Delivery-app and BNPL payouts in Saudi Arabia: gross sales, commission and the VAT on the fee
Book the sale at its full price on the day it happens, as money owed to you by the platform. When the payout arrives, split it: the net amount goes to the bank, the commission goes to expense, and the VAT on the commission goes to input VAT if you hold a tax invoice for it. The payout is never your sales figure. If you book it as sales, revenue and VAT are both understated.
Why the payout is the wrong number
HungerStation, Jahez, Keeta, Tabby and Tamara all follow the same basic pattern: the customer pays the platform or provider, the platform keeps a fee, and you receive the rest later, often as one lump covering many orders. Check your own merchant agreement for the timing and the fee base, because both vary.
The bank shows one deposit. The ledger needs the gross sales, the fee and the VAT, each in its own account. Skip that and your sales are short by exactly the fees.
Worked example: a delivery app (illustrative)
All numbers below are illustrative round figures, not real rates. Assume orders worth SAR 10,000 before VAT in a week, a commission of 20% on the pre-VAT value, and VAT at 15% on both the sales and the commission. Check your agreement for the real fee base.
- Sale: debit platform receivable 11,500; credit sales 10,000; credit output VAT 1,500.
- Fee from the statement: commission 2,000 plus VAT 300, so 2,300 in total.
- Payout: 11,500 minus 2,300 = 9,200 to the bank.
- Settlement: debit bank 9,200; debit commission expense 2,000; debit input VAT 300; credit platform receivable 11,500.
- Receivable after settlement: zero. Anything left over is a missing order or a dispute.
Worked example: a BNPL provider (illustrative)
A customer buys SAR 2,000 of food and drink plus VAT of 300, and pays SAR 2,300 through a buy-now-pay-later provider. Assume an illustrative fee of SAR 100 plus VAT of SAR 15. You book the sale at 2,300 against a provider receivable. The payout is 2,185. On settlement you debit bank 2,185, fee expense 100 and input VAT 15, and credit the receivable 2,300. The customer's instalments are the provider's business, not yours.
VAT on the platform fee
ZATCA's invoicing guideline puts the standard rate at 15% and says input tax can only be deducted if you hold a tax invoice. So the question for each fee is whether the platform charged VAT and gave you an invoice that shows it. We found no ZATCA ruling aimed specifically at delivery-app or BNPL fees, so treat the platform's invoice as the evidence and have your licensed accountant confirm the treatment.
If the fee statement shows a commission with no VAT, or no invoice arrives, do not claim input VAT on a guess. Book the full amount as expense and fix it when the invoice turns up.
Month end and refunds
At month end the platform receivable is the unpaid part of the month's sales. It should equal the orders delivered but not yet paid out, and anything older than the platform's usual lag deserves a look. A refund or a cancelled order changes the supply value, and ZATCA's guideline handles that with a credit note, not with a deleted invoice.
ProCul matches each payout to the orders and fees behind it, drafts the entries above, and flags the remainder. Your accountant approves them. Nothing posts on its own.
Common questions
- Do I record sales gross or net of commission?
- Gross. The commission is a cost of selling, so it goes to its own expense account. Netting it against sales hides the cost and understates both revenue and the VAT you owe on it.
- Can I claim VAT on the delivery-app commission?
- Only if the platform charged VAT and you hold a tax invoice that shows it. ZATCA's guideline makes the invoice a condition of deducting input tax. Ask your licensed accountant to confirm the case.
- What do I do when a payout does not match my orders?
- Leave the difference in the platform receivable, list the missing orders, and raise it with the platform. Do not write it off until the platform confirms it will not pay.
- How are refunds and cancelled orders handled?
- Through a credit note against the original sale, which reverses the sales and output VAT, and the payout statement will show the reduced amount.
- Are BNPL payouts different from delivery payouts?
- The mechanics are the same: gross sale, receivable, fee, net payout. The usual difference is that the fee is a single percentage plus a fixed amount, and the timing follows the provider's schedule.
- Are the numbers on this page real rates?
- No. Every figure in the worked examples is an illustrative round number. Real commission rates and fee bases are in your own merchant agreement.
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