Anyone who has launched an e-commerce business from the ground up may not initially understand how complicated finances can become without an accounting strategy in place. The joy of rapid growth and success can turn into confusion and stress if you don’t come up with an accurate, efficient and secure way to reconcile matters including your banking or PayPal account, tax filings, financial statements and projected sales in pending shopping carts.
If you need something more advanced than an Excel spreadsheet and more affordable than hiring a CPA, you have a few options for managing your essential accounting matters.
Your Ecommerce Business Can Benefit from Accounting Software or a Virtual Accountant
As consumers spend more time shopping online, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses of all sizes need to reevaluate their financial management system. If your company has recently experienced rapid growth, you may find that you face a complex series of accounting obligations that surpass your staff’s capabilities, whether due to lack of time or training. There are two solutions available to help you manage your financial resources, keep track of your financial health and plan for the future.
Accounting Software
Accounting software has become widely available for eCommerce businesses and is a type of computer program developed to assist accountants and bookkeepers in day-to-day financial recording and reporting. (1) It allows for detailed tracking of financial transactions and speedy reporting and analysis. Ecommerce accounting software generally offers some unique features that help to reconcile factors, including online store-related sales versus any in-store purchases and applicable taxes for customers or your business in either case.
Explore a few key features of accounting software:
• Platform integrations that work with platforms like Shopify, Squarespace and BigCommerce
• Comprehensive reports
• 24/7 customer service
An accounting software solution often works best when you have a team—even a small group—of experienced accountants or bookkeepers who can easily manage the selected program.
Virtual Accountant
A virtual accountant, or a virtual accounting service, takes things further, offering you a broader array of bookkeeping, accounting and CFO solutions. If you do not yet have accounting staff or are just getting your team up-to-speed, you probably need more than a software program. The right virtual accountant can offer you significant cost savings while streamlining your processes and creating efficiency for your e-commerce business. (2) Better still, the top virtual accounting businesses use the best accounting software and use it to benefit your business. Here are a few additional features virtual accountant programs offer:
• An affordable monthly price
• Tax-ready financial statements
• Accurate monthly accounting
• Credit card reconciliations
• Bank reconciliations
• Financial analyses to monitor business performance
• Use of industry-respected programs such as Quickbooks, Wave, Xero and Sage
• Accounting team members with an average of a minimum of 10 years in accounting, bookkeeping and CFO professions
Which Accounting Solution Fits Your Ecommerce Business Needs?
If you are still trying to decide what works best for your e-commerce business, contact us to discuss our specially tailored virtual accounting solutions. (3) Our talented team uses a variety of accounting applications that defy the “one size fits all” philosophy to help your business stay financially healthy and competitive.
Sources
(1) https://www.investopedia.com/terms/a/accounting-software.asp
(2) https://abusinessmanager.com/about-us/
(3) https://abusinessmanager.com/contact-us/