Picture this; you wake up on your first day as a Shopify seller. The excitement of launching your online store is in the air. You have spent weeks designing the perfect website, curating products, and setting up marketing strategies. As your orders begin to pour in, you start thinking of your finances. Here’s where Shopify bookkeeping is needed.

You may feel the thrill of your business coming to life, but between all the buzz and excitement, finances can become a real challenge. Shopify bookkeeping is quite essential if you want to ensure your business is a success in the long run. Without an accounting system you can rely on, tracking expenses, revenues, and profits can quickly become overwhelming.

What is E-commerce Accounting?

Your first few days as an e-commerce business owner are surely going to be a whirlwind of activity. You’re packaging orders, responding to customer inquiries, and updating inventory. It’s exhilarating but also overwhelming.

Amidst this excitement, the realization hits that managing the financial side of your business is something you haven’t really planned for. You need to track your sales, manage your inventory, handle returns and refunds, and ensure tax compliance. This is where effective Shopify bookkeeping becomes indispensable.

Before you dive in, however, it is essential to learn just what e-commerce accounting means;

E-commerce accounting refers to the recording, analyzing, and managing of financial transactions in an online business. Unlike the requirements imposed on traditional accounting, e-commerce accounting is burdened with the highly complex world of online sales that includes multiple payment gateways, digital products, and global transactions.

It also includes tracking sales, managing inventory, handling returns and refunds, and ensuring tax compliance. Proper bookkeeping for Shopify ensures that all these elements are accurately recorded, providing a clear financial picture of the business.

What Does Shopify Bookkeeping Consist Of?

E-commerce bookkeeping for Shopify is made up of several components, all of which are equally important;

• Sales Tracking: Recording all sales transactions, including date, amount, customer details, and payment method. This is essential for understanding your revenue streams and ensuring accurate financial reporting.
• Expense Management: Monitoring and categorizing business expenses such as shipping, marketing, and operational costs. Proper expense management helps in maintaining profitability and controlling costs.
• Inventory Management: Keeping track of stock levels, cost of goods sold (COGS), and inventory valuation. Effective inventory management ensures you have the right products in stock and reduces the risk of overstocking or stockouts.
• Tax Management: Calculating sales tax, VAT, and other applicable taxes based on the location of sales. Tax management is crucial for compliance with local and international tax regulations.
• Financial Reporting: Generating financial statements like profit and loss (P&L) statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. These reports provide insights into your business’s financial health and help in strategic decision-making.
• Bank Reconciliation: Ensuring that bank statements match the recorded transactions in the accounting system. Regular bank reconciliations help identify discrepancies and maintain accurate financial records.

Steps to Set Up a Shopify Bookkeeping System

Setting up an effective Shopify bookkeeping system involves several key steps:

1. Choose an Accounting Method

Decide between cash-basis accounting (recording transactions when cash changes hands) and accrual-basis accounting (recording transactions when they occur, regardless of cash flow). Accrual accounting is generally preferred for e-commerce businesses as it provides a more accurate picture of financial performance.

2. Select Accounting Software

Use reliable accounting software that integrates with Shopify without any major hiccups. Popular choices include QuickBooks, Xero, and FreshBooks. These platforms offer various features that are just perfect for all your e-commerce needs, such as automated invoicing, expense tracking, and financial reporting.

3. Set Up a Chart of Accounts

Bookkeeping for Shopify should include creating a detailed chart of accounts that is specified to your e-commerce business, categorizing assets, liabilities, equity, income, and expenses. A well-structured chart of accounts can help you organize that financial data and simplify reporting for your business.

4. Integrate Shopify with Accounting Software

Connect your Shopify store with your chosen accounting software to automate data transfer and reduce manual entry errors. Integration ensures that sales, expenses, and inventory data are automatically updated in your accounting system.

5. Record Opening Balances

Enter the initial balances for your accounts to establish a baseline for tracking financial transactions. This includes your starting inventory, cash on hand, and any initial investments or loans.

6. Automate Invoicing and Payments

Set up automated invoicing and payment processing to restructure cash flow management. Automated systems reduce the risk of human error and ensure timely invoicing and payment collection.

7. Track Inventory

Use inventory management tools to monitor stock levels, manage reorders, and calculate COGS accurately. Proper inventory tracking helps prevent stockouts and overstocking, optimizing your inventory investment.

8. Reconcile Accounts Regularly

Perform regular bank reconciliations to ensure all transactions are accurately recorded and discrepancies are resolved promptly. Regular reconciliations help maintain accurate financial records and identify any potential issues early.

How Can Cloud Accounting Software Help?

