Why Are There Differences Between the SellerLegend Dashboard and the Seller Central Dashboard?

💡TL;DR – Why SellerLegend Differs from Seller Central

• Different Metrics: SellerCentral shows Ordered Product Sales; SellerLegend shows Gross Revenue (including shipping, gift wrap, etc.).

• Refunds & Cancellations: SellerCentral doesn’t retroactively adjust for them; SellerLegend does.

• Units Reported: SellerCentral counts ordered units; SellerLegend only counts shipped units.

• Promotions: SellerCentral deducts them from revenue; SellerLegend treats them as expenses.

• Shipping Income: SellerCentral often hides part of it; SellerLegend captures the net result.

• Timing Gaps: Data refreshes at different intervals, so numbers may temporarily differ.

• More Accurate Picture: SellerLegend aims to reflect real, reconciled figures for profit tracking — not just sales activity.

📘 What This Article Covers

In the summary above, we touched on the key reasons why numbers may differ between SellerLegend and Seller Central. In the sections below, we’ll explore each of these in more detail — including how SellerLegend interprets your data differently, why it’s more accurate for profitability tracking, and how to verify the results for yourself.

📊 1. Sales Accounting Differences

Seller Central reports Ordered Product Sales — that is, revenue at the time an order is placed, regardless of whether it’s later shipped, canceled, or refunded.

SellerLegend, on the other hand, tracks realized revenue based on actual fulfillment and adjusts retroactively when orders are canceled or refunded. Here’s how this plays out:

In most cases, SellerLegend provides a more accurate financial picture, especially if you’re reconciling with your bank account or tax records.

💰 2. Revenue vs Ordered Product Sales

Amazon’s dashboard shows “Ordered Product Sales” — this excludes shipping revenue, promotions, and gift wrap income. SellerLegend, however, aims to reflect Total Gross Revenue, calculated as:

Gross Revenue = Product Revenue + Shipping Income + Gift Wrap + Other Credits

Why does this matter?

🚚 a. Shipping Revenue and Shipping Chargebacks

When Amazon charges your customer for shipping:

• You are credited with that amount
• Amazon may debit some or all of it as a Shipping Chargeback

Amazon doesn’t show this full flow in the dashboard, leading to understated revenue. SellerLegend includes both the shipping credit and any retained amount to give you the net shipping revenue.

🎁 b. Promotions

Seller Central deducts promotions directly from revenue. This under-reports actual sales volume and violates basic accounting principles.

SellerLegend treats promotions as expenses, so:

• Revenue reflects the full selling price
• The cost of the promotion is treated separately

This aligns with standard bookkeeping practices and allows for a clearer view of gross profit.

You cand find more detailed information about the difference between Ordered Product Sales and Revenue here 

📦 3. Shipped vs Ordered Units

Amazon reports units at the time of ordering, not fulfilment. If an order is partially fulfilled or cancelled later, the dashboard does not adjust.

SellerLegend tracks only shipped units once an order is confirmed as shipped. If an order is split into multiple shipments, SellerLegend updates revenue and units as each part ships.

Example:

An order for 100 units at $10 = $1,000:

• SellerCentral will always show $1,000, even if only 60 units ship.
• SellerLegend will reflect only the $600 from the shipped 60 units and update it progressively as more units are fulfilled.

⏳ 4. Pending Orders

Amazon classifies some orders as “Pending” — typically when payment is not yet authorized. SellerLegend includes these under a separate “Pending” status and moves them into revenue only when shipped.

See our Pending Orders article for a full explanation.

🔁 5. Refunds

Refunds do not reduce revenue in Amazon’s dashboard immediately or consistently.³ SellerLegend retroactively adjusts order revenue, profit, and unit counts to reflect refunds accurately.

See our Refund Handling article for more detail.

⏱️ 6. Timing of Data Retrieval

Neither platform is real-time:

• SellerCentral dashboards are updated in delayed batches
• SellerLegend polls Amazon’s API regularly but also caches data for performance

Depending on timing, you might temporarily see newer orders in one system before the other.

🧾 7. Other Differences to Be Aware Of

🌍 a. Marketplace Currency Conversion

SellerLegend lets you view all marketplaces in your preferred base currency. SellerCentral displays each marketplace in its local currency, making side-by-side comparisons difficult.

📈 b. Advertising Costs

SellerCentral dashboards don’t include advertising. SellerLegend optionally integrates advertising data for a clearer view of net profitability.

🎀 c. Gift Wrap, Tips, and Misc Income

These are not shown in Amazon dashboards but are included in SellerLegend’s gross revenue view when available.

🧮 8. How To Reconcile the Numbers

To verify that SellerLegend’s revenue and order counts match reality:

1. Go to SellerCentral: Reports > Fulfillment > All Orders
2. Select “Exact Date Range” and export the report
3. Filter out cancellations and non-FBA orders
4. Sum up revenue and unit count manually
5. Compare with SellerLegend’s Orders List export for the same date range

You should find that SellerLegend matches the actual, finalized order data more closely.