E-commerce accounting

Accounting for e-commerce businesses

These days, there aren’t many businesses that don’t trade online in one way or another, whether it’s a nice-to-have additional revenue stream or at the very heart of the business model.

We’ve been accounting for e-commerce firms in Greater Manchester and across the North West of England for almost as long as the internet has been around.

Whether it’s physical products, digital-only goods such as eBooks and games, or online services, those who work with us benefit from support with all the core accounting functions and smart business advice.

For example, personal, partnership and corporation tax returns can get complicated when you take into account that for some selling online is a side hustle, while for others it’s a 24/7 full-time business operating across multiple territories.

With advice on how to structure your e-commerce business and strategic tax planning, we’ll help you achieve effortless compliance with HMRC rules while also keeping your tax bill down to sensible levels.

Accounting for online retail businesses

When you mention e-commerce to most people, they think of online retail and that is indeed the sector in which many of our clients operate.

Some sell directly through their own bespoke online stores while others leverage the reach and efficiency of auction websites such as eBay or sales platforms like Amazon, Shopify or Etsy.

However big or small your online store business, we can reduce the burden of bookkeeping, reporting and VAT.

And if you’ve got a warehouse or distribution team of your own, we can handle payroll, too.

Accounting for dropshippers

We also work with online sellers who have built their businesses around dropshipping – fulfilling orders to buyers directly from overseas e-commerce stores such as AliExpress, or straight from manufacturers in China, India or elsewhere.

In particular, we help them avoid costly VAT calculation errors and interpret government rules around ‘place of supply’ to make sure everything is above board and compliant.

If your business is built around the ‘fulfilled by Amazon’ (FBA) model, we can help you produce reliable, regular financial reports that will make sure your tax return isn’t a chore.

If your business sells direct to consumers in the EU (B2C) we can untangle the complications around European VAT (sales tax) regulations.

E-commerce accounting software

When you’re doing business online, it only makes sense to do your accounting online, too.

We love cloud accounting software and specialise in working with Xero which integrates really neatly with Amazon Seller Central.

It’s also easy to plug in data from eBay and other sales platforms so you can always get an instant readout of your cashflow position, either using built-in functions or with third party add-ons.

For example, A2X is the leading accounting solution for e-commerce sellers. It posts your Amazon and Shopify sales and fees directly into Xero in tidy summaries that match the payments to your bank account, giving you financials you can be confident are 100% accurate.

With additional plugins, which we’ll help you choose and set up, you can even sync inventory between Amazon and Xero.

Arrange your discovery call here