How a CPA Helps E-Commerce Businesses

Starting your own business is always a tricky financial venture. There are so many small fees and rules that you need to keep in mind! When you decide to move and even directly open into the eCommerce space, you add several MORE complications to your bottom line! Because of these complications, you should hire a CPA. They already know how to handle all of these issues. So what can a CPA do for you and your eCommerce business? Here are five items you can guarantee that your CPA will keep an eye on.

Multi-State Sales Tax Liability

When you are operating a brick-and-mortar business, you only have to worry about sales tax in one state – your business’s residential state. But with an eCommerce business, you will need to think about the tax code in multiple states! So if your goal is to deliver items to every state in the US, you will need to know the tax code for all 50 states!

Sure, you could start small and build your way up as your knowledge grows on each state’s tax code. But that will cut a lot of early growing potential, forcing several potential customers to shop at a competitor already prepared to meet their needs. A CPA will already have this information readily available! So you can take the customer’s order while the CPA advises you on how much tax you will owe.

Inventory Management

With a brick-and-mortar store, you could have hundreds of SKUs and price tags all in one place. With an eCommerce business, it is possible to have thousands more! You will need to keep track of:

• Product Location
• Warehouse Locations
• Transaction History
• Multiple Price Points
• Cost to Maintain Inventory

That is a lot of information to keep track of at once! With a CPA, you can pass the financial responsibility to them. They can not only keep track of how much you need to spend to maintain a healthy inventory, but they also help you cut purchasing costs.

3rd Party Fees

Creating a point of sale system is complicated. So most businesses will take advantage of an already existing one like Amazon or eBay. It might look easy, but a 3rd Party point of sale system will put the following costs on your shoulders:

• Sale Commission
• FBA Fees
• Advertising Costs

Sure, not all businesses will need to keep these costs in mind. But a good CPA will be able to tell you which of these expenditures are worth your time. They will already know the ins and outs of these systems.

Returns

In a dream world, all of your customers will be satisfied. But that will not happen. You will have to accept returns at some point. And who knows why the customer needs to bring the product back! A CPA will be ready to help you with whatever financial issue comes up from a return.

Whether you are just opening your business, implementing an eCommerce aspect to your current venture, or you have been an eCommerce retailer for years, a CPA will be able to help you navigate any financial complications that arise. The four issues outlined above can happen at any time, and a good CPA will be prepared for them when the issue comes up.