Start with sales, not payouts

Export the platform’s payment or account report for the company’s full accounting period. Include all the company’s marketplace accounts. Keep gross sales, refunds, fees and payouts separate. Postage charged to buyers forms part of what they paid; delivery costs are recorded separately1.

For example, £50,000 sales less £2,000 refunds and £6,000 fees leaves £42,000 due from the marketplace. If £41,500 reached the bank and £500 remains owed at year-end, the £500 is a debtor. Opening balances owed from last year must also be reconciled. Do not count payouts of last year’s sales again as this year’s sales3.

Read marketplace payouts and fees for the reconciliation. A matching bank total does not prove that an incomplete sales report contains the whole year.

Check your company’s dates and set a reminder

Search the Companies House register. Your company page shows its filing dates, what to file next and a reminder you can set.

The export differs by platform

On eBay, payment reports from Seller Hub show sales, fees, refunds and payouts. On Etsy, use the account’s payment statements for each month in the period. Download every part needed to cover the year and keep the report’s selected start and end dates. Resolve unmatched payments, currency differences and reserves before adopting the totals.

If the shop is registered in a director’s personal name but the sales belong to the company, check the platform’s business details. Platforms report information they hold to HMRC; that report does not replace the company’s accounts or Company Tax Return4.

Count what the company owns

Include unsold goods at home, a warehouse or a fulfilment centre, and goods in transit where ownership remains with the company. Etsy manufacturers also include materials, part-made goods and finished goods. Exclude stock held for somebody else2.

Value stock at cost, or estimated selling price less completion and selling costs if lower. A listing’s retail price is not its cost. Use purchase records and a count dated for the year-end. A later count needs the cost of movements since the year-end, not one average price across unrelated products2.

See how to value stock. Fileyear’s online sellers page explains the supported stock and payout inputs. This guide is for a limited company; a shop trading personally follows different Income Tax rules.