Six ways a bookkeeper can help an online retailer
The value of a bookkeeper to online retailers and sellers.
It’s fair to say that nowadays many people are well-versed in buying products and services online. With a massive shift in consumer behaviour over the last few years, the UK now boasts the third-largest e-commerce market globally, with a substantial portion of retail sales online. In fact, by 2023, nearly 60 million people in the UK were e-commerce users, and this number is projected to continue to grow.
For online sellers or businesses that sell products or services through the internet using digital platforms, websites, or apps, from small independent entrepreneurs on Etsy or eBay to large companies operating full-scale e-commerce websites like Amazon or Shopify stores, there can be great value in employing the help of a dedicated bookkeeper.
In this blog post, we examine the services offered by bookkeeping professionals that benefit sellers in digital spaces and six ways a bookkeeper can help an online retailer.
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Daily Financial Tracking
For any business, having a good oversight of your daily incomings and outgoings is of great benefit. Particularly for online sellers, where transactions aren’t completed physically with cold, hard cash, keeping track of your expenses is vital.
With a bookkeeper, you maintain daily visibility of your expenditure, helping you to prioritise your spending, track your results, and assess changes you need to make to achieve your goals and create the financial future you want.
Beyond the day-to-day, it also enables you to be forward-thinking and prepare for the future by facilitating the construction of an emergency fund, giving you a cushion to fall back on during unexpected twists and turns in your business journey.
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Sales Tax Compliance
For online sellers, compliance is essential. However, it can also be complex. With the help of a bookkeeper, online retailers can maintain consistent compliance with changing legislation and requirements for sales tax, like VAT and other charges that may be incurred on their online orders.
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Managing Cash Flow
Staying out of the red is a universal goal for all businesses, as naturally, everyone wants to avoid cash flow problems. However, due to their size and access (or often lack thereof) to financial resources, SMEs are typically disproportionately affected by negative cash flow.
While bigger businesses may have funds allowing for a stopgap between late payments, smaller businesses, like many independent online sellers, are more reliant on their projected monthly income. The help of a bookkeeper can also support you in securing finance, attracting investors, negotiating with suppliers and winning new business by achieving a good business credit rating through maintaining good cash flow.
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Tax-ready Financials
A huge event for all businesses in the UK is the regular dates in the financial calendar by which you must have your business’s financials ready for tax return, particularly the infamous January Self-Assessment tax returns.
As bookkeepers, experts like those across the nation at Rosemary Bookkeeping can help online sellers prepare and get ahead of these busy and mentally taxing dates by preparing a Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss report, so your financials are tax return ready and then prepare said tax return from those financial reports, so you don’t have to worry about the complex and mentally draining process yourself.
Beyond this, they can organise your financial information and bits and pieces like receipts, tax documents, gather all your business expenses and ensure they are all in one place, review your invoices and send reminders to your clients and clients to further improve your cash flow.
This can also include…
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Reconciliation
Online retailers can utilise bookkeeping experts to ensure their finances are all joined up. With the support of a bookkeeper, online retailers can easily navigate the final process of reconciling their bank statements and compare statements to ensure all their transactions are accurate and accounted for.
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Software set up
Particularly as legislation like Making Tax Digital come into force across the UK, becoming literate in online accounting software is essential for business owners like online sellers.
Bookkeeping professionals like Rosemary Bookkeeping are experts in many different software across the financial world, from Xero and Intuit QuickBooks to Sage, FreeAgent and more. So, if getting set up on software in time for MTD deadlines and to streamline your accounting processes for your online business seems like a struggle, your local bookkeeper should be your next call.
Need help with your bookkeeping?
With many benefits to using a bookkeeper to support your online business, take the stress out of your business operations by leaving your bookkeeping to the professionals.
To learn more about our services and how Rosemary Bookkeeping can help you, call 0345 862 0072 or find your nearest Rosemary Bookkeeper today.
