E-commerce Accountants · South East
E-commerce accountants in Southampton
Selling online from Southampton produces more accounting events per pound of turnover than almost any other business: fees, refunds, reserves, currency conversions, VAT collected by the marketplace on some sales and by you on others. We reconcile all of it from the channel reports every month and keep the VAT right. Fixed monthly fee, agreed in writing.
from £79/mo · fixed, per month
Next deadlines
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
- Online Self Assessment filing deadline and balancing payment due
Who this is for
E-commerce Accountants for Southampton
Online sellers in Southampton: marketplace traders on one or several platforms, brands selling through their own store, dropshippers, subscription box businesses, sellers importing stock from overseas, UK sellers with EU or international customers, and businesses approaching or past the £90,000 VAT threshold who need the registration and returns handled correctly.
What is included
Everything inside the fixed fee
- Sales, fees, refunds and payouts reconciled per channel from marketplace and payment-processor reports
- VAT handled correctly for UK sales, marketplace-collected VAT, imports, EU and overseas customers
- Inventory accounting with cost of sales and stock valuation in the top package
- Cloud software integrated with your channels so transactions post automatically
- Annual accounts and Corporation Tax or Self Assessment, with the figures tying back to channel reports
- Marketplace VAT health check: a one-off review of your registrations and settings against the rules
How it works
E-commerce Accountants from Southampton, step by step
Scope the job
We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.
Agree the price
The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.
Hand over the records
Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.
Approve, then we submit
You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.
Why IGI
The IGI way of working, in Southampton
One fixed fee for e-commerce accountants in Southampton, agreed in writing before any work starts and never changed part-way through the job, however long it takes us.
We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Southampton get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to e-commerce accountants.
We serve Southampton remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for e-commerce accountants.
Continuity matters in e-commerce accountants: the person who prepared last year's work for your Southampton business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.
We explain e-commerce accountants in the words Southampton business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.
You stay in control of e-commerce accountants: drafts go to Southampton clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.
Local facts
About Southampton
Southampton is in South East, in the SO14 postcode district, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.
| Place | Distance | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Lansdowne Hill | 0.1 mi | SW |
| Houndwell | 0.2 mi | E |
| Bargate, Southampton | 0.2 mi | S |
| Hoglands | 0.2 mi | NE |
| Kingsland Place | 0.3 mi | NE |
| Marlands, West | 0.4 mi | N |
| West Marlands | 0.4 mi | N |
| Queens Park, Southampton | 0.4 mi | SE |
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Closing a company
A solvent company that has finished its purpose can be dissolved by voluntary strike-off: form DS01 with a £13 Companies House fee, after three months without trading and with all debts paid, final accounts and tax return filed, and assets distributed. HMRC objects to any application where returns or tax are outstanding, so the sequence matters more than the form.
Switching accountants
The main reasons people switch accountant are surprise invoices, missed deadlines and not understanding what they are being told. Switching involves a clearance letter between the firms, a transfer of records and agent authorisations, and a short handover of the current position. It takes about two weeks and should cost nothing extra.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Auto-enrolment duties begin the day you take on your first employee, not when the Pensions Regulator writes to you. Eligible staff must be enrolled, contributions paid every pay period and re-enrolment carried out every three years. Director-only companies without employment contracts are usually exempt. Fines for non-compliance are fixed and escalating.
Employer National Insurance
Employers pay National Insurance at 15% on each employee's earnings above the £5,000 secondary threshold, following the April 2025 changes. The Employment Allowance offsets up to £10,500 of this for eligible employers, which for a small team often removes the liability entirely, but companies where the director is the only employee do not qualify.
The trading and property allowances
Not every small income needs a tax return. The trading allowance exempts the first £1,000 of self-employment or casual income and the property allowance does the same for rental income, each measured on gross receipts. They cannot be combined with rent-a-room relief on the same income, and claiming the allowance means giving up the expense deduction for that source.
Dormant companies
Companies formed to protect a name or hold a future business are dormant but not exempt: Companies House still expects dormant accounts within nine months of the year end and a confirmation statement annually with its £50 fee, and HMRC must be told the company is dormant or it will demand Corporation Tax returns. The filings are short, but the penalties for missing them are the same as for a trading company.
The 60-day property CGT return
The 60-day Capital Gains Tax return on residential property is the deadline landlords most often miss, because it falls outside the Self Assessment cycle and runs from completion, not exchange. Private residence relief for periods you lived in the property, plus the final nine months, reduces the gain. Penalties for a late return mirror Self Assessment, starting at £100.
Questions
E-commerce Accountants questions from Southampton
Should I trade as a sole trader or a company?
Many sellers start as sole traders and incorporate as profits grow. A company protects personal assets from supplier and platform disputes, and can be more tax efficient at higher profits, but adds compliance. Marketplaces also treat business accounts differently. We run the comparison for your numbers.
Do I need to register for VAT if the marketplace collects it?
Marketplace-collected VAT does not count towards your registration threshold, but your other sales do. Many sellers have a mix and cross the £90,000 threshold without realising. We monitor your rolling 12-month taxable turnover monthly and tell you when registration is approaching.
How are imports treated?
Import VAT is charged when goods enter the UK and can be reclaimed as input VAT if you are registered, using postponed VAT accounting so nothing is paid at the border. Customs duty depends on the goods and origin and is a cost, not reclaimable. We make sure the C79 or postponed accounting statements are matched to the return.
Who accounts for VAT on marketplace sales?
For goods sold to UK consumers through an online marketplace, the marketplace accounts for the VAT if the seller is overseas or the goods are imported in consignments up to £135. A UK seller selling UK-held goods to UK customers accounts for their own VAT. Mixed situations are common and we separate them on every return.
Why does e-commerce bookkeeping cost more than ordinary bookkeeping?
Because a single payout from a marketplace bundles hundreds of sales, fees, refunds, advertising charges and reserves, and each has a different VAT treatment. Reconciling the payout to the underlying report is the job. Our fee is fixed by channels and VAT status rather than by transaction count for exactly this reason.
What is in the £79 single-channel package?
Monthly bookkeeping reconciled to one marketplace or store's reports, software integration, and the annual accounts and tax return (Corporation Tax for a company or Self Assessment for a sole trader). It is for sellers under the £90,000 VAT threshold; once VAT registration is needed the £129 package applies.
How do I get started from Southampton?
Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for e-commerce accountants. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Southampton clients are set up within a day.
Which deadlines matter most for e-commerce accountants?
The next four dates that apply to e-commerce accountants are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Southampton clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.
Fixed fees, filed on time, for Southampton
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.