What eCommerce Businesses Should Track in Their Books
Running an online store means more than just making sales—you also need to keep your books clean, accurate, and ready for tax time. From tracking platform fees to handling returns and reconciling sales, bookkeeping in eCommerce is more complex than it looks.
Download Our Free Brochure →Here’s a breakdown of what every eCommerce business should track—and why it matters.
1. Sales by Platform and Payment Channel
You should always track:
- Sales from each marketplace (Shopify, Amazon, Etsy, etc.)
- Payment processors (Stripe, PayPal, Square)
Why it matters: Sales channels take different fees, and reporting can vary—accurate tracking ensures your revenue is correct after deductions.
2. Merchant and Transaction Fees
Every sale comes with a fee. These include:
- Platform fees (e.g., Amazon FBA, Shopify)
- Payment processing fees (e.g., Stripe 2.9% + $0.30)
Why it matters: These costs affect your margins—and need to be separated from revenue to avoid overstating your profits.
3. Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
You must track:
- Inventory purchase costs
- Shipping fees and supplier invoices
- Product bundling costs (if applicable)
Why it matters: Without proper COGS tracking, you can’t measure your true profit margins, and your tax filings may be off.
4. Returns and Refunds
Returned items must be logged separately from revenue and treated properly in your books.
Download Our Free Brochure →Why it matters: Not accounting for refunds can inflate your revenue and mess with tax filings, especially in cash-basis accounting.
5. Sales Tax Collected by State
Track the tax collected per state or platform:
- Some platforms collect and remit automatically
- Others require you to file and remit
Why it matters: Sales tax is a liability, not income—and mishandling it is one of the biggest compliance risks for online sellers.
Why Most eCommerce Owners Outsource Their Books
You’re busy managing inventory, ads, shipping, and customers. Most eCommerce business owners don’t have time to manually reconcile every order, return, and platform fee – and that’s where RemoteBooksOnline comes in.
Related: Bookkeeping for eCommerce Businesses
We handle:
- Sales channel reconciliation
- COGS tracking
- Monthly CPA-reviewed reports
- Catch-up and cleanup if you’re behind
Need Help With Your eCommerce Books?
We clean up, catch up, and organize eCommerce bookkeeping from $150/month—QuickBooks, Xero, Shopify, Amazon, and more.
