Accounting
Ecommerce Accountants Brisbane.
Specialist accounting for eCommerce businesses
Ecommerce accountants do things differently from traditional accountants, because they have to. Between multiple sales channels, platform fees, inventory tracking, Goods and Services Tax (GST) on digital sales, and revenue that moves through payment gateways before it ever hits your bank account, staying on top of the numbers takes specific expertise and systems built for online retail.
Walker Hill is a team of Chartered Accountants and Registered Tax Agents based in Brisbane, working with ecommerce business owners across Australia. We know how online stores operate, where the financial blind spots tend to sit, and what it takes to turn messy transaction data into reporting you can actually use to grow. If your current accountant doesn’t understand the difference between a Shopify payout and your actual gross revenue, it’s time to talk.
Types of eCommerce Business We Provide Accounting Services For
E-commerce isn’t one model. The accounting behind each type of online business carries its own financial nuances, and we work with sellers across all of them.
- Direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands
- Amazon and eBay marketplace sellers
- Wholesale-to-retail hybrid models
- Dropshipping operators
- Subscription box and recurring revenue models
- Handmade and custom product sellers
Whether you’re turning over $200K or $20M, the unique financial challenges of selling online don’t scale in a straight line. The sooner you have the right bookkeeping system and reporting structure in place, the fewer surprises you’ll face at tax time and the clearer your path to improved profitability becomes.
Accounting Services We Offer eCommerce Businesses
Our services cover the full financial lifecycle of an online store, from day-to-day bookkeeping through to tax planning and strategic growth advice.
Bookkeeping and reconciliation.
We manage your day-to-day transaction recording, reconcile payouts from platforms like Shopify, Amazon, and eBay against actual sales data, and keep your books accurate and up to date. A clean bookkeeping system is the foundation everything else is built on. You can read more about our bookkeeping services to see how we approach this across different industries.
BAS preparation and GST compliance.
Online sales create specific GST obligations, especially when you’re selling across state lines or internationally. We prepare and lodge your Business Activity Statements (BAS) on time and make sure your GST reporting is accurate. Our BAS agent services cover this in full.
Tax planning and minimisation.
Many ecommerce owners pay more tax than they should simply because their accountant doesn’t understand how platforms like Shopify and Amazon work. We take a proactive approach, working with you throughout the year to identify eligible deductions and structure your affairs in a way that legally reduces your tax liability. Our business tax planning page goes deeper on how we approach this.
Cash flow forecasting and management.
Seasonal demand, supplier payment terms, advertising spend, and delayed platform payouts all affect when cash actually lands in your account. We build cash flow forecasts by calculating your projected expenses against expected income so you know exactly what funds are needed and when. Cash flow management is one of the biggest pressure points for online sellers, and it’s something we build into every client engagement. If you want to understand the mechanics, our guide on how to calculate cash flow breaks it down.
Financial reporting and performance analysis.
We deliver monthly or quarterly reporting that goes beyond the standard profit and loss. You’ll see profitability by product, by channel, and by campaign, so you know exactly where your margin sits and where it’s being eroded.
Structuring advice.
As your online business grows, operating as a sole trader may no longer be the right fit. We advise on when and how to restructure, whether that’s moving to a company, trust, or a combination that protects your assets and reduces tax. Our business structuring page explains the options.
Advisory and virtual CFO services.
For online sellers at scale, we act as an outsourced finance function. That means budgeting, forecasting, KPI tracking, and strategic planning alongside your leadership team. Our virtual CFO and business advisory pages are both relevant here.
Why Does Ecommerce Need Specialist Accounting?
The financial data in an online business doesn’t flow in a straightforward line from sale to bank account. It passes through platforms, payment gateways, currency conversions, fee deductions, and delayed settlement periods before you ever see a cent. Traditional accountants who aren’t familiar with these systems will spend hours trying to make the numbers work, or get them wrong entirely.
There’s a massive gap between the way most accounting firms treat online sellers and the way e-commerce actually operates. Many ecommerce owners end up paying more tax than they need to, not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because their accountant doesn’t understand how the platforms work. Fees get miscategorised. Revenue gets overstated. Deductions get missed.
Then there’s the reporting side. A standard profit and loss statement doesn’t tell someone running an online store much. You need to see profitability broken down by product, by sales channel, and by marketing campaign. You need to understand your true COGS, including landed cost of inventory, not just what you paid the supplier. Without that level of detail, you’re making growth decisions based on gut feelings rather than real numbers.
