Frequently Asked Questions - Seller Bookkeeping

Seller Bookkeeping is specialized bookkeeping for ecommerce sellers. It helps online sellers organize sales, fees, refunds, payment processor payouts, marketplace deposits, inventory, cost of goods sold, advertising, software costs, shipping expenses, and tax-ready financial reports. Instead of treating every deposit as simple income, Seller Bookkeeping separates the details behind each payout so financial statements show a clearer picture.

Regular bookkeeping may focus on bank transactions, bills, invoices, payroll, and basic expense categories. Ecommerce bookkeeping must also handle marketplace payouts, processor fees, seller fees, refunds, chargebacks, sales tax activity, gift cards, discounts, inventory, COGS, shipping income, fulfillment expenses, and multi-channel revenue. The biggest difference is that ecommerce deposits are usually net deposits, not gross sales.

Seller Bookkeeping is useful for Amazon sellers, Shopify store owners, Walmart sellers, eBay sellers, Etsy sellers, WooCommerce stores, private label brands, wholesale sellers, dropshipping stores, subscription ecommerce businesses, and multi-channel sellers. It is especially helpful when a business has many transactions, marketplace fees, inventory purchases, ad spend, refunds, and confusing deposits.

A marketplace deposit is usually a net payout. It may include gross sales reduced by fees, refunds, reserves, shipping adjustments, advertising charges, storage fees, fulfillment fees, sales tax activity, reimbursements, and other adjustments. If you record the net deposit as sales, revenue may be understated, fees may be hidden, refunds may not be visible, and your profit reports may not explain what actually happened.

Most ecommerce sellers should review a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow view, sales channel summary, marketplace fee summary, inventory summary, cost of goods sold report, advertising summary, refund report, and product profitability view. The exact report package depends on the size and complexity of the business.

Yes. Seller Bookkeeping supports Amazon seller accounting for FBA sellers, FBM sellers, private label brands, wholesale sellers, retail arbitrage sellers, and multi-channel ecommerce sellers. Amazon accounting can include settlement reconciliation, Amazon fee tracking, refund tracking, reimbursement review, inventory accounting, COGS support, SKU profitability, and monthly reports.

Amazon settlement reconciliation means matching Amazon settlement reports to actual bank deposits and recording each part of the settlement correctly. This may include product sales, referral fees, FBA fulfillment fees, subscription fees, refunds, reimbursements, tax activity, reserve balances, shipping credits, promotional rebates, and adjustments. Reconciliation helps make sure your books do not treat a net deposit as simple revenue.

FBA accounting focuses heavily on Amazon fulfillment fees, storage fees, inventory movement, returns, removal orders, reimbursements, and landed cost tracking. FBM bookkeeping includes Amazon selling fees but also needs outside shipping costs, packaging costs, labor, warehouse expenses, carrier invoices, and merchant fulfillment software. Both models need accurate sales, refund, and fee tracking, but the fulfillment cost structure is different.

Yes. SKU profitability reporting can help show revenue, COGS, landed cost, Amazon fees, advertising costs, refunds, storage costs, fulfillment costs, and margin by product. SKU reporting is especially useful for sellers who have many products, product variations, bundles, or multiple marketplaces.

Amazon advertising should be tracked separately from other fees so sellers can understand the relationship between ad spend, revenue, gross margin, and net profit. In some cases, advertising charges appear in Amazon settlement reports. In other cases, they may be charged separately. The bookkeeping setup should capture the expense clearly and allow the seller to compare ad spend against product profitability.

Yes. Shopify stores often need specialized bookkeeping because a payout may include several orders, refunds, payment processing fees, adjustments, and tax-related activity. A clean bookkeeping system separates gross revenue, discounts, refunds, sales tax activity, payment fees, shipping income, and actual deposits so reports are easier to understand.

Shopify store sales are the order activity generated by customers. Shopify payouts are the net cash transferred after payment processing fees, refunds, timing differences, and adjustments. Because payouts are net amounts, they should not automatically be treated as total revenue. Good Shopify bookkeeping connects the sales data and payout data correctly.

