How it runs for retail stores
You release every payment from your own bank or Bill.com login; we never move money.
What is accounts payable outsourcing?
Accounts payable outsourcing means a remote specialist runs the process from vendor invoice to approved payment run: capturing bills, coding them to the ledger, matching them to purchase orders and receipts, chasing approvals and preparing payments for release. The business keeps control of the bank account and the final release. The provider works in the company's own software.
What we handle for retail stores
- Supplier invoices matched to purchase orders and receiving records before approval
- Freight, duty and brokerage recorded to landed cost, not overhead
- Credit notes for damaged, short or returned stock applied to the right invoice
- Early-payment discounts flagged with the effective annualized rate
- Supplier statements reconciled monthly so duplicates are caught before payment
The KPI that matters here
Every supplier invoice captured and matched within 2 business days of receipt.
Retail compliance notes
Sales tax collection and remittance
Sales tax collected at the register belongs to the state and, in many places, to a city or county too, each with its own rate and filing frequency. We reconcile the tax collected in your POS to the liability in the ledger every month and prepare the workings for each jurisdiction. Your registered preparer or your Avalara or TaxJar subscription files the return; we prepare, we do not file.
Economic nexus for online sales
Since the Wayfair decision in 2018, a store selling online can owe sales tax in states where it has no premises once it passes that state's threshold, commonly $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions. We track sales by ship-to state from Shopify or your marketplace reports and flag when a threshold is near so you and your advisor can register in time.
Inventory shrinkage and counts
Shrink from theft, damage, miscounts and vendor errors reduces gross margin and, if unrecorded, overstates both inventory on the balance sheet and profit. We book count adjustments when you supply cycle or full counts, separate known write-offs such as damaged goods from unexplained variance, and report shrink as a percentage of sales each period.
Gift cards and unclaimed property
Gift-card sales are recorded as a liability and released to revenue on redemption, with breakage recognized only under the method your CPA sets. Several states treat unredeemed balances as unclaimed property after a dormancy period. We keep a card-level liability schedule so the annual unclaimed-property review is a report, not a reconstruction.
Retail software we work in
- Shopify
- Square
- QuickBooks Online
- Xero
- Avalara
- TaxJar
- Dext
- Lightspeed
- Clover
- All 50 platforms
More for retail stores
Other services for retail
Frequently asked questions
What is a three-way match and why does it matter for a store?
A three-way match compares the supplier invoice to the purchase order and to what was actually received before the invoice is approved. It catches short shipments, price differences and duplicate invoices, which are the most common ways a retailer overpays. We perform it on inventory invoices and record the differences as credits to claim from the supplier.
Should I take early-payment discounts from suppliers?
Usually yes when cash allows: a 2% discount for paying in 10 days instead of 30 is worth roughly 36% on an annualized basis, which is more than most credit lines cost. We flag every invoice carrying a discount with its deadline in the payment run so you can decide with the cash forecast in front of you.
How do you record freight, duty and other landed costs?
Freight, customs duty, brokerage and insurance on inbound stock are recorded to inventory or cost of goods as part of landed cost, allocated across the receipt by value or by unit as your CPA prefers. This keeps gross margin honest. Outbound shipping to customers is an operating expense and stays separate. See the month-end close service for retail stores for how landed cost enters the close.
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