Accounting for E-Commerce & Shopify Brands

E-commerce is not a normal small business

Cash in the bank hides whether you're actually profitable

Inventory you paid for but haven't sold, marketplace fees, refunds, ad spend, and sales tax in a dozen states: on a cash basis it all blurs together and your "profit" is fiction. We put inventory and COGS on accrual, reconcile every channel's payouts, and handle sales-tax nexus, so you finally know your real margin and where you owe.

✓Real margin, on accrualCOGS recognized when you sell, not when you buy, so your profit is true and your pricing makes sense.
✓Sales tax under controlNexus reviewed, registrations handled, and filings kept current, before a state finds you first.

Talk to an e-commerce CPA

✓

Margin is realAccrual COGS

●

Sales tax handledNexus covered

★

Payouts reconciledEvery channel

What we handle for e-commerce

From the first sale to the exit

Channels

Shopify55%

Amazon33%

Other12%

✓Reconciled

Multi-channel books

Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, and PayPal payouts reconciled net of fees and refunds, all on one clean set of books.

Net sales+18%

$486,200

✓Tracked

Sales & cash flow

Topline by channel and the cash to fund inventory, so growth never quietly runs you out of stock or money.

Sales tax

11 states

Nexus reviewed & registered

✓Covered

Sales tax & nexus

Economic nexus reviewed across states, registrations handled, and filings kept current, so an audit isn't a crisis.

Gross margin

42%

Accrual COGS, landed cost

✓Accrual

Inventory & true margin

Inventory and COGS on accrual with landed cost, so your margin is real and your taxable income is right.

Selling into Canada or overseas (GST/HST, duties, and international payouts) gets the cross-border treatment on top. See cross-border →

Where to start

How online sellers usually engage us

Most start with the return and a sales-tax review, then grow into monthly books and a CFO view as the brand scales across channels.

Tax + sales-tax review

Start with a return, not a retainer

from $1,295

Your business return done right (C-corp from $2,495)
A sales-tax nexus review before a state finds you
No monthly commitment to begin
See tax & sales tax →

Start here

Monthly books + tax

When the store needs real margins

from $350/mo

Multi-channel bookkeeping (accrual COGS)
A CPA-reviewed close every month
Add tax + sales-tax filings on one bill
See the plans →

Start here

Fractional CFO

Scaling the brand

from $1,750/mo

Margin, SKU & channel analysis
Inventory & cash-flow planning
Investor- & lender-ready reporting
See fractional CFO →

Start here

Just launched on Shopify? We set up the entity, the books, and sales-tax tracking so it is right from your first sale (formation & tax). Not sure which? A short call sorts it, we will tell you the one thing worth fixing first.

Real work

What that looks like in practice

Shopify · inventory & margin

The bank lied; accrual told the truth.

A Shopify brand had cash in the bank and assumed it was profitable. On accrual, with inventory and COGS done right, the real margin told a different and fixable story.

✓

ResultA true margin by product, and pricing that finally made money.

Amazon · sales tax & nexus

Eleven states, cleaned up quietly.

An Amazon seller had crossed economic-nexus thresholds in a dozen states without registering. We reviewed the exposure, registered where required, and got filings current.

✓

ResultSales-tax exposure closed before a state came knocking.

Multi-channel · reconciliation

Payouts that finally tied to the bank.

A brand selling on Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe couldn't tie payouts to sales, so the books never matched the bank. We rebuilt the reconciliation channel by channel.

✓

ResultEvery payout tied out, and books they could finally trust.

Client engagements of the firm. Details anonymized.

What clients say

Sellers who stopped guessing whether they were profitable

G★★★★★ 5.0 from clients on Google

★★★★★

"On accrual, our 'profit' was smaller than the bank suggested, but at least it was real. We fixed our pricing and now we actually make money."

Sample client

Shopify brand owner

★★★★★

"They found we owed sales tax in eleven states and cleaned it up before any of them found us. That alone was worth it."

Sample client

Amazon seller

★★★★★

"Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe finally reconcile to the penny. I stopped guessing whether the books were even right."

Sample client

DTC founder

Sample layout. Real client reviews drop straight into this section once collected.

What you can count on

Built to standard, in writing

Inventory and COGS on accrual, sales tax under control, and one CPA from the first sale to the exit. The promises below are written into your engagement.

Margin you can trustInventory and COGS on accrual with landed cost, so your profit is real and your pricing decisions make sense.
Sales tax under controlNexus reviewed, registrations handled, and filings kept current, so a state or a marketplace audit isn't a crisis.
From the first sale to the exitThe same CPA from your first Shopify payout to a sale of the brand, so the books are always diligence-ready.

Engagement LetterBlue Cloud CPA

Our promise

Inventory and COGS on accrual, sales-tax nexus handled, and one CPA from the first sale to the exit.

Yarik Yarosh

CPA (US · Canada)

✓Signed

✓Built to standard

✓In writing

Who you work with

A CPA who knows e-commerce

Licensed CPAUS + Canada

First sale to exitKnows e-commerce

Your multi-channel books, your inventory and COGS, your sales-tax nexus, and your margin reporting are handled by Yarik Yarosh, a CPA licensed in both the United States and Canada who knows how an online store actually makes money, not a generalist treating deposits as profit. The same firm reconciles the channels, files the return, and handles sales tax, so your margin is real and your books are diligence-ready, and brands selling across the border get both countries in-house.

LicensureCPA (US) · CPA (Canada)

MembershipsAICPA · CPA Canada

FirmFlorida-licensed CPA firm

ProfileLinkedIn

Seller questions

Honest answers, up front

Do you actually know e-commerce, or just bookkeeping?

Both. We keep multi-channel books on accrual, reconcile Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe payouts, and we speak COGS, contribution margin, landed cost, and sales-tax nexus. The point is that you finally know your real margin and where you owe.

I have money in the bank. Why do I need accrual accounting?

Because cash hides inventory. On a cash basis, buying stock looks like a loss and selling old stock looks like pure profit. On accrual, COGS lands when you sell, so your margin is real and your taxes are right.

Where do I owe sales tax?

Wherever you've crossed economic nexus, which for most growing sellers is many states. We review your exposure, register where required, and keep filings current, including marketplace-facilitator rules for Amazon and others.

Can you reconcile Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe?

Yes. Payouts arrive net of fees, refunds, and chargebacks, which is why deposits never match sales. We reconcile each channel so your books tie to the bank to the penny.

I sell into Canada and overseas. Does that matter?

It can matter a lot, and cross-border is our specialty. International sales, GST/HST, and duties get the both-countries treatment on top of the e-commerce work, from a CPA licensed in both.

How do we get started?

A short call with a CPA who knows e-commerce. We'll tell you the one thing worth fixing first, and quote it before anything starts.

Scaling a store?Talk to a CPA who actually knows e-commerce.

Talk to an e-commerce CPA

Let's get the store's numbers right

A short call with a CPA who knows e-commerce. We'll tell you the one thing worth fixing first, and quote it before anything starts.

✓A CPA who speaks COGS, margin, and nexus
✓Inventory and COGS on accrual
✓Every channel reconciled to the bank
✓No payment until after the call

A CPA who knows e-commerceMulti-channel books, inventory, sales tax, and margin, handled by a licensed CPA, not a generalist bookkeeper.

Accrual COGSSales taxReconciled

Talk to an e-commerce CPA

Two quick steps, then pick a time. A short call with a CPA.