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May 29, 2015
Mobile

Windows Store Payout Improvements



Continuing with the Dev Center unification, today I want to share with you payout reporting improvements rolling in the coming weeks that will unify the Windows and Windows Phone experience, provide added payout detail, and simplify the payment process.

During May:

  • Windows Dev Center Preview will show payout reporting for both Windows and Windows Phone. At the same time, the existing Windows Dev Center payout reports will no longer be updated
  • Windows and Windows Phone payout export files will add more detail (see below for more information)
  • Payout information (e.g. bank account information) for Windows and Windows Phone will be unified

During June:

  • The 4 tiles will have more detailed information about your payouts
  • Payout summary will add more functionality
  • Payout threshold will be reduced to US$25 for most payouts, based on combined proceeds from Windows and Windows Phone – see details later in this blog
  • You can expect a single, combined payout for Windows and Windows Phone apps

As part of the transition to the new unified Windows Dev Center, your Windows Store bank information will be used to pay you starting in June.

  • If you develop only for Windows Store or only for Windows Phone Store, we’ll migrate your default payment instrument. No action needed on your part.
  • If you develop for both Windows Store and Windows Phone Store, we will only migrate your Windows Store default payment method. Your Windows Phone Store payment method will not be migrated.
    • If you have two different payment methods, make sure your Windows Store Payout account is up-to-date prior to June 1, 2015. Please note you will not be able to update your Windows Store bank account to PayPal at this time. Once your account has been migrated to the new Dev Center, PayPal will be available again.

Windows Dev Center Preview now shows new payout UI for all your apps
The Windows Dev Center Preview now includes payout reporting for both Windows Store and Windows Phone Store. Please visit the new dashboard to begin using “Payout summary” for all your payout related inquiries. To access the new reports go to the Dev Center Preview:

Payout1

In this new report you will see new features, including:

  • All the payment information for both Windows and Windows Phone apps,
  • The individual payments by revenue source (Windows Store 8 or Windows Phone Store),
  • Enhancements to the 4 summary tiles

Windows and Windows Phone payout export file will include more fields
The new payout exports have more and richer data than ever before. We added the top developer requests, and included several new fields. Go to the payout statement for a specific month, then:

Change Field Name Description
NEW Revenue Source The source of your revenue, based on where the transaction occurred (such as Windows Phone Store, Windows Store 8, Windows Store, etc.)
No change Transaction ID Unique transaction identifier
No change Transaction Date Time The date and time the transaction occurred (UTC)
NEW Parent Product ID Unique parent product identifier.  Not applicable for all transactions.
No change Product ID Unique product identifier
No change Product Name Name of the product
NEW Product Type Type of product (such as App, In-App, Game, etc.)
NEW Transaction Type Type of transaction (such as purchase, refund, reversal, chargeback, etc.)
NEW Payment Method Customer payment instrument used for the transaction (such as credit card, mobile operator, etc.)
No change Country / Region Country/region where the transaction occurred
NEW Local Provider / Seller Local provider/seller of record
No change Transaction Currency Currency of the transaction
No change Transaction Amount Amount of the transaction
No change Tax Remitted Amount of tax remitted (sales, use, or VAT/GST taxes)
No change Net Receipts Transaction amount less tax remitted
No change Store Fee The % of net receipts retained by Microsoft as a fee for making the app or IAP available in the Store
No change App Proceeds Net receipts minus the Store fee
NEW Taxes Withheld Amount of income tax withheld
NEW Payment App Proceeds less any applicable income tax withholding (amount shown in Transaction Currency)
No change FX Rate Foreign exchange rate used to convert Transaction Currency to Payment Currency
No change Payment Currency Currency your payment is made in
No change Converted Payment Payment amount converted to Payment Currency using the FX Rate
NEW Tax Remit Model Party responsible for remitting taxes (sales, use, or VAT/GST taxes)

The payout UI supports new functionality
The payout screen includes the financial information for both Windows and Windows Phone, uses red color to indicate any errors in payment, and allows you to click on the top 4 tiles for more details:

Payout2

This is what you see when you click on each of the tiles:

  • Reserved: reserved proceeds (earned, but not yet eligible for payout) by revenue source. A csv export of all reserved transactions will be available soon.
  • Upcoming payment: revenue source, amount and date of upcoming payment(s)
  • Most recent payment: revenue source, amount and date of the most recent payment(s)
  • Total paid to date: amount you’ve been paid lifetime for Windows or Windows Phone

An example of the Reserved tile pop-up:

Payout3

The payout information for Windows and Windows Phone will be unified
One of the benefits of Dev Center unification will be a single payout for all your Windows and Windows Phone apps (paid and in-app purchase).

This single payment will be done to a single account.

Action: If you develop for both Windows Store and Windows Phone Store, validate that the Windows Store payout information contains the payment information you want to use for your unified payments, or update it before 12:00AM PDT June 1, 2015.

A single payout, with lower threshold, based on both Windows and Windows Phone
Dev Center will generate a single payment for all sales of apps and in-app purchase, with a lower minimum amount (threshold) to generate the payment.

The existing threshold for Windows Store is US$200 app sales. The current threshold for Windows Phone Store is US$200 app proceeds. The new threshold is US$25 app proceeds for payments made using SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area), ACH (bank direct deposit) and PayPal payment methods. For wire transfer payments, the limit will remain US$200 app proceeds.

The new payout threshold combines the proceeds from both Windows and Windows Phone apps, enabling quicker payouts.

We continue to evolve and improve the Dev Center reporting, so please take a look at the UI and reporting changes we’ve just made along with the docs that detail these changes, let us know of any bugs by opening a support ticket, and keep sending us your feedback through this blog or voting for the features to prioritize next in user voice.