Cloud accounting software offers numerous benefits for Shopify bookkeeping:

• Accessibility: Access your financial data from anywhere, anytime, using any device with an internet connection. This flexibility is particularly useful for e-commerce businesses operating in different time zones and locations.
• Automation: Automate repetitive tasks such as data entry, invoicing, and bank reconciliation, saving time and reducing errors. Automation streamlines your bookkeeping processes and allows you to focus on growing your business.
• Real-Time Insights: Get real-time financial insights with up-to-date reports and dashboards, helping you make informed business decisions. Real-time data allows you to monitor your business performance closely and adjust your strategies accordingly.
• Integration: Integrate your business with Shopify and other e-commerce platforms, payment gateways, and third-party apps. Integration reduces the need for manual data entry and ensures that all your financial data is consolidated in one place.
• Scalability: Easily scale your accounting system as your business grows, without the need for significant infrastructure changes. Cloud accounting software can handle increasing transaction volumes as well as a considerable increase in complexity as your business expands.
• Collaboration: Allow multiple users to collaborate on the same financial data, ensuring everyone is on the same page. This feature is particularly useful for businesses with remote teams or multiple departments involved in financial management.
• Security: Benefit from advanced security features such as data encryption, regular backups, and secure access controls. Cloud accounting software providers invest in robust security measures to protect your financial data from unauthorized access and cyber threats.

Why Would Hiring a Professional for Shopify Bookkeeping Help?

While cloud accounting software can help you manage bookkeeping for Shopify, hiring a professional accountant or bookkeeper can assist you with learning strategies that get you more control over your Shopify business:

Expertise

Professionals bring special backgrounds and knowledge to the table which makes e-commerce accounting easier to manage. They can ensure accurate and compliant financial management. They are also well-versed in the unique financial challenges that e-commerce businesses face, such as managing inventory, handling multiple payment gateways, and tracking online sales tax.

E-commerce accountants are familiar with the unique regulations that apply to e-commerce business owners and can help you stay compliant with laws and guidelines that affect your business. They keep abreast of changes in financial legislation, ensuring your business remains compliant and avoids costly fines and penalties.

The ability to optimize your bookkeeping practices is another significant benefit of working with e-commerce accounting professionals. They are used to implementing best practices and utilizing advanced software. This not only increases the chances of you getting accurate financial records at the end of the year but also improves your overall efficiency, allowing you to focus more on strategic business decisions.

Time-Saving

Outsourcing bookkeeping tasks frees up your time to focus on core business activities, such as marketing and product development. Handling your own bookkeeping can be time-consuming and distract you from the more critical aspects of running your business. By delegating these tasks to experts, you can ensure that your financial management is handled efficiently and accurately.

Delegating financial management to professionals allows you to concentrate on growing your business. When you are not bogged down with bookkeeping, you can dedicate more time to activities that drive revenue and expansion. This includes strategizing new product launches, enhancing customer experiences, and improving your marketing efforts.

Moreover, time saved from bookkeeping can be invested in innovation and strategic planning. As a business owner, your focus should be on steering your company towards its goals and vision. Outsourcing bookkeeping tasks ensures that your financial records are in capable hands, giving you the freedom to develop and implement growth strategies without the distraction of day-to-day financial management.

Financial Strategy

Expert assistance with Shopify for bookkeeping gets you valuable financial insights and advice, helping you develop strategies to take your profitability and growth to the next level. They can analyze your financial data to identify trends, strengths, and weaknesses, providing you with insights you can work with to grow. This detailed analysis also allows you to make informed decisions that improve your company’s performance.

Error Reduction

Professional oversight reduces the risk of errors and discrepancies in your financial records. Accurate Shopify bookkeeping is essential for maintaining financial integrity and avoiding issues with tax authorities and stakeholders. Expert bookkeepers can use their expertise and advanced tools to ensure that all financial transactions are recorded correctly and consistently.

Accurate bookkeeping is crucial for making informed business decisions. Errors in financial records can lead to incorrect financial statements, which can mislead management and investors. By having professionals handle your bookkeeping, you can trust that your financial data is reliable, enabling you to make sound business decisions based on accurate information.

Peace of Mind

Knowing that your finances are in expert hands gives you peace of mind and confidence in your business operations. Managing the financial aspects of a business can be stressful, especially if you are not well-versed in accounting principles.

Hiring professionals to handle your bookkeeping alleviates this stress, allowing you to focus on what you do best – running your business.

A professional accountant can also complex financial tasks, providing assurance that your financial records are accurate and compliant. They take care of everything from daily transactions to preparing financial statements, ensuring that your books are always up to date.

Final Thoughts

By understanding e-commerce accounting, setting up a reliable accounting system, utilizing the right cloud accounting software, and relying on professional help, you can ensure accurate financial management and focus on growing your business.

Start your Shopify journey with confidence, knowing that your finances are well-managed and your business is on the path to success. Take the first step by contacting Monily’s experts and handing over your Shopify expenses to professionals who know what they’re doing!

Farwah Jafri

Farwah Jafri is a financial management expert and Product Owner at Monily, where she leads financial services for small and medium businesses. With over a decade of experience, including a directorial role at Arthur Lawrence UK Ltd., she specializes in bookkeeping, payroll, and financial analytics. Farwah holds an MBA from Alliance Manchester Business School and a BS in Computer Software Engineering. Based in Houston, Texas, she is dedicated to helping businesses better their financial operations.