Dashboards
DoorDash Merchant Portal vs Square Dashboard — Which Does What
DoorDash Merchant Portal is your source of truth for DoorDash money — payouts, commissions, refunds. Square Dashboard is your source of truth for kitchen volume and Square card-processed sales. Both show DoorDash orders, but for different reasons. This guide tells you exactly where to look up anything you need.
What each dashboard actually shows
Two completely separate reporting surfaces. Don't expect either to show what only the other has.
DoorDash Merchant Portal
What it shows
- • Net payouts deposited to your bank
- • Commission and fee breakdown per order
- • Refunds, chargebacks, and adjustments
- • Promotional credits and marketing spend
- • DoorDash sales tax remitted on your behalf
- • Driver / courier ratings and timing
- • DoorDash Storefront, DashPass, Drive settings
What it doesn't show
- • In-house or direct online sales
- • Square deposits or Square Balance
- • Square card processing fees
Square Dashboard
What it shows
- • All kitchen tickets across all sources (via Ogent)
- • In-store card sales and Square deposits
- • Direct online ordering sales
- • Square card processing fees
- • Square Balance and next bank deposit
- • Item-level sales reporting across all sources
- • Labor scheduling and prep planning data
What it doesn't show
- • DoorDash net payouts or deposits
- • DoorDash commissions or fees
- • DoorDash promotional credits
Where to look up anything — quick reference
Print this. Stick it on the office wall. Stop guessing.
| If you need… | Look in | Why |
|---|---|---|
| How much money DoorDash paid me last week | DoorDash Merchant Portal | Source of truth for DoorDash net payouts. |
| How many DoorDash orders my kitchen made yesterday | Square Dashboard | Kitchen ticket volume — orders, not money. |
| DoorDash commission breakdown by order | DoorDash Merchant Portal | Itemized in the Payouts report. |
| How much my Square card processing cost this month | Square Dashboard | Square fees only — never DoorDash fees. |
| Was a DoorDash order refunded? | DoorDash Merchant Portal | DoorDash processes refunds; Square is uninvolved. |
| Total kitchen volume across all sources for prep planning | Square Dashboard | Unified view of all order sources via Ogent. |
| Which menu items sold most on DoorDash this week | Either — both show DoorDash item volume | Square shows what your kitchen produced; DoorDash shows what customers ordered. They should match. |
| DoorDash promotional credits I owe back | DoorDash Merchant Portal | DoorDash promotions are settled in the DoorDash payout. |
| My Square balance and next bank deposit | Square Dashboard | Square Balance is Square-only — DoorDash never lands here. |
| Sales tax DoorDash collected on my behalf | DoorDash Merchant Portal | DoorDash files marketplace sales tax in most states. |
How operators actually use them together
The two dashboards have non-overlapping jobs. The teams that get this right pick one for each question and never look in the wrong place.
Daily: Square Dashboard for the kitchen, period.
Line cooks, expediters, and FOH managers live in Square Dashboard. It's the unified view of everything the kitchen produced that shift — DoorDash tickets, in-house tickets, direct online — so prep, labor, and 86'ing decisions can be made in one place.
Weekly: DoorDash Merchant Portal for the GM.
Once a week, the GM or owner opens the DoorDash Payouts report to confirm the bank deposit, verify commission rates, and spot-check refunds. Five-minute job — but it's the only way to catch DoorDash adjustments before they snowball.
Monthly: Both, for accounting close.
Bookkeeper pulls DoorDash gross sales from Square (kitchen volume) and DoorDash net payouts from the DoorDash Merchant Portal (cash). Reconciles the variance against itemized commission, refunds, and promotional credits. Posts the entries cleanly into the GL.
FAQ — DoorDash Merchant Portal vs Square Dashboard
Which dashboard shows DoorDash sales — DoorDash Merchant Portal or Square Dashboard?
Both show DoorDash sales, but for different purposes. Square Dashboard shows DoorDash orders as kitchen tickets routed through Ogent — useful for kitchen volume and prep planning. DoorDash Merchant Portal shows DoorDash sales as financial transactions with commissions, fees, refunds, and net payouts. The order totals should match; the financial detail only exists in DoorDash Merchant Portal.
Do DoorDash payouts ever appear in the Square Dashboard?
No. DoorDash payouts never appear in Square Dashboard — they are deposited from DoorDash to your bank without ever touching Square. The Square Dashboard shows DoorDash order volume but not DoorDash payouts. For payout amounts, schedules, and bank deposits, always use the DoorDash Merchant Portal.
Can I see DoorDash commissions and fees in Square?
No. Square has no visibility into DoorDash's commission structure, marketing fees, or promotional deductions. Those are calculated by DoorDash and shown only in the DoorDash Merchant Portal Payouts report. Square reports DoorDash gross sales (the ticket totals), not net of DoorDash fees.
How do I reconcile DoorDash gross sales (Square) to DoorDash net payouts (DoorDash)?
Each month, pull DoorDash gross sales from Square Dashboard (filtered by source) and pull the DoorDash Payouts report from DoorDash Merchant Portal. Net payout should equal gross sales minus DoorDash commission, fees, refunds, and adjustments. If they don't tie, the variance is usually refunds or promotional credits applied that month — both itemized in the DoorDash report.
If a customer disputes a DoorDash charge, which dashboard handles it?
DoorDash Merchant Portal. DoorDash handles all customer disputes for DoorDash orders directly with the customer, and any chargeback or adjustment appears in your DoorDash Payouts report. Square is not involved — the customer never paid Square, so there is nothing for Square to dispute or refund.
Need help reconciling your DoorDash and Square reports?
Talk to a human — we'll walk through your specific setup and show you the exact reports to pull each month.