviour is most commonly seen in payments to retailers like Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's and hotels.
For example,
You swipe your card for a $100 purchase from Amazon.
Amazon ships your purchase in multiple shipments of $30 and $70 each, settling each shipment with a different settlement.
Your bank statement will contain a separate line item for each settlement.
How does Sage Expense Management handle transactions with multiple settlements?
Sage Expense Management displays transactions with multiple settlements in the same way as your bank statement, i.e., there is a separate expense in Sage Expense Management for each settlement. If your credit card is connected to Sage Expense Management's real-time feed, each settled transaction is created as a separate expense in Sage Expense Management as soon as information is received from your card network.
For example,
You swipe your card for $100 on Amazon on 12th November. This creates a new Pending transaction in Sage Expense Management as follows:
Expense 1 | Spent on: 12th Nov | Posted on: -- | Amount: $100 | Status: Pending
Amazon sends the first settlement with $30 on 13th November. This updates the existing transaction to Posted in Sage Expense Management as follows:
Expense 1 | Spent on: 12th Nov | Posted on: 13th Nov | Amount: $30 | Status: Posted
Amazon sends the second settlement of $70 on on 14th November. This directly creates a second Posted transaction in Sage Expense Management as follows:
Expense 1 | Spent on: 12th Nov | Posted on: 13th Nov | Amount: $30 | Status: Posted
Expense 2 | Spent on: 12th Nov | Posted on: 14th Nov | Amount: $70 | Status: Posted
This behaviour ensures that each settlement is captured accurately as a separate expense in Sage Expense Management and matches with your credit card statement during reconciliation.