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Everything we wish someone had told sellers before their first settlement report: Amazon, Shopify and TikTok Shop bookkeeping, COGS, sales tax nexus and Form 5472.

WHAT YOU SOLD vs WHAT YOU BANKED GMV 18,204.90 Net deposit 12,847.33 netted out first 5,357.57 commission affiliate payouts refunds & reserve Book the deposit as revenue and you lose 29% of your sales figure — plus every expense line that explains where it went.

TIKTOK SHOP·8 min

TikTok Shop Bookkeeping: The Complete Guide for Sellers

How to record TikTok Shop settlements in QuickBooks Online correctly: creator commissions, fees, refunds and reserves — and why your deposit is not your revenue.

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Deposit$41,209 Gross sales Fees & commissions Advertising Refunds & reserves Reimbursements reconciled ✓

AMAZON·7 min

How to Record Amazon Settlements in QuickBooks Online

Amazon pays you every two weeks with fees, ads, refunds and reserves already deducted. Here's how to book FBA settlements correctly in QuickBooks Online.

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Shopify Amazon TikTok Shop One clean P&Lmargin by channel Shopify 31%Amazon 22%TikTok 15%

SHOPIFY·6 min

Shopify Bookkeeping: How to Set Up QuickBooks the Right Way

Shopify payouts are not revenue. How to connect Shopify to QuickBooks Online properly: payouts, fees, refunds, sales tax and multi-gateway reconciliation.

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Foreign owner(non-US resident) owns 25%+ US LLCsingle-member Form 5472+ pro-forma1120, yearly

COMPLIANCE·7 min

Form 5472 for Foreign-Owned LLCs: The $25,000 Mistake to Avoid

Non-US owner of a single-member US LLC? You likely must file Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 every year — even with zero income. Penalty: $25,000.

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Economic nexus: where your sales create tax duties YourLLC CA TX NY FL $100k sales or 200 transactions in a state = likely nexus

SALES TAX·6 min

Sales Tax Nexus for E-commerce: Where You Owe Tax and Why

Economic nexus means online sellers can owe sales tax in states they've never visited. Thresholds, marketplace facilitator rules, and how to stay compliant.

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Reported margin: cash vs accrual COGS Jan Feb Mar cash basis (swings)accrual (true margin)

COGS·6 min

Cash vs Accrual for E-commerce: Why Your Margin Swings 20 Points

Cash-basis inventory makes great months look terrible and bad months look great. How accrual COGS reveals your real e-commerce margins.

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months of messy books rebuilt month by month ✓

CLEANUP·6 min

Months Behind on Your Books? The Catch-Up Playbook for Sellers

A step-by-step playbook to rebuild months (or years) of e-commerce bookkeeping before tax season — and what a cleanup should cost.

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DIY$0 + errors software-led$99-300 specialist firm$400-950 in-house hire$4,000+/mo

PRICING·6 min

How Much Does E-commerce Bookkeeping Cost in 2026?

Real price ranges for e-commerce bookkeeping: DIY, software-led services, specialist firms and in-house — and how order volume changes the math.

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Year-end countdown for e-commerce sellers Oct-Novcatch up + clean up Decemberyear-end close + W-9s Jan 311099s due ⚠

YEAR-END·6 min

Year-End Close Checklist for E-commerce Sellers

A practical Q4 checklist: catch up the books, count inventory, collect W-9s, meet the January 31 1099 deadline and hand your CPA a tax-ready file.

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THEIR PLATFORM your books, their login provider shuts down → gone YOUR QUICKBOOKS your file, your login accountant leaves → books stay Bench, December 2024: thousands of businesses learned the difference overnight.

CHOOSING·6 min

After Bench: How to Choose a Bookkeeper You Won't Lose

Bench shut down overnight and locked 12,000 businesses out of their books. Here's how e-commerce sellers can choose a bookkeeping service that can't disappear with their data.

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