Platform and publisher records
Platform statement access and publisher contracts, so payouts and royalties can be matched by title from the first month.
How we work
Every payout reconciled. Every close you can trust.
A clear path from the first call to the monthly close — onboarding, document collection, monthly close, and tax preparation, so your studio knows what to expect and when a report will arrive.
The path, in plain terms
How we work with your studio, step by step
A bookkeeping engagement should have a clear path from the first call to the monthly close. This page explains our onboarding, document collection, monthly close, and tax preparation process so a studio knows what to expect, what to send, and when a report will arrive.
We work with computer game companies in the United States on platform revenue, royalties, and studio compliance. The same order applies each month, so the work does not depend on who happens to be available in a busy release week. When something unusual appears, it is noted in the open, with an owner and a date, rather than left to be reconstructed later.
Week one
Week one: a short discovery call
We start with a call about titles in market, platforms used, team structure, and the questions the studio wants answered. A studio with one title and one platform has a different starting point from a publisher with several titles and royalty contracts.
That difference shapes the chart of accounts, the documents we ask for, and how payout matching will be organized. The call ends with a document list, not a sales presentation — you will know exactly what to gather before any posting begins.
If a question cannot be answered from the records available today, we say so and note what is needed to answer it. That keeps the first conversation useful for a studio owner, a producer, and the person who handles payroll alike.
Before the first close
Onboarding and document collection
Onboarding covers the chart of accounts, platform statement access, publisher contracts, payroll records, and bank and card statements. We set up the books by title and platform before the first close, because retrofitting that structure later costs more time.
Each document is filed by month, so the first close starts from an organized set. Platform statements are matched to payouts by title, publisher contracts set the royalty terms we apply, and payroll records anchor the posting for the month. Where a statement covers more than one title, the split is recorded at onboarding and used consistently afterward.
Access is set up with the least privilege the work needs, and the studio keeps its own copies of everything it sends. Nothing is posted from a document we have not received, and anything missing is listed as an open item rather than assumed.
Payroll, bank, and card records
Payroll records and bank and card statements for the months in scope, filed by month so reconciliation has a clean starting point.
The monthly close, in order
The monthly close, in order
The close runs in a fixed order: bank and card reconciliation, platform payout matching, payroll posting, contractor accruals, sales tax review, and reporting. Each step is ticked and exceptions are listed with an owner and a date. A close that lists its exceptions is more useful than one that hides them in a suspense account.
Bank and card reconciliation
Every bank and card line for the month is accounted for, so the books agree with the money that actually moved.
Platform payout matching
Platform payouts are matched to statements by title, with fees and adjustments shown rather than netted away.
Payroll posting
Payroll for the month is posted from the records provided, and differences from the prior month are noted for review.
Contractor accruals
Contractor work for the month is accrued where the invoice has not yet arrived, so costs are not pushed into the next month.
Sales tax review
Sales tax positions for the month are reviewed against the revenue recorded, ready for the return work at year end.
Reporting
The month closes with a report by title and platform, plus the list of open items the studio needs to decide on.
Revenue recognition
Revenue recognition, applied each month
The revenue policy agreed at onboarding is applied the same way every month. Subscriptions are deferred and released, in-app purchases follow delivery, and royalties follow contract terms.
Subscriptions
Deferred when paid upfront and released over the subscription period, so a launch month does not absorb revenue that belongs to later months.
In-app purchases
Recognized following delivery, matched to the platform statement for the month in which the purchase was delivered.
Royalties
Recorded following the publisher contract terms agreed at onboarding, by title, so each title carries its own margin.
If a new product type appears, such as a season pass, we document the treatment before the next close rather than improvising at year end. The policy note is kept with the month it first applies to, so a later reader can see why revenue was recorded that way.
During the month
Communication during the month
Clients receive a short monthly note with the close status, the open items, and any decision needed from the studio. Questions about a payout or a title margin can be answered from the reconciled records without a separate search.
The note is the regular point of contact for a remote team, supplemented by email at [email protected]. If a decision is needed, the note names what it is, why it matters, and by when it is needed for the close to proceed.
After the December close
Tax preparation from the closed books
After the December close, tax preparation starts from the twelve reconciled months. We review R&D credit documentation, state sales tax positions, and estimated payments as part of the return work.
The studio receives a summary of the positions taken and the records that support them, so the filing is not a set of unexplained totals. Where a position depends on a document, the document is named in the summary and kept with the return work.
Because the months were closed in order, questions about a title, a payout, or a payroll figure can be traced back to the month it was recorded in, rather than rebuilt from scratch at filing time.
A clear division
What we need from your team
The studio provides platform statements, publisher contracts, payroll information, and approval for unusual entries. We provide the postings, reconciliations, reports, and the tax return work described in the engagement.
That division keeps the studio's time focused on the decisions only it can make. Unusual entries are not posted without approval, and the approval is recorded with the entry it covers.
From the studio
- Platform statements for each month in scope
- Publisher contracts and any amendments
- Payroll information for the team
- Approval for unusual entries, recorded in writing
From our desk
- Postings by title and platform each month
- Reconciliations with exceptions listed
- Reports the studio can act on
- Tax return work from the closed books
If the books are behind
If the books are behind
A studio that is several months behind can still start, but the first step is a catch-up plan with a defined end date. We reconstruct the missing months from bank records and platform statements, and we label reconstructed entries clearly.
The catch-up ends when the current month closes cleanly, at which point the regular cycle begins. Until then, reconstructed entries stay labeled so the studio can see which figures come from original records and which were rebuilt from bank and platform data.
The plan names the months in scope, the records needed for each, and the date the current month is expected to close. That gives the studio a finish line instead of an open-ended cleanup.
Next step
Start with a short discovery call
Tell us about the titles in market, the platforms you publish on, and the questions you want answered. You will leave the call with a document list for onboarding — and a clear view of the first close.