Ecommerce accountants with genuine expertise in this space close that gap. The difference between generic advice and accounting that’s built around the way online sellers actually operate is the difference between guessing and knowing.
Common Accounting Challenges Ecommerce Businesses Face
Every online store hits the same financial pain points as it grows. The ones that get ahead are the ones that solve these problems early.
Tracking Revenue Across Multiple Sales Channels
Most ecommerce sellers operate across more than one platform. You might have a Shopify store, an Amazon seller account, an eBay listing, and a wholesale channel running at the same time. Each platform reports revenue differently, deducts different fees, and pays out on different schedules.
Without a system that consolidates all of this financial data into one clear picture, you’re left guessing at how much you’ve actually earned. Walker Hill sets up integrations between your sales platforms and your accounting software, using tools like A2X and Link My Books, so every dollar of revenue is captured, categorised, and reconciled regardless of where the sale happened.
Inventory Management and Cost of Goods Sold
Inventory is one of the largest expenses for any product-based online store, and it’s one of the most commonly mismanaged from an accounting perspective. Getting your COGS calculation right means accounting for the purchase price, shipping and freight, customs duties on imported goods, warehousing, and any write-downs for damaged or unsold stock.
Poor inventory management also creates customer-facing problems. Overselling products you don’t have in stock damages your reputation and triggers refunds. Walker Hill builds inventory tracking into your bookkeeping system so your COGS figure is always accurate, your stock levels are visible, and your gross margin reporting reflects reality.
GST on Online Sales
GST obligations for online sellers can be confusing, particularly when you’re selling to customers across Australia, through overseas platforms, or importing goods. The rules around the GST treatment of low-value imported goods, marketplace facilitator obligations, and digital product sales add layers that many operators aren’t aware of.
We make sure your GST is calculated correctly across every channel so you stay compliant with Australian Taxation Office (ATO) requirements. Your BAS lodgements will be accurate and on time. Our article on small business tax obligations covers some of the broader requirements worth knowing.
Managing Cash Flow Around Seasonal Demand
Online sellers often experience sharp peaks and troughs in revenue, especially around events like Black Friday, Christmas, and end-of-financial-year (EOFY) sales. The challenge isn’t just managing the busy period. It’s making sure you have the cash reserves and supplier arrangements in place to fund the stock buy-in weeks or months before revenue comes in.
Walker Hill builds cash flow forecasts around your seasonal patterns so you know exactly how much working capital and funds are needed, and when. No surprises.
Dealing With Returns, Refunds and Chargebacks
Returns and refunds are a cost of selling online, but they create accounting headaches when they’re not tracked properly. A refund doesn’t just reverse the sale. It can trigger GST adjustments, inventory re-entry, shipping cost write-offs, and payment processor fee losses, since most gateways don’t refund their cut.
We account for all of these moving parts so your books reflect the true cost of returns, and your reporting doesn’t overstate revenue or understate expenses.
Scaling Without Losing Control of Finances
Growth is the goal, but rapid scaling often outpaces the financial systems a store started with. What worked when you were doing $10K a month in sales won’t hold together at $100K. Spreadsheets break. Manual reconciliation falls behind. Reporting gaps widen.
Walker Hill helps online sellers put the right financial infrastructure in place before growth creates problems. That includes upgrading your accounting software, automating data feeds from sales platforms, and building reporting that scales with you.
Platform and Payment Processor Fees
Every platform takes its cut. Shopify charges subscription and transaction fees. Amazon takes referral fees and Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) fees. eBay charges insertion fees and final value fees. Payment processors like Stripe and PayPal layer on their own percentage. These merchant fees add up fast, and if they’re not tracked and categorised correctly, your profitability figures will be off.
We track every fee line item so you see the true cost of selling on each platform and can decide where to focus your effort based on actual numbers.
Multi-Currency and International Sales
If you’re selling to overseas customers, you’re dealing with foreign currency transactions, exchange rate fluctuations, and potentially different tax treatments depending on the destination country. Understanding how foreign tax laws interact with Australian obligations is something most generalist accountants aren’t equipped for. International sales are a growth opportunity, but they add a layer of complexity that needs specialist attention.
Walker Hill handles multi-currency accounting so your revenue, expenses, and profit reporting all reflect accurate AUD figures, regardless of which currencies your customers are paying in.
