Accountants for online retailers
Selling online generates a lot of data and very little clarity. The accounts only become useful once the platform settlements are reconciled properly, and that is usually where we start.
AccountsHelp provides accounting and tax services to online retailers and e-commerce sellers across the United Kingdom, covering marketplace settlement reconciliation, stock valuation, VAT on cross-border and digital sales, and multi-channel bookkeeping.
Where online retailers need more than generic accounting
Marketplace settlements are not sales
A payout from a marketplace is net of fees, refunds, advertising and adjustments. Recording the payout as turnover understates both sales and costs, and produces a gross margin that means nothing. Settlements have to be broken back out.
Stock valuation
For a retailer, stock is usually the largest number on the balance sheet and the one most often wrong. Getting it right is what makes gross margin trustworthy and the accounts worth reading.
VAT on cross-border sales
Selling to customers in other countries, holding stock abroad, or using marketplace fulfilment can all create obligations beyond UK VAT. Worth establishing early, because it is expensive to unwind.
Multiple channels and currencies
A shop, a marketplace and a social channel produce three sets of records in different formats, sometimes in different currencies. Consolidating them consistently is what makes the numbers comparable month to month.
Returns and refunds
Return rates change the real margin substantially. If refunds are not tracked against the original sale, profitability looks better on paper than it is in the bank.
The service that usually fits
Every package is an all-inclusive fixed monthly fee, agreed before we start, with no hidden charges at the year end. We work online with clients right across the UK.
Small limited companies and start-ups →
Starting a new business or running an existing one brings a filing calendar that does not forgive late entries.
From £60 per monthSole traders and partnerships →
A dental practice, a car mechanic, a repair shop, an off licence, a plumber or a freelance writer. Whatever the trade, the books are your responsibility.
From £20 per monthSelf Assessment and landlord accounts →
HMRC requires a Self Assessment return if you are a director, shareholder, sole trader, receive untaxed income, or pay tax at the higher rate.
From £125 per yearQuestions from online retailers
How should marketplace fees be recorded?
As costs, not netted off sales. A marketplace payout arrives net of fees, refunds, advertising and adjustments, so recording the payout as turnover understates both your sales and your costs and makes gross margin meaningless. The settlement needs breaking back out into its components.
Do I need to register for VAT in other countries?
Possibly. Selling to customers abroad, holding stock in another country, or using overseas marketplace fulfilment can create obligations beyond UK VAT. It depends on where your stock sits and where your customers are, and it is much cheaper to establish early than to correct later.
Can you work with Shopify, Amazon or eBay data?
Yes. We work with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, which connect to the main platforms, and we reconcile settlements back to the underlying sales, fees and refunds rather than posting the net payout.
Why does my profit not match my bank balance?
Usually stock and settlement timing. Money spent on stock sitting in a warehouse is not an expense until it sells, and marketplace payouts arrive net and in arrears. Both are normal, and both are why reconciled accounts matter more in e-commerce than in most trades.
General information about how we work with this sector, not advice for your circumstances. Any tax figures mentioned were checked against gov.uk and are set out with their sources on our tax dates and rates page.
Talk to someone who already knows the sector
Tell us about the business and we will tell you what you actually need, and what you do not. The first consultation is free and carries no obligation.
Other sectors we work with
Dentists and dental practices →
Dentistry is one of the sectors where generic accounting genuinely falls short. The mix of NHS and private income, the way associates are engaged, and the scale of equipment spending all change how the numbers work.
Restaurants and hospitality →
Hospitality has thin margins and awkward tax rules, which is a difficult combination. Most of the problems we are asked to fix come from the same handful of areas.
Contractors and freelancers →
We have worked with contractors online for more than ten years. The questions are consistent, and getting them right early is worth far more than getting them right at the year end.