Accountants by industry
E-commerce accountants
E-commerce businesses generate more accounting complexity per pound of turnover than almost any other kind of small business. A single marketplace payout aggregates hundreds of individual sales, each with its own fee, some with refunds, advertising and subscription charges deducted, reserves held back and released, and currency conversions where sales were in another currency. Each component has a different accounting and VAT treatment. A seller who records the payout as a sale has the revenue, the costs and the VAT all wrong, and the year-end accounts built from those records are wrong too. The job of e-commerce bookkeeping is to reconcile the payout to the underlying transaction report, every month, for every channel.
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
Fees
Packages, fixed and published
£79/mo
Single channel, under £85k turnover
£129/mo
Multi-channel + VAT
£179/mo
Multi-channel + VAT + inventory accounting
£149
Marketplace VAT health check (one-off)
Who this is for
E-commerce Accountants
Online sellers in the UK: 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
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
In detail
How e-commerce accountants works
Our packages are priced by channels and VAT status rather than transaction count because that is what determines the work. Single-channel sellers under the £90,000 VAT threshold are £79 a month, including the annual accounts and tax return. Multi-channel sellers who are VAT registered are £129, with quarterly VAT returns included. Multi-channel sellers holding stock are £179, with inventory accounting that tracks purchases, calculates cost of sales and values closing stock, so that profit is measured correctly between periods and the balance sheet shows what the business actually owns. The one-off marketplace VAT health check at £149 reviews an existing seller's registrations and settings against the rules and reports the errors found.
VAT is where most online sellers go wrong, because the rules changed substantially in 2021 and differ by who the seller is, where the goods are and who the customer is. For goods sold through an online marketplace to UK consumers, the marketplace itself accounts for the VAT where the seller is overseas or the goods are imported in consignments of £135 or less; a UK seller selling UK-held goods accounts for their own VAT as normal. Import VAT on stock brought into the UK is reclaimable by a registered seller through postponed VAT accounting. Sales of goods to EU consumers are UK exports, zero-rated, with EU VAT due in the destination country, through the Import One Stop Shop for consignments under €150 or local registration above it. Marketplace-collected VAT does not count towards the UK registration threshold, but the seller's other sales do, and many sellers cross £90,000 without noticing.
The software integration does most of the heavy lifting when it is set up correctly. Marketplace and store connectors post sales, fees, refunds and payouts into the accounting platform with the right VAT codes; payment processors post gross receipts, fees and transfers; bank feeds confirm what actually landed. The setup is where self-built integrations fail, usually on fee VAT treatment, multi-currency conversion or the mapping of marketplace tax categories to UK VAT codes. We configure each connector at the start, reconcile every month, and keep a running view of taxable turnover against the threshold so that registration happens on time rather than retrospectively.
At year end the accounts tie back to the channel reports, which is what HMRC, lenders and any future buyer of the business will check. Stock-holding businesses show cost of sales and closing stock properly valued; refunds and returns are reflected in both the VAT returns and the profit figure; exchange differences are recorded; and the Corporation Tax or Self Assessment return is prepared from reconciled figures rather than reconstructed ones. The question of whether to trade as a sole trader or a company arises for most growing sellers and we run the comparison on actual numbers. Everything is delivered online, at fixed fees agreed before you join, with every return approved by you before it is filed.
Process
From first message to filed
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.
Worth knowing
Rules that come up in this work
Closing a company
Striking off a company is cheap but must be done in order: stop trading, file the final accounts and CT600, pay the tax, close VAT and PAYE, distribute the remaining assets, close the bank account, then apply. Anything left in the company at dissolution passes to the Crown. Distributions up to £25,000 are taxed as capital gains; above that a formal liquidation is usually needed to keep capital treatment.
Switching accountants
Changing accountant is simpler than most people fear. You authorise the new firm, which writes to the old one for professional clearance and your records; the outgoing accountant must hand over your own documents and usually does within two weeks. The new firm registers as your agent with HMRC and picks up the next filing. There is no need to wait for a year end.
The 60-day property CGT return
Since April 2020 a gain on UK residential property must be reported and the tax paid within 60 days of completion through HMRC's dedicated service, separately from the annual return. Non-residents must report all UK land disposals in the same window whether or not tax is due. Getting the computation right first time matters because the figure is then carried into the Self Assessment.