Reconciling Payouts to Actual Sales
Platform payouts rarely match your actual sales figures for a given period. Fees are deducted, refunds are netted off, reserves may be held, and payout schedules don’t align with the dates sales were made. If you’re booking revenue based on what hits your bank account, your financial reporting is wrong.
We reconcile at the transaction level, matching individual sales to the corresponding payout, fees, and adjustments. Your books will show what you actually sold, what you were charged, and what you received.
Understanding True Profitability Per Product or Channel
Revenue is not profit. An online store might have a top-selling product that’s actually losing value once you factor in advertising costs, platform fees, returns, and shipping. Without granular profitability analysis, you could be scaling the wrong products or doubling down on the wrong channel.
Walker Hill builds reporting structures that break profitability down by individual product and by sales channel. You’ll know exactly which parts of your operation are making a return and which ones need attention.
How Walker Hill Supports Ecommerce Businesses?
Working with Walker Hill means having ecommerce accountants who understand how online sellers actually operate. We don’t treat an online store the same way we’d treat a café or a tradie. The systems, reporting, and strategy are all built specifically for e-commerce.
Smart Bookkeeping and Clear Profit Reporting
We start by getting your bookkeeping system set up properly. That means connecting your sales platforms, payment processors, and bank feeds into your accounting software so data flows through cleanly without manual entry or boring spreadsheets. From there, we build the reporting layer so you can see profitability by product, by channel, by campaign.
Proactive Tax Planning for Ecommerce Businesses
On the tax side, our accountants work proactively throughout the year to identify deductions and opportunities to minimise tax liabilities legally. We don’t wait until EOFY to tell you what you owe. We plan ahead so you’re never caught off guard. Our tax planning strategies for small businesses outlines some of the approaches we take.
Strategic Advisory for Long-Term Growth and Exit Planning
For ecommerce owners thinking about the bigger picture, whether that’s expanding into new markets, raising capital, or positioning for a big exit, we provide the advisory services and financial modelling to support those decisions. We’ve written about business valuations and selling a business as a going concern if you’re starting to think along those lines.
Personalised Guidance Built Around Your Goals
We take a proactive approach and give you guidance based on real numbers. No cookie cutter advice. No typical dinosaur accountants. We work closely with you to understand your goals, then build the accounting, reporting, and tax strategy around them.
Brisbane Based Accountants, Supporting eCommerce Businesses Locally and Australia Wide
Find Us in Brisbane
Walker Hill is based in Brisbane’s inner west, close to the CBD and easy to get to from anywhere in the greater Brisbane area. As Brisbane accountants, we also advise on Queensland-specific grants, incentives, and concessions that may apply to your operation. Our small business grants QLD guide is worth a read if you haven’t explored what’s available.
Office Address: Level 2, 80 Petrie Terrace, Brisbane, QLD 4000
Phone: 07 3367 3155
Email: support@walkerhill.com.au
Office Hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm Appointments available outside business hours by arrangement.
If you’re a Brisbane-based ecommerce owner, you’re welcome to visit us in person for an initial meeting. Many of our local clients prefer a face-to-face session to kick things off before moving to a virtual arrangement for ongoing communication. Our Brisbane accountants page has more about our team and presence in the area.
Virtual Accounting Services for eCommerce Businesses Nationwide
E-commerce isn’t bound by geography, and neither are our accountants. We work with online sellers right across Australia using cloud-based accounting software, video calls, and shared document platforms.
Whether you’re based in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, or regional Australia, you’ll get the same level of service and attention as our Brisbane-based clients. Everything from onboarding to monthly reporting to tax planning sessions happens online. The only thing that changes is the time zone.
Book a Free Ecommerce Accounting Strategy Session
If you’re running an online business and feel like your accounting isn’t keeping up, or you’re paying more tax than you should, or your reporting doesn’t give you the clarity you need to drive growth, book a free strategy session with our team.
We’ll review your current setup, identify the gaps, and give you a clear picture of what proper ecommerce accounting looks like for your situation. No obligation, no pressure, just a straight conversation about where you are and where you could be.
Call us on 07 3367 3155 or email support@walkerhill.com.au to book your session.
Xero Partner and Finalist.
Xero Accounting Partner of the Year Finalist FY22
FAQs About Ecommerce Accounting
What accounting software works best for ecommerce businesses?