Yes. Seller Bookkeeping can support sellers using Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, WooCommerce, PayPal, Stripe, and other tools. Multi-channel bookkeeping helps compare revenue, fees, refunds, advertising, inventory, and profit by channel. This helps sellers see which platforms are truly contributing to profit.

Yes. Ecommerce software costs can include Shopify apps, inventory tools, repricers, shipping software, email marketing platforms, review apps, analytics tools, accounting apps, marketplace connectors, and automation tools. Tracking these costs clearly helps sellers understand monthly overhead and true net profit.

Seller Bookkeeping pricing depends on the scope of work. Important factors include sales volume, transaction count, number of sales channels, number of bank and credit card accounts, inventory complexity, SKU count, cleanup needs, software stack, and reporting requirements. The best way to price the work is to review the current setup and goals.

Usually, yes. Cleanup bookkeeping is different from ongoing monthly bookkeeping because it may involve reviewing prior months, correcting old entries, reconciling old accounts, rebuilding reports, fixing categories, and organizing missing documentation. Once cleanup is complete, ongoing monthly bookkeeping can usually follow a cleaner process.

Yes. Seller Bookkeeping can help clean up old ecommerce books by reviewing prior months, reconciling bank accounts, checking marketplace deposits, correcting categories, separating fees and refunds, organizing inventory where possible, and preparing cleaner financial statements. Cleanup depth depends on the condition of the records and available documents.

The cleanup period depends on your goals. Some sellers need the current year cleaned up for tax preparation. Others need multiple years corrected for financing, business sale preparation, CPA review, or management reporting. The best starting point is usually the earliest period where financial statements are unreliable.

Common cleanup documents include bank statements, credit card statements, marketplace reports, settlement reports, processor reports, supplier invoices, inventory records, shipping invoices, loan statements, payroll reports, prior tax returns, prior financial statements, and accounting software access. The exact list depends on your business.

Most ecommerce businesses should update bookkeeping monthly. Monthly bookkeeping helps catch errors earlier, makes tax time easier, supports cash flow planning, and gives sellers better visibility into profit trends. High-volume sellers may also need additional reporting during the month.

Yes. Monthly reporting can include a profit and loss statement, balance sheet, cash flow view, fee summary, channel report, inventory summary, SKU profitability report, and other reports depending on the engagement. The goal is to provide reports that explain business performance, not just reports that satisfy tax filing needs.

No. Seller Bookkeeping does not replace your CPA. We help organize monthly books, prepare reports, and keep records more tax ready. Your CPA should still provide tax filing, tax planning, entity guidance, deductions advice, estimated tax guidance, and compliance advice for your specific situation.

Tax-ready bookkeeping means your financial records are organized, reconciled, categorized, and supported by reports that your CPA can review. It does not mean tax returns are automatically filed. It means the bookkeeping foundation is cleaner, making year-end review more efficient and less stressful.

Seller Bookkeeping focuses on bookkeeping and financial record organization. We can help prepare reports and organize documentation, but a qualified tax professional should provide tax advice based on your entity, location, filing obligations, deductions, tax planning goals, and compliance requirements.

Many ecommerce sellers use QuickBooks Online or Xero, often with additional tools for marketplace data, inventory, sales tax, payroll, shipping, or analytics. The right setup depends on transaction volume, channels, inventory needs, budget, and reporting goals. A simple business may need fewer tools, while a larger seller may need a more structured stack.

No. Integrations can save time, but they still need proper setup, review, reconciliation, and quality control. Incorrect mapping, duplicate entries, missing fees, poor inventory setup, or unchecked automation can create messy books quickly. A good bookkeeping process reviews the data instead of trusting automation blindly.

In many cases, yes. Seller Bookkeeping can review your current accounting software and ecommerce tools, identify gaps, recommend workflow improvements, and build a better monthly process around your existing system where possible. If the current setup is creating errors, we may recommend changes or cleanup before monthly reporting continues.