Revenue received in USDT or USDC: the records a finance team and a bank may ask for

When part of the revenue arrives in USDT or USDC, the close gets harder: the receivable is in dollars, the receipt is on a chain, and settlement to the bank account may happen later, at a different value. Four records usually carry the whole story: the invoice, the receipt and its date value, the settlement, and the bank credit.

Four records that tie the chain to the bank statement

A payment received in USDT or USDC can involve more parties than a bank transfer, but the finance question is the same: can each amount on the bank statement be traced back to the sale that earned it? In practice four records answer that question, and each one points to the next.

The invoice number is the thread that runs through all four. Put it in the client's payment reference where possible, note it on the receipt record, and carry it into the settlement and the reconciliation. A payment that carries its invoice number is usually matched quickly; one that does not often has to be matched by elimination at month end. For the commercial side of the same payment, see you invoiced in USD and the client paid in USDT.

Value on the receipt date: why the invoice and the receipt can differ

USDT and USDC are designed to track the US dollar, but the amount that reaches the company is not always exactly the invoice amount. The client may deduct the transfer fee, round the amount, or pay several invoices in one transfer. The value of the asset in USD at the moment of receipt may also differ slightly from one dollar.

Finance teams usually handle this by recording, for each receipt, the amount received, the date and time, and the USD value on that date from a source the company names in advance and uses consistently. The difference between the invoice and the receipt is then visible as a separate line rather than buried in the balance. Which source to use, and how the difference is treated, is a decision for your accountant. The same idea appears in ordinary bank payments as the value date.

The on-chain reference as supporting evidence, not as the ledger

Every transfer on a public chain has a reference, often called a transaction hash, that anyone can look up. It shows the amount, the time and the sending and receiving addresses. It is useful evidence that a transfer happened. It is not, on its own, a record of who the counterparty is or what the payment was for.

Keep the reference as supporting evidence attached to the receipt record, next to the invoice it settles. The ledger still lives in the company's accounting system, and the explanation of the payment still comes from the invoice and the contract. A list of addresses with no link to clients and invoices answers very few of the questions an auditor or a bank will ask.

Reconciling the settlement with the bank credit

Settlement turns the receipt into USD or EUR and sends it to the business account. It happens after the receipt, and the amount credited depends on the settlement terms, including the fee. Reconciliation ties three numbers together: what was received, what was settled, and what the bank credited.

1. Match the bank credit to the settlement record by amount, date and reference.
2. Match the settlement record to one or more receipts, so every receipt is accounted for.
3. Match each receipt to the invoice it settles, and keep any difference visible as its own line.
4. Keep the settlement fee visible as its own line, so it can be treated as your accountant decides.

If settlement covers several receipts at once, keep the list of receipts it includes. A single bank credit that covers several client payments is easy to post and hard to explain later without that list. Bank-side terms such as settlement are defined in the glossary.

What auditors and banks may ask for

The questions tend to fall into two groups. Auditors tend to focus on whether the revenue is complete and correctly valued, and on how the asset was classified while the company held it. Banks tend to focus on where the money came from before it reached the account. Typical requests include:

• The invoice or contract for each material receipt, and evidence the service was delivered.
• The on-chain reference and the receiving address for each receipt, with evidence the company controlled that address.
• The source used for the USD value on the receipt date, and evidence it was applied consistently.
• The settlement records, showing the amount received, the amount credited and the fee.
• Who in the company approved the receipt address and each settlement.

Standard setters have looked at digital-asset holdings, but not all of their work covers every asset or every company. The IFRS Interpretations Committee published an agenda decision on holdings of cryptocurrencies in 2019, and the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update on crypto assets in 2023 with its own scope criteria. Whether either applies to a particular stablecoin held by your company, and how, is a judgement for your accountant and auditor. The documents a bank asks for on any incoming payment are covered in what to keep for each incoming payment.

The common gaps: scattered receiving addresses, period cut-offs, missing approvals

Some problems at audit trace back to a small number of gaps.

• Too many receiving addresses. Each new address given to a client is another place revenue can arrive unrecorded. Keep a register of every address the company uses, who controls it and which clients pay to it.
• Period cut-offs. A receipt on the last day of the month that settles on the first day of the next sits in two periods. Agree with your accountant which date drives revenue recognition, and apply it consistently.
• Missing approvals. A new receiving address or a settlement instruction approved by one person in a chat message leaves no audit trail. Use the same approval steps as for any change of bank details.
• Personal accounts. Revenue that passes through an account in a director's name has to be explained as company revenue later. Keep the whole route in the company's name.

Where ArtPay's part of the trail begins and ends

ArtPay provides international payment infrastructure for business: business accounts in USD and EUR, corporate cards for eligible businesses, cross-border settlements and conversion. For revenue received in USDT or USDC, ArtPay settles it into USD or EUR on the company account. That settlement, and the credit that follows it, is ArtPay's part of the trail.

The rest belongs to the company: the invoice, the client relationship, the receipt record, the choice of USD value source and the accounting treatment. ArtPay does not keep the company's books and does not give tax or accounting advice. Each client has a named manager, and the transparent fixed fee for settlement and for each onward route is confirmed in a written quote before activation. The route cost worksheet helps list each fee before you ask for the quote.

Who this is for, and who it is not for

This guide is for finance teams at registered companies where some clients pay in USDT or USDC: partner networks, performance and media buying agencies, digital agencies, SaaS and IT service companies. If you want that revenue settled into USD or EUR on your company account, describe your flow and get a written quote.

It is not a substitute for advice from an accountant or auditor, and it does not cover holding digital assets for investment.

Sources: IFRS Foundation — Holdings of Cryptocurrencies, IFRS Interpretations Committee agenda decision (June 2019); FASB Accounting Standards Update 2023-08, Intangibles — Goodwill and Other — Crypto Assets (Subtopic 350-60).

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Payment rules and timings vary by bank and country; confirm the details for your route with your provider.