Ecommerce Bookkeeper
COGS, platform fees, payouts — reconciled.

Ecommerce bookkeeping adds layers that don't exist in service businesses: COGS must be separated from operating expenses, platform payouts need to be reconciled against bank deposits, returns and refunds must be tracked and reversed correctly, and payment processor fees must be categorised separately from revenue. Inventory accounting is also required if you hold stock. These complexities mean a plain bookkeeper unfamiliar with ecommerce will often misclassify income and expenses.

In QuickBooks Online, COGS is tracked as a separate expense account that records the purchase cost of every unit sold — not the selling price. When you sell a product, revenue goes to an income account and the cost of that product moves from inventory (an asset) to COGS (an expense). This requires correctly setting up products with their purchase cost and reconciling inventory counts periodically. Getting this wrong overstates your profit.

Platform reports show gross revenue — the total amount customers paid. They don't subtract your COGS, operating expenses (storage, shipping supplies, advertising), payment processor fees, or returns still being processed. Shopify's payout reports also net out fees before depositing, meaning the bank deposit doesn't match the gross revenue figure. Reconciling all of this is where most ecommerce owners lose visibility into their actual margin.

Shopify batches sales into payouts and deposits a net amount to your bank after deducting its fees. I reconcile each payout by matching it to the gross sales, subtracting Shopify fees, refunds, and chargebacks, and confirming the net matches what landed in your bank. Income is recorded at gross revenue with fees as a separate expense — correct for both P&L accuracy and tax purposes.

If you hold physical stock that you purchase and resell, yes — inventory needs to appear on your balance sheet as an asset, and the cost of items sold moves to COGS as they're sold. Without this, your P&L shows expenses when you buy stock rather than when you actually sell, which significantly distorts reported profit each month. For ecommerce businesses with any meaningful stock level, correct inventory accounting is essential.