Xero is the most widely used cloud accounting software among Australian ecommerce sellers, and it’s what we recommend and work with at Walker Hill. It integrates with platforms like Shopify, Amazon, and eBay through apps like A2X and Link My Books, which automate the reconciliation of sales, fees, and payouts. For stores with higher transaction volumes or complex inventory needs, we sometimes pair Xero with dedicated inventory management software like Cin7 or Dear Inventory. The right setup depends on your sales channels, transaction volume, and reporting needs. Our Xero training and setup services cover this in detail.
How often should an ecommerce business reconcile its accounts?
At minimum, reconcile weekly. Online stores generate a high volume of transactions across multiple sales channels, and leaving reconciliation to the end of the month (or worse, the end of the quarter) makes it significantly harder to catch errors, duplicates, or missing transactions. If your sales volume is high, daily reconciliation of platform payouts is ideal. Automated feeds from your sales channels into Xero reduce the manual workload, but someone still needs to review and approve the data regularly.
What's the difference between cash and accrual accounting for ecommerce?
Cash accounting records revenue when it hits your bank account and expenses when they’re paid. Accrual accounting records revenue when the sale is made and expenses when they’re incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands. For online sellers, accrual accounting gives a far more accurate picture of financial performance because of the timing gaps between sales, platform payouts, and supplier payments. Accrual is generally the preferred method for e-commerce because it tracks inventory and future liabilities more reliably.
Do I need a separate business bank account for my online store?
Yes. Mixing personal and business finances creates problems at every stage, from bookkeeping to tax lodgement to ATO compliance. A dedicated account makes it straightforward to track revenue, expenses, and GST. It also simplifies reconciliation with your accounting software. If you’re operating as a company or trust, a separate account isn’t optional. It’s a legal requirement.
When should an ecommerce business register for GST?
You must register for GST once your annual turnover reaches $75,000, or if you reasonably expect it to reach that threshold. For online stores in a fast growing market experiencing rapid growth, this can happen faster than expected, especially around peak sales periods. Registering early is often smarter than scrambling to backdate obligations. Our article on small business tax obligations covers the broader requirements.
How do platform fees from Shopify, Amazon, and eBay affect my tax return?
Platform fees are a legitimate expense and are tax-deductible. Shopify subscription and transaction fees, Amazon referral and FBA fees, eBay final value fees, and payment processor fees from Stripe or PayPal all reduce your taxable income when they’re recorded correctly. The catch is that these fees are often deducted from your payout before it reaches your bank account, so they need to be captured and categorised separately in your accounting software. If they’re not, you may be overstating your profit and paying more tax than necessary.
Can I claim advertising and marketing costs as a tax deduction?
Yes. Advertising and marketing expenses are fully deductible. That includes paid ads on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, as well as influencer fees, email marketing platform costs, SEO work, and content creation. Keep records of every invoice and receipt, and make sure the expense is categorised correctly in your accounts. Our article on tax deductions for small businesses has a broader overview of what you can and can’t claim.
What records does the ATO expect an ecommerce business to keep?
The ATO requires you to keep records of all income and expenses for at least five years. For online sellers, this includes sales records from every platform, purchase invoices from suppliers, shipping and freight receipts, bank and payment processor statements, GST records, inventory records, and employee or contractor payment records including Single Touch Payroll (STP) submissions. Platform-generated reports from Shopify, Amazon, and others are useful but don’t replace proper accounting records. Only Registered Tax Agents listed on the Tax Practitioners Board (TPB) can lodge tax returns on your behalf for a fee, so make sure whoever is handling your lodgements holds the right credentials.
How is ecommerce accounting different from traditional retail accounting?
The core principles are the same, but the execution is very different. Traditional retail typically has one point of sale, one payment method, and a direct line between a sale and cash received. Online sellers deal with multiple sales channels, each with different fee structures, payout timelines, and reporting formats. Inventory may be held across warehouses, fulfilment centres, and third-party logistics providers. Revenue recognition is complicated by pre-orders, subscriptions, and delayed shipments. The volume of individual transactions is often far higher too, meaning manual accounting methods fall apart quickly.
Should my ecommerce business use cash or accrual reporting for BAS?
Most online sellers benefit from reporting on an accrual basis for BAS. Because of the timing gaps between making a sale, collecting payment through a platform, and receiving the payout in your bank account, cash-basis reporting can misrepresent your GST position for any given period. Accrual reporting aligns your GST obligations with the period the sale actually occurred, giving you a more accurate picture and reducing the risk of under- or over-reporting. Your eligibility depends on your turnover and structure, so it’s worth discussing with your ecommerce accountant before choosing.
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