Monthly DSA payout reconciliation: a checklist that stops revenue leaks

Ask any loan DSA owner where money goes missing and you will hear the same answers: a file counted in the wrong month, a payout slab applied incorrectly, a top-up nobody claimed, or a partner paid on the wrong amount. None of these are fraud. They are what happens when payouts are reconciled from memory and three spreadsheets.

This checklist is the routine we set up with lending partners. Run it every month, in this order, and most leaks disappear within two cycles.

Before the month closes: collect four files

You can't reconcile what you can't see. Before you start, make sure you have:

• The lender's disbursement MIS for the month, with loan account numbers, disbursed amounts and dates.
• The payout grid that applied that month. Grids change, so save a copy every time a lender sends a new one.
• Your own login tracker: every file you logged in, with the customer, product, lender, sourcing partner and status.
• Your partner mapping: which sub-DSA or connector sourced each file, and the share they were promised.

Step 1: Match every disbursement to a file in your tracker

Go through the lender's MIS line by line and match each loan to a file in your tracker, using the loan account number or the application number. You will end up with three lists:

1. Matched: in both the MIS and your tracker. These are ready for the next step.
2. Missing from the MIS: disbursed as per your records, but not in the lender's report. These are your most valuable follow-ups.
3. Unknown to you: in the MIS but not in your tracker. Usually a data entry gap on your side, occasionally another DSA's file.

Step 2: Apply the right grid and volume slab

Most grids pay a percentage of the disbursed amount, and many step up once your monthly volume crosses a slab. Check two things for every product:

• Which slab your total volume for the month qualifies for.
• Whether the higher slab applies to the whole month's volume or only to the amount above the threshold. Lenders differ, and this single detail causes many disputes.

A table like this, with a difference column, turns a vague feeling that "the payout looks low" into a list of specific files to raise with the lender.

Step 3: Check deductions and clawbacks

Some lenders deduct payouts for loans that are foreclosed, cancelled or go bad within a set period after disbursement. Match every deduction to a specific loan account and to the clause in your agreement. Unexplained deductions should go on your dispute list.

Step 4: Invoice with GST and account for TDS

If you are registered under GST, raise a tax invoice on the lender for the commission, adding GST at 18%. The lender deducts TDS under section 194H before paying you; the rate has been 2% since 1 October 2024. When GST is shown separately on the invoice, TDS is worked out on the commission excluding GST.

For example, on ₹50,000 of commission the invoice total is ₹59,000 with GST, TDS is ₹1,000, and ₹58,000 reaches your bank. You can model any month with the DSA commission calculator.

Step 5: Pay partners on commission, not on the invoice total

Partner shares should be calculated on the commission you earned, not on the invoice amount including GST. Share a statement with each partner before paying: files, disbursed amounts, their share and TDS deducted. Partners who can see the working raise far fewer questions.

Step 6: Chase shortfalls within the dispute window

Lenders usually accept payout queries only for a limited period after the payout is released. Send your list of missing and short-paid files, with loan account numbers and expected amounts, within the first week. Track each query until it is paid or closed with a reason.

Make it a routine, not a rescue

The DSAs who never lose payouts aren't better at spreadsheets. They keep the tracker updated as files move, save every grid, and reconcile on a fixed date every month. Loan DSA CRM is built around that routine: logins, disbursements, grids, partner shares and payout matching in one place.