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A seller sees COD orders delivered but cannot find the money in the bank, and later receives one smaller credit that covers many parcels.
Track each parcel from delivery to cash collection to the courier remittance file to the bank credit, and treat the courier as a receivable in between.
A remittance register keyed by AWB number with order value, fees, remitted amount, expected remittance date and bank credit reference.
Every COD parcel shows as remitted, fee-adjusted or pending, and each courier bank credit is split back to the parcels it covers.
When a customer pays cash on delivery, the courier collects the cash at the door, holds it until the remittance cycle in your contract closes, deducts its fees and then sends one bank credit covering many parcels. So you are paid later than the delivery date, and you receive less than the order value. Neither of those, on its own, means anything has gone wrong.
What happens to the money, step by step?
- Delivery. The delivery agent hands over the parcel and collects cash, or sometimes a UPI payment to the courier’s account.
- Cash collection. The agent deposits the day’s collection with the courier’s hub. The money is now with the courier, not with you.
- Remittance cycle. The courier groups all delivered COD parcels for the cycle in your contract, for example two or three times a week.
- Remittance file. The courier, or the shipping aggregator you use, sends a file or dashboard report listing each AWB number, the amount collected and the charges deducted.
- Bank credit. One NEFT or RTGS credit arrives for the net total. The narration usually shows the courier or aggregator name and a UTR, not your order numbers.
- Your ledger. You match the credit to the remittance file and clear the courier receivable for each parcel.
What does one parcel look like in the remittance file?
Here is an illustrative line for one parcel. Fee amounts are examples, not any courier’s published rates.
| Field | Example |
|---|---|
| AWB number | 1234567890 |
| Order value collected | ₹1,499 |
| COD handling fee | ₹35 |
| Forward freight | ₹55 |
| RTO charge | ₹0 (delivered) |
| Remitted amount | ₹1,409 |
| Remittance window in contract | As stated in your agreement |
Courier services attract GST, typically 18 percent, so your contract will say whether the fees shown are before or after GST. Ask for a GST invoice for the fees so you can claim input tax credit where eligible.
Why is COD cash not in my account on delivery day?
Because the courier is acting as a collection agent. It needs time to gather cash from many delivery agents, reconcile its own hubs and close the cycle. Until then, the cash sits with the courier. In your books this is a receivable from the courier, just like money a customer owes you.
This matters at month end. If parcels were delivered on 29 and 30 September but remitted on 3 October, your September sales include them and your September bank balance does not. The courier receivable explains the difference.
A worked example
On Monday, five COD parcels of ₹1,499 each are delivered. Total order value: 5 x ₹1,499 = ₹7,495.
Per parcel, the courier deducts a ₹35 COD fee and ₹55 freight, which is ₹90. For five parcels, fees are 5 x ₹90 = ₹450.
When the cycle closes, the bank receives ₹7,495 minus ₹450 = ₹7,045. Each parcel shows ₹1,409 remitted in the file, and 5 x ₹1,409 = ₹7,045, so the file and the bank agree.
Your entries:
- On delivery: debit Courier Receivable ₹7,495, credit Sales ₹7,495 (with GST on the sale handled as usual).
- On remittance: debit Bank ₹7,045, debit Courier Charges ₹450, credit Courier Receivable ₹7,495.
How do I keep this under control?
Keep a remittance register by AWB number. For each parcel note the delivery date, the expected remittance date from your contract, the remitted amount and the bank credit UTR. Any parcel delivered but not remitted after the window is a follow-up item. Sellers who also take prepaid orders through a gateway should keep COD and prepaid receivables in separate ledgers, because they are paid by different parties on different cycles.
What to read next
If a credit arrives short of what your register expects, read why your courier’s COD remittance is short. For the finance-team method, see COD versus prepaid settlement reconciliation and the warehouse COD and 3PL walk-through. Automated settlement and COD reconciliation is on the roadmap for Terra Insight’s payment gateway reconciliation work.
Content authored by practitioners with experience at Amazon India, Intuit QuickBooks, and the Tata Group. Meet the team →