Online selling looks simple from the outside, but the accounting is anything but. Money arrives net of platform fees, across several currencies and settlement cycles, with VAT handled differently depending on the marketplace and where the customer is. We untangle all of it, so your records are accurate, your VAT is right and you know the true profit on every channel.
The multi-channel data problem
Most online sellers do not have a sales problem. They have a data problem. One business might take orders through its own Shopify store, an Amazon Seller account and an Etsy shop, each reporting sales, refunds, fees and payouts in its own format and on its own timetable. The money that lands in your bank is a net figure after commission, advertising and other deductions, which makes it almost impossible to judge how you are doing from the bank balance alone.
We connect your platforms to cloud accounting software, often with specialist e-commerce tools, so your sales, fees and refunds are recorded accurately and automatically. The result is one clear picture instead of several that contradict each other.
When do I need to register for VAT?
VAT is where e-commerce gets genuinely complicated. You must register for UK VAT once your taxable turnover goes over the threshold, which is £90,000 as at April 2024, though plenty of sellers register sooner. On top of that, several things affect how your VAT is handled:
- Marketplace rules, online marketplaces are responsible for collecting and accounting for VAT on certain sales, which changes what you report yourself.
- Selling to overseas customers, cross-border sales within and beyond the UK follow different rules, including schemes such as the EU's One Stop Shop (OSS).
- Imports and overseas stock, importing goods, or holding stock abroad, brings its own VAT and duty consequences.
- The right scheme, standard, cash or flat-rate accounting can each suit different sellers; the best choice depends on your margins and costs.
Stock, margins and the figures that matter
For a product business, stock is usually your biggest investment and your biggest blind spot. Cash can look healthy simply because it is tied up in inventory you have not sold yet, and a bestseller can turn out to be barely profitable once fees, shipping, returns and advertising are counted. Knowing your true gross margin by product and by channel is what separates sellers who scale profitably from those who grow their way into trouble.
We help you track stock properly, work out your real per-channel margins and understand your cash cycle, the gap between paying for stock and getting paid for selling it, so growth is funded rather than fatal.
How we help online sellers
Channel integration
We pull Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and more into one tidy set of records.
Learn moreVAT handled
We manage registration, the right scheme and your VAT returns, marketplace rules included.
Learn moreMargin & stock insight
Clear management figures showing your profit by product and by channel.
Learn moreScaling support
Cash-flow and funding advice so you can grow stock and ad spend without running dry.
Built for how online businesses move
E-commerce moves fast: a product goes viral, a marketplace changes its fees, a new country opens up. Annual accounts prepared months after the year end are far too slow to run a business like this. We lean on live cloud data and regular management accounts, so you can act on what is happening now, and we keep an eye on your VAT thresholds and registrations as your sales grow and spread across borders.
Getting your e-commerce finances in order
Map your channels
We review every platform you sell on, where your customers are and how your stock flows.
Connect and clean up
We integrate your platforms, set up accurate recording and sort out your VAT registration and scheme.
Report and advise
You get clear margins and cash-flow insight, and we keep your VAT and compliance on track as you grow.