How it runs for retail stores
A LedgerBPO controller reviews every store's close under Two-Tier Review, maintains a 13-week cash forecast that includes purchase commitments, answers questions through our Compliance Desk within 2 business days and joins a quarterly call with you and your CPA.
What are outsourced controller services?
Outsourced controller services provide the review layer that sits between bookkeeping and the owner: a senior accountant who checks the close, owns the accounting policies, tests the controls around cash and spending, and explains the financial statements. The controller does not do daily posting. They make sure what was posted is right and documented before anyone relies on it.
What we handle for retail stores
- Monthly review of every store's close with variance questions answered before release
- Inventory accounting policy, shrink reporting and count-cycle design
- 13-week cash forecast including open purchase orders and seasonal buys
- Sales-tax nexus review and audit-response packages prepared for your preparer
- Lender borrowing-base and landlord reporting prepared and explained
The KPI that matters here
Controller review completed and open questions closed before every monthly release.
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
Controller services in other industries
Frequently asked questions
When does a retailer need a controller rather than a bookkeeper?
Usually at two or more stores, when inventory financing starts, or when online sales create sales-tax obligations in several states. A controller reviews rather than posts, sets inventory and revenue policy, forecasts cash around buying seasons and prepares lender and audit packages. Our review sits above the bookkeeping, whether we do it or your staff does.
Can the controller handle a sales-tax audit?
The controller prepares the reconciled workings, exemption-certificate files and POS-to-return reconciliations the auditor asks for, and explains them to you and your preparer. We do not represent you before the state or give tax advice; your CPA or attorney does that. What we provide is a documented set of numbers that answers the auditor's questions.
What does the controller add on top of the month-end close service?
The close service produces reconciled books each month; controller review challenges the results, sets accounting policy for inventory and gift cards, forecasts cash, manages borrowing-base and landlord reporting and advises on store openings and closures. Many retailers begin with the month-end close service for retail stores and add controller review as they grow.
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