App Store proceeds, sales and payments explained

01Sales, proceeds and payments

Hypothetical example: a customer in Australia buys an in-app purchase. The sale is the price they paid. Apple removes GST and its commission to get your proceeds. Weeks later, proceeds from every Australian sale that fiscal month are converted to your bank’s currency and paid in one transfer.

02Apple’s commission and the Small Business Program

The App Store Small Business Program cuts the commission on paid apps and in-app purchases to 15%. You qualify if you and any associated developer accounts earned up to 1 million USD in proceeds in the previous calendar year, and new developers qualify too.

• The Account Holder enrols in App Store Connect and accepts the latest Paid Apps agreement.
• The lower rate starts 15 days after the end of the fiscal month your enrolment is approved.
• If you pass 1 million USD in a year, the standard rate applies to later sales that year. Drop back under and you can qualify again the following year.

Auto-renewable subscriptions have their own structure: you receive 70% in a subscriber’s first year of paid service and 85% after that. Some regions, such as the EU, offer other terms, so check the agreement for each storefront you sell in.

03When Apple pays you

Apple pays within 45 days of the last day of the fiscal month in which a sale was completed. To be paid you need:

• A Paid Apps agreement in effect.
• Banking details in App Store Connect.
• Proceeds above the minimum payment threshold for each country or region you sell in.
• Any monthly invoicing your country requires.

Apple combines proceeds by currency into a single payment each fiscal month. Proceeds under a country’s threshold roll over until they pass it, so small markets can take a few months to appear in a payment.

04Apple’s fiscal calendar

Apple’s fiscal months are made of whole weeks, so they don’t line up with calendar months and rarely start on the 1st. Financial reports for a fiscal month are ready by the first Friday of the next one.

When a payment looks short, compare it with the financial report for that fiscal month, not with a calendar month of daily sales. Apple publishes the dates in its payments guide.

05Why daily proceeds and payments differ

• Estimates versus final figures. Daily sales reports estimate proceeds. Financial reports use closed transactions Apple was able to collect.
• Refunds. A refund reduces later proceeds, sometimes in a different month from the sale.
• Exchange rates. Apple’s bank converts each currency at the rate on payment day.
• Thresholds. Small balances wait until they pass the minimum.
• Bank fees. Your bank or an intermediary may take a fee on arrival.

06A simple way to keep track

Keep one row per fiscal month: estimated proceeds from daily reports, final proceeds from the financial report and the amount that landed in your bank. After a few months you’ll know your own gap between the three and spot anything unusual straight away.

Perch shows daily proceeds, refunds and subscription revenue for each app on your Mac and iPhone, so the estimate side is always one glance away. Payments and Financial Reports stays the place for the final word.