How to choose ecommerce accounting services

When comparing ecommerce accounting providers, ask to see how they connect sales, payouts, inventory and the monthly financial reports. A proposal should identify the accounts covered, the records required, the reports you receive and who resolves differences.

For a CPG brand selling through Shopify, Amazon and wholesale, the service needs to fit both the sales channels and the inventory records. Use the questions below to compare proposals on the same basis.

Choose the work your business needs

Providers use terms such as bookkeeping, monthly close and advisory differently. Ask what each service includes in the proposed engagement.

• Bookkeeping and reconciliations: recording activity and comparing account balances with supporting records. Confirm whether the scope includes sales-channel clearing accounts and inventory, as well as bank and credit card accounts.
• Monthly close and reporting: completing agreed period-end work, preparing financial reports and supporting schedules, and explaining unresolved items. Ask who reviews the work and when you can discuss the results.
• Accounting advisory: analysis for a decision, such as product margins, a budget or the cash needed for an inventory order. Name each deliverable, its assumptions and how often it will be updated.

You may be able to keep your existing bookkeeper and engage a CPA for monthly close or advisory work. Agree the handoffs so both parties know who maintains the records, proposes corrections and answers questions.

Compare six parts of the monthly service

1. Sales and payout reconciliation

Ask the provider to explain the path from customer activity to the bank deposit. The reconciliation should account for the relevant refunds, fees, reserves, disputes and timing differences. Wholesale invoices and collections need their own reconciliation.

Ask for: a sample reconciliation showing the source reports, the ledger balance, outstanding items and follow-up responsibility. Confirm which channels and payment processors are included.

See an illustrative Shopify payout reconciliation and the multi-channel monthly close process.

2. Inventory and cost of goods sold

Ask how the provider connects inventory quantities and values to the accounting records. Establish which records come from your inventory system, warehouse, marketplace or co-packer, and how purchases, movements, adjustments and ending stock will be checked.

Ask for: a sample inventory reconciliation, the records needed to support costs, and an explanation of how differences are investigated. Clarify who performs physical counts and who maintains operational stock records. An accounting engagement does not automatically include those tasks.

Ask the provider to explain the accounting basis used and the limits of the records available. Read more about inventory, cost of goods sold and product margins.

3. Close schedule and unresolved items

A reporting date is useful only when responsibilities are clear. Ask when your records are due, which checks happen before reports are delivered, and how late information affects the schedule.

Ask for: a close checklist and an example of an open-item list. Each unresolved difference should have an amount where known, a source reference, an owner and a next step. Ask how the provider communicates limitations that affect the reports.

Use this month-end close schedule to discuss the sequence of work.

4. Financial reports and margin definitions

Confirm the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the fee. If you need product or channel profitability, ask how sales and costs are assigned and which costs each margin measure deducts. Different definitions can produce different answers from the same records.

Ask for: a sample reporting package and a written definition of each margin measure. Identify allocations, estimates and missing information. Agree how changes in results will be discussed.

5. Budgets and cash forecasts

Confirm whether planning is included or quoted separately. A cash forecast needs expected receipt and payment dates, including inventory deposits, supplier balances, payroll and other commitments. Ask how the forecast will be updated when actual results differ from assumptions.

Ask for: the forecast horizon, update frequency, assumptions and a scenario such as later wholesale collections. Identify who supplies purchase plans and customer payment information, and who decides how to respond to a cash gap.

See cash flow forecasting for ecommerce and an illustrative growth plan with a slower-collection scenario.

6. People, fees and boundaries

Find out who will do the work, who will review it and who will discuss the results with you. Compare total scope and responsibilities alongside price.

Ask for: a written proposal covering the recurring fee, setup or diagnostic work, historical cleanup, software charges, reporting schedule and additional work. Confirm how you can obtain your records if the engagement ends. Tax preparation, audit and other assurance services should not be assumed to be part of monthly accounting.

What to bring to the first conversation

• Your sales channels, payment processors, accounting software and inventory systems.
• The latest available financial reports and the date through which accounts have been reconciled.
• The inventory records you maintain and any known differences from the books.
• Your bookkeeper's current responsibilities and the work you want to hand over.
• The next decision you need help with, such as pricing a wholesale order or funding a production run.

Use secure access agreed with the provider when sharing records. The initial conversation can establish the scope without sending customer-level or other confidential details.

How Beamarc approaches CPG and ecommerce accounting

Beamarc provides bookkeeping, monthly close and accounting advisory for owner-led CPG and ecommerce businesses. You work directly with Sema Koch, CPA, and can keep your existing bookkeeper involved.

Before recurring monthly work, a separately quoted, paid diagnostic assesses the records and produces written findings. Responsibilities, deliverables, reporting dates and fees are then agreed in writing. Cleanup and additional work are agreed separately; tax preparation has a separate engagement. Beamarc does not provide audit or attestation services.

Explore Beamarc's CPG and ecommerce accounting services or request a consultation. Bring one reporting problem or upcoming decision so the conversation can focus on the work you need.

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