eCommerce Accountants from BW Partners
The Best Business Decision You Will Make

Do You Need an eCommerce Accountant?

You didn’t start your business to become an accountant, but as an ecommerce business owner, expert financial support is essential. While you focus on driving sales, developing your product, managing relationships with manufacturers and vendors, and crafting your marketing strategy, you need a reliable partner to handle the numbers.

Having solid, accurate financial data makes it easier to make informed decisions in real time, which is key to growing your business. Ecommerce accounting can be complex, and it’s one area where outsourcing can save you from an unnecessary learning curve.

Your business needs answers to critical questions like:

  • How much inventory do you have, and what is it worth?
  • What are your costs of goods sold, and are you selling profitably?
  • What are your actual sales after accounting for discounts, returns, and fees?
  • Is your business truly profitable?
  • Which sales channels are generating the most profit (not just revenue)?
  • Are ecommerce sales tax and compliance becoming an issue, particularly where you have nexus?

If your current approach isn’t providing the insights you need, an ecommerce accounting firm can offer the expertise to get you on track.

Why Do You Need a Specialized eCommerce Accountant?

eCommerce accounting differs significantly from traditional accounting because the deposits that hit your bank account from your sales channels don’t reflect your actual income.

Standard accounting services often overlook many critical aspects of your business’s financial picture.

Before those deposits ever reach your bank account, numerous factors come into play—sales, refunds, sales tax, channel fees, lending fees, fulfillment and warehousing costs, shipping expenses, and more.

An eCommerce accountant must be well-versed in the specific channels you sell through, not just familiar with your bank and credit card accounts.

Selling on ecommerce platforms introduces unique challenges, including:

  • Timing issues
  • High volumes of transactions
  • Complex inventory management
  • Managing product returns
  • Payment processor complexities
  • Sales tax nexus
  • Accurate COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) calculations

Accountants or bookkeepers who aren’t experienced with the intricacies of ecommerce accounting may struggle to manage these challenges and could create more problems than they solve.

eCommerce Accounting is Different

Spending too much time trying to get your accounting right?

Constantly training your bookkeeper or accountant?

Trying to find the budget to hire someone that can do it right?

What Does an eCommerce Accountant Do?

As the owner of a growing ecommerce-based consumer products business, you might be wondering, “What exactly does an ecommerce accountant do?”

It’s important not to confuse an ecommerce accountant with a generalist accountant or a low-cost bookkeeper offering basic services. Ecommerce accounting requires a specialized skill set to navigate the unique challenges of online sales.

An ecommerce accountant handles the complexities of selling across digital platforms and marketplaces, managing inventory, addressing multi-state sales tax issues, and overseeing all other financial aspects of running an online business.

Key responsibilities of an ecommerce accountant include:

  • Accurately timing revenue across different ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, and payment processors
  • Ensuring proper collection, filing, and payment of sales tax
  • Tracking inventory flow and accurately calculating Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
  • Managing daily financial operations, such as payroll, bill payments, and accounts receivable
  • Delivering precise financial reports with insights into business performance
  • Assisting with cash flow planning, especially for inventory purchases, shipping, and delivery
  • Supporting the effective use of inventory management tools
  • Helping with budgeting and forecasting to align financial strategies with business goals

Why Choose BW Partners as Your eCommerce Accounting Firm?

  • BW Partners is a cloud-based, ecommerce-focused accounting firm based in Utah. We take the stress out of accounting by handling the complexities for our clients, allowing them to focus on growing their businesses.
  • Our goal is to empower our clients with accurate, reliable financial data to help them make informed decisions and succeed.
  • Since our founding in 2014, all of our ecommerce CPAs, accountants, and bookkeepers have worked 100% remotely. Serving clients across the United States and globally, we are equipped to support businesses wherever they are.
  • Being fully remote means we truly understand the needs of ecommerce sellers. We tailor our communication to fit each client’s preferences, using the best technology to deliver timely, direct responses to your questions. This allows us to be your trusted ecommerce accountants, no matter where you’re located.
  • We also stay ahead of the curve by integrating the latest accounting technologies to enhance our clients’ experience.

 

Technology Partners

As with so many other industries, accounting is being transformed by technology. The future of accounting cloud-based and mobile-friendly, making for easier access, a better experience, and new levels of productivity.

We are giving a bear hug to this new accounting approach with expertise in many of the accounting technologies that are improving business finance.

 

eCommerce Accounting Integration

Accounting

Inventory Management