Skip to content
VPA Connect

Reconcile a campaign

Updated 4 min read

Everything you need to reconcile a campaign is on its campaign page: what the seller paid, what the campaign costs, what is held as refund credit and what each supplier has been paid. This guide shows how the figures fit together. For a tour of the whole page, see The campaign page.

On screenIn accounting terms
Payments received and Payment receiptsMoney received from the seller
Expenses and the items tableThe campaign's costs, one line per supplier job
A supplier's payment requestThe supplier's bill
Paid to date on an itemPaid out to the supplier
Refund creditSeller money not needed for any job, held for the seller

All amounts include GST.

Part 1: Check the totals

The three summary tiles on a paid campaign: marker 1 on Expenses (6,675.00), 2 on Payments received (6,685.00) and 3 on Refund credit ($230.00).
Open full size: The three summary tiles on a paid campaign: marker 1 on Expenses (6,675.00), 2 on Payments received (6,685.00) and 3 on Refund credit ($230.00). (opens in a new tab)
  1. Open the campaign from Campaigns. The three tiles at the top show the totals.
  2. Read Expenses (marker 1): the total of the campaign's items, including the VPA Connect platform fee. Cancelled items aren't counted.
  3. Read Payments received (marker 2): everything the seller has paid for this campaign. The line underneath says how they paid.
  4. Read Refund credit (marker 3): the seller's money that no item needs any more.
  5. Check that Payments received equals Expenses plus Refund credit, leaving out extra funding nobody has paid for yet. In this example, Expenses includes $220.00 of extra funding the supplier has asked for and the agency hasn't approved (Funding pending): $6,675.00 − $220.00 + $230.00 = $6,685.00.

If they don't add up, look for an item with the status Funding pending or Awaiting seller approval. Extra funding or a new item the seller hasn't paid for yet counts in Expenses already. For example, a campaign with $2,035.00 of expenses, including $450.00 of extra funding the seller hasn't approved, shows $1,585.00 received.

Part 2: Trace refund credit

The Refund credit history panel. Marker 1 is on a 350.00 credit from a cancelled item. Marker 2 is on the 120.00 used for one new item, a SOLD sticker.
Open full size: The Refund credit history panel. Marker 1 is on a 350.00 credit from a cancelled item. Marker 2 is on the 120.00 used for one new item, a SOLD sticker. (opens in a new tab)
  1. Select View history on the Refund credit tile. The Refund credit history panel opens, newest last.
  2. Match each line to a change on the campaign. Added is money added, here from a cancelled listing copy item. Used is money used, with what it paid for, here a new SOLD sticker item.

A change waiting for the seller shows as Held and becomes Used once the seller approves it, so each change is one line. If the seller declines, a Returned line puts the money back. Here $350.00 less $120.00 leaves the $230.00 on the tile.

Part 3: Check what suppliers were paid

  1. Scan the Budget column of the items table. Each item shows what has been paid out of its budget, for example "$1,025.00 / $1,450.00", and any amount waiting for release in amber.
  2. Select an item for the detail: Item amount, Paid to date, Pending and Available, and its Payment history, with each partial or final request, its date and whether it was paid.

An item is finished when it is Paid or Closed. A closed item paid less than its budget; the difference went to refund credit. See Campaign and item statuses explained.

Part 4: Check the seller's payments

The Payment receipts table at the bottom of the campaign page. Marker 1 is on the seller's $6,685.00 payment for the campaign proposal.
Open full size: The Payment receipts table at the bottom of the campaign page. Marker 1 is on the seller's $6,685.00 payment for the campaign proposal. (opens in a new tab)
  1. Scroll to Payment receipts. Each payment from the seller is a row (marker 1) with its date, how it was paid, the reason (for example Campaign Proposal Payment or Additional Funding Payment) and the amount. Refunds to the seller are listed here too, marked Full or Partial.

A refund row also shows the refund's status:

StatusMeaning
SucceededStripe has processed the refund. It can take a few days to show in the seller's account. Card refunds usually show this status straight away
PendingStripe is still processing it
Awaiting bank detailsA refund to a bank account is waiting for the seller to reply to Stripe's email
Failed or CancelledThe refund didn't go through. VPA Connect is told automatically (see Refund, debit and balance emails)

When the campaign is finished

When every item is Paid, Closed or cancelled, someone with the Accounts role, an Admin or the Director selects Complete campaign at the top of the page. The confirmation says how much refund credit goes back to the seller and where. The seller is refunded and emailed a summary of the campaign with their tax invoices and a link to their completed campaign page, and the campaign becomes Settled. A card payment more than 170 days old may be refused by Stripe, and a direct debit (Pay Later) more than 85 days old can't be refunded through Stripe at all; the confirmation warns you, and if the campaign can't be completed because of it, VPA support arranges the refund another way. See Cancel an item, close it out, or refund credit to the seller. See Refund credit explained.

Good to know

  • The campaign page has no export. Print Proposal prints the proposal, not the payments. For your in-house suppliers, Export data on the Suppliers page downloads an accounting pack (see Pay an in-house supplier).
  • Supplier invoices are issued from each supplier's own Stripe account to the seller, so they aren't stored on the campaign page.