A company that sells online does its accounts like any trading company, with a few twists: the bank shows payouts rather than sales, goods still held at the year end are stock, and money the platform owed you at the year end is this year’s income. Start with how to do your company accounts as an online seller. The guides below cover payouts and fees, how to count and value stock, getting the figure from Amazon, Shopify, TikTok Shop, eBay and Etsy, dropshipping, stock you paid for yourself, and HMRC’s reports from selling platforms. How Fileyear handles it is on accounts for online sellers.
Selling online
Guides
How to do your company accounts as an online sellerFor a limited company selling on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Shopify or TikTok Shop. Bank payouts, platform fees, stock and money owed at the year end, then filing.Marketplace payouts and fees in your company accountsWhy your bank shows less than you sold on Amazon, eBay or Etsy, and how a company records full sales, refunds, platform fees and money owed at the year end.How to value your company’s stock at the year endStock goes in a small company’s accounts at the lower of what it cost and what it will sell for, less selling costs. What cost includes, write-downs and FIFO.Stock at Amazon FBA and other warehouses at your year endGoods in an Amazon fulfilment centre or a third-party warehouse are still your company’s stock at the year end. What counts, what doesn’t, and goods in transit.Closing stock for Amazon sellersHow a company selling on Amazon gets its year-end stock from Seller Central’s inventory ledger, adds what the goods cost, and puts it in its accounts.Closing stock for Shopify sellersShopify shows today’s stock, not last year end’s. How a limited company selling on Shopify gets its year-end stock figure, with costs, for its accounts.Closing stock for TikTok Shop sellersHow a limited company selling on TikTok Shop counts its stock at the year end, from the product export or a count, and values it for its accounts.Your eBay or Etsy limited company: sales, fees, payouts and stockHow a limited company selling through eBay or Etsy records gross sales, marketplace fees, unpaid payouts and year-end stock without counting anything twice.Dropshipping through a limited company: sales, supplier costs and no stockA dropshipping company holds no stock, but it still records sales in full and pays Corporation Tax on its profit. How sales, supplier costs and fees go in.How stock affects your company’s Corporation TaxClosing stock lowers this year’s costs, so it raises profit and Corporation Tax. Goods a director takes count at market value. What happens when trading stops.Bought stock or paid company costs on your personal card?When a director buys stock or pays a company cost with their own money, it’s still the company’s cost and the company owes them. How it goes in the accounts.HMRC’s digital platform reporting: what it means for a limited company sellerSince 2024, platforms like Amazon, eBay, Etsy and Vinted report sellers’ income to HMRC. The thresholds, what a limited company should do, and HMRC letters.