Crypto records and reporting
Crypto tax splits into capital gains on disposals and income on rewards, with different rates and different reporting. The £3,000 annual exempt amount and the 18% and 24% rates apply to gains; staking, mining and airdrop income is taxed at marginal income tax rates. HMRC's nudge letters to holders have increased sharply, and a voluntary disclosure before one arrives is treated far more leniently.
Allowable expenses
The expenses sole traders most often miss are home working costs, claimed by actual proportion or HMRC's flat rate, the business share of phone and internet, mileage at 45p for the first 10,000 business miles, and training that maintains existing skills. The ones most often claimed wrongly are commuting, entertaining customers and clothes that could be worn outside work.
Record keeping
Record keeping is a legal obligation with a penalty of up to £3,000 for failure, but its real value is in making every other filing cheaper and more defensible. Keep invoices, receipts, bank statements, mileage logs and any HMRC correspondence, digitally if you like, for five years after the relevant filing deadline for individuals and six years for companies and VAT.
Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment
Every employer must assess its workers for automatic enrolment from the first employee's start date. Those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year must be enrolled into a qualifying pension with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer, and a declaration of compliance made to the Pensions Regulator within five months.
Questions
E-commerce Accountants: your questions answered
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.
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.
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.
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.
I sell to EU customers. What VAT applies?
Since 2021 sales of goods to EU consumers are exports from the UK, zero-rated here, with EU VAT due in the customer's country. The EU's Import One Stop Shop lets you account for consignments under €150 through one registration. Above that, local registration or the customer paying on delivery. We advise on the right route for your volumes.
When do I need the inventory package?
When you hold meaningful stock. Without inventory accounting, the cost of goods purchased is expensed when bought, which distorts profit between periods and misstates the balance sheet. The £179 package tracks stock, calculates cost of sales and values closing stock, which lenders, investors and HMRC all expect from a stock-holding business.
What is the marketplace VAT health check?
A one-off £149 review of your VAT registration, your marketplace tax settings, your treatment of imports and overseas sales, and a sample of recent returns against the rules. It produces a written report of errors found and what to do about them. Most sellers who have set things up themselves have at least one.
Can you reconcile my payment processor as well as the marketplace?
Yes. Card processors and payment gateways on your own store are integrated so that gross sales, fees and payouts post and reconcile automatically. The fee treatment, including VAT on processor fees, is configured at setup, which is where most self-built integrations go wrong.
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.
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.
How do refunds and returns affect my VAT and accounts?
A refund reverses the sale and the VAT on it in the period the refund is made, not the original sale. Returned stock goes back into inventory at cost. Marketplace reports show these separately and we reconcile them so that both the VAT return and the profit figure reflect actual net sales.
Can you handle multiple currencies?
Yes. Sales in foreign currencies are converted at the rate on the transaction date for the accounts and at HMRC's published rates for VAT, and the difference between those and what actually lands in your bank is recorded as exchange gain or loss. The software handles this once configured correctly.
Where
E-commerce Accountants across the UK
This service has a local page for the 1,680 larger towns and cities we cover, and is delivered nationally everywhere else. A selection:
- Bromley Town
- Cambridge
- Cheap
- Chelsfield and Pratts Bottom
- Chorley
- Clitheroe
- Colne
- Colney Hatch
- Cray Valley West
- Darwen
- Dollis Valley
- Elthorne
- Fryent
- Grahame Park
- Great Harwood
- Green Street East
- Green Street West
- Hacton, Havering
- Halesowen
- Hendon Central
- High Barnet
- Kelsey and Eden Park
- Leyland
- Mapesbury
- Mill Hill East
- Mottingham and Chislehurst North
- Nelson
- Northallerton
- Northwick Park
- Norwich
- Penge and Cator
- Skipton
- Smethwick
- Southall Broadway
- Stourbridge
- Streatham Wells
- Tamworth
- Thirsk
- Townfield, Hillingdon
- Welsh Harp
England: Central London · East London · East Midlands · East of England · M25 Fringe · North East · North East London · North London · North West · North West London · South East · South East London · South London · South West · South West London · West London · West Midlands · Yorkshire
Scotland: Scotland
Wales: Wales
Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland
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Get e-commerce accountants for a fixed fee
Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.