A seller with a Shopify store, an Amazon account, eBay listings and an Etsy shop has four sources of sales, four fee structures, four payout schedules and four sets of VAT reports. Without a consistent set-up, month-end turns into rebuilding spreadsheets, and nobody knows which channel actually makes money.
What the accounts need
| Requirement | Why |
|---|---|
| A clearing account per channel | each payout can be matched to its own report and the balance explained |
| Sales accounts or tracking by channel | gross margin by channel, not just in total |
| Fee accounts by type | referral, transaction, processing, advertising, fulfilment |
| One VAT code set for all channels | the same product taxed the same way everywhere |
| Stock valued once, centrally | inventory does not depend on which platform sells it |
Accounting software for multi-channel selling should import each platform’s settlement or transaction data into that structure, rather than posting net payouts.
Channel-specific quirks
- Amazon settles every two weeks, with reserves and fulfilment fees; see Amazon seller accounting.
- eBay pays out on a schedule from managed payments, with labels and promoted listing fees deducted; see eBay managed payments.
- Etsy separates listing, transaction and processing fees; see Etsy Payments reconciliation.
- Shopify payouts mix orders from several days and other gateways settle separately; see Shopify payouts and VAT.
Marketplaces also act as the deemed supplier for some sales and collect the VAT themselves. The seller’s records must show which sales those are, so the VAT is not declared twice.
Stock across channels
When the same stock is listed on several platforms, an inventory or listing tool usually keeps quantities in sync. For the accounts, three things matter at month end:
- One stock figure: the stock count or the inventory system’s valuation is the figure for the balance sheet, whatever each platform reports.
- Stock at fulfilment centres: goods held in Amazon’s warehouses are still the seller’s stock; include them, valued at cost.
- Cost of sales by channel: if the inventory system records the cost of each item sold, cost of sales can be split by channel; otherwise allocate it using sales mix and note the method.
Returns, damaged goods reimbursed by a marketplace and stock written off should be posted every month, not left for the year-end count.
A monthly close for multi-channel sellers
- Import sales, refunds and fees for every channel.
- Match each payout to the bank and explain each clearing balance.
- Agree the VAT on sales to each platform’s tax report.
- Update stock and cost of sales.
- Review margin by channel after fees and advertising.
For the inventory accounts themselves, see inventory accounts in the chart of accounts; for e-commerce more broadly, e-commerce accounting.