How it runs for e-commerce brands and Amazon sellers
Supplier invoices, inbound freight and duties are capitalized to inventory at landed cost per SKU, and COGS is recorded monthly from units sold. Advertising, apps and subscriptions are coded by channel. Bank and card feeds are cleared weekly in QuickBooks Online or Xero, with open items listed for you every Friday.
What is outsourced bookkeeping?
Outsourced bookkeeping means a remote accounting team records, categorizes and reconciles your business transactions instead of an employee doing it in-house. You keep ownership of the accounting file and the bank relationship. The provider works inside your software on a fixed schedule, so the books are ready for reporting, tax and lending whenever you need them.
What we handle for e-commerce brands and Amazon sellers
- Amazon settlements and Shopify payouts posted in detail through A2X or Link My Books
- Supplier invoices, freight and duties capitalized to inventory at landed cost
- Monthly COGS posted from units sold by SKU and channel
- Advertising, app and platform fees coded by channel
- Weekly bank and card feed clearing with a Friday open-items list
The KPI that matters here
Every settlement and payout posted and reconciled within 3 business days of the deposit.
E-commerce compliance notes
Marketplace facilitator laws
Every US state with a sales tax now requires marketplaces such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay and Etsy to collect and remit sales tax on third-party sales. The marketplace's collections appear in your settlement reports and must be recorded as tax collected and remitted by the facilitator, not as your liability. Some states still require registered sellers to file returns that report marketplace sales as exempt.
Sales-tax nexus on direct sales
Direct sales through Shopify, your own site or wholesale count toward each state's economic nexus threshold, commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the current or prior year, and inventory stored in FBA warehouses can create physical nexus. We track sales by state monthly, flag thresholds approaching and prepare the workings for TaxJar, Avalara or your filing provider. Registration and filing decisions rest with you and your tax adviser.
VAT, GST and cross-border selling
Selling into the UK requires VAT registration once taxable turnover passes £90,000, or from the first sale for many overseas sellers, and EU distance sales can be reported through the One Stop Shop. Canadian GST/HST and Australian GST apply to imported low-value goods and to registered sellers. We prepare VAT and GST workings for your accountant or registered agent to file; we do not submit returns.
Inventory valuation and 1099-K reporting
Inventory must be valued consistently, including freight, duties and prep, so COGS and taxable income are right. Payment processors and marketplaces issue Form 1099-K for gross payments, which is reconciled to recorded sales so the figures your CPA reports agree with what the IRS receives. Tax preparation is support only; your firm reviews and signs.
E-commerce software we work in
More for e-commerce brands and Amazon sellers
Other services for e-commerce
Frequently asked questions
Why can I not just book the Amazon deposit as revenue?
Because the deposit is what remains after Amazon deducts referral fees, FBA fees, storage, advertising, refunds and sometimes a reserve. Booking the net figure understates sales, hides the fees and makes margin analysis impossible. Posting the settlement in detail shows gross sales, every fee type and the true cost of the channel, and the total still ties to the deposit.
How do you record inventory bought from overseas suppliers?
The supplier invoice, freight forwarder charges, customs duties and prep fees are capitalized into inventory as landed cost and allocated across the SKUs on the shipment by units or value. Deposits paid to suppliers sit as prepayments until goods ship. In-transit stock is tracked separately so the balance sheet reflects goods you own but have not received.
Can you keep books for a brand with wholesale as well as online sales?
Yes, wholesale purchase orders are invoiced with terms and tracked as receivables, retailer deductions and chargebacks are recorded against the invoice and COGS is posted from units shipped. Online channels are posted from settlements. Revenue and margin are reported by channel so wholesale and direct-to-consumer can be compared on the same basis.
Ask an AI assistant to summarize this page
Opens the assistant with a prefilled prompt so you can check our claims against the page yourself.