E-Commerce Accounting

[dino.abraham]

Hey all!

I own a website which sells products. I get all payments through paypal and also pay for stock etc through paypal (they take a fee). They are all immediate transactions so there is no 'accounts payable' etc. I am the only 'employee' so no payments like that. Its a sole trader so no stock/dividends and so on.

I need to create financial statements (been running since April) but Ive downloaded several programmes but none make sense. Is there a simple software out there - or excel template - which can help me?

Income: direct sales from the website, amazon sales
Expenditure: google ads for advertising, inventory/cost of stock, franchise fee, envelopes to post the goods. thats basically the whole business! haha

EACH SALE VARIES in terms of total spent as depending on what postage option they pick, the net total i receive will vary. So I cannot multiply the price of the item by the quantity sold or anything like that. UNLESS i separate the cost of postage which is extra effort!

I need to do this so I know how much tax I need to pay (if any).

If there is a software where i can 'sync' my paypal to the software so i don't need to type every transaction that would be great! If not I can input everything individually - no worries there.

Can someone please help me?

 

[dino.abraham]

Btw I am in the UK and on a Mac so QuickBooks doesn't work

 

[antropy]

Btw I am in the UK and on a Mac so QuickBooks doesn't work

That's probably a good thing, several accountants have advised me against QuickBooks.

I use GnuCash and I'm very happy with how it works but it's not for the faint hearted, you need to know about double-entry book keeping and for some features you actually have to know Regular Expressions which are quite an esoteric part of programming (luckily I've got a software development background).

I'd say that it may be worth getting a copy of Sage 50. That seems to be the industry standard for small businesses and any good accountant should know it.

Also www.Xero.com is worth a look for an online solution that syncs with your online back account - I've just checked and it also syncs with PayPal http://www.xero.com/accounting-software/bank-reconciliation/

I've actually spoken to the director of Xero on these forums so they're very contactable and helpful. I expect at some point I'll switch from GnuCash to Xero.

 

[dino.abraham]

I've actually spoken to the director of Xero on these forums so they're very contactable and helpful. I expect at some point I'll switch from GnuCash to Xero.

Cool I'm going to look into Xero.
Sage 50 - tried this - doesn't work on a Mac!

Edit: Just saw that Xero is online only? They don't have software?

 

[a1anm]

I use Clearbooks.co.uk and I'm really happy with it. It allows you to import your PayPal transactions in to it directly.

 

[dino.abraham]

I use Clearbooks.co.uk and I'm really happy with it. It allows you to import your PayPal transactions in to it directly.

Is there no software based solution?

 

[a1anm]

Is there no software based solution?

No, it's all web based.

 

[dino.abraham]

You don't know of any software that will work on a mac? Im happy to pay for it just don't know what to get...

 

[johndon68]

I've not used it (other than a quick trial) but Solar Accounts http://www.solaraccounts.co.uk/ offer a native Mac version of their software. From the little I've seen of it, it appears to be simple enough.

John

 

[andygambles]

You could also check out Kashflow as they have a PayPal importer that will pull in all your transactions for you.

 

[dino.abraham]

From the little I've seen of it, it appears to be simple enough.

John

This is what I was looking for! Thanks

 

[antropy]

Just saw that Xero is online only? They don't have software?

Is this a problem though? Web applications like this are the future as broadband speeds increase and internet connectivity gets more and more ubiquitous. There are lots of advantages and just two drawbacks:

1. Without an Internet connection they don't work.
2. They don't yet have all the same functionality.

Well who can run a business without the internet these days? And HTML5 is starting to close the gap between what web software can do and what desktop software can do. There's even an online version of Photoshop http://pixlr.com/editor/ that works pretty well!

So don't let Xero put you off by being web based only.

I'm very surprised to hear that there isn't a Mac compatible version of Sage 50 but it appears you're correct!
http://www.sage.co.uk/helpcentre?doc=software-mac-compatible

 

[johndon68]

I'm very surprised to hear that there isn't a Mac compatible version of Sage 50 but it appears you're correct!
http://www.sage.co.uk/helpcentre?doc=software-mac-compatible

Sage did have a Mac specific version of Sage 50 but they dropped it around 15 years ago due to a lack of interest at the time.

John

 

[dino.abraham]

Tried Solar Accounts 3 - good software but doesn't do the cash flow statement. Also - for 1 paypal transaction - I have to fill out several forms!

Is there no other free software out there? Or even a cheap paid one that I can buy? (that will work on a Mac)

Thanks!

 

[antropy]

Not keen on Xero then? lol

 

[da8iwr]

We had the same problems as the OP, we were running multiple online websites, maintaining hundreds of websites, and there was no bookkeeping system in place to do your accounts.

We didn't want to use SaaS (software as a solution) like KashFlow, Sage Online, etc, as you are trapped using that company, they are expensive over time, you have no freedom to modify or alter it, and what happens if they close down, or they are hacked? You lose everything and have nothing left. SaaS software is only good for one person, and that is the provider of that software. It is easy to maintain, support, host, bill and traps the customer with them.

We didn't want desktop software, as we use mainly Macs for everything, but have a handful of Windows machines. Also if it is on my work machine, how do i update my accounts from home, on holiday, on the sofa, if the software is on one machine. I wanted my machine, my sales staff, my accounts dept to have access, all to be synced and all to be live.

So 2yrs ago, we started making online bookkeeping software, which plugs into your website and allows it to sync with the eccomerce invoices, allow you to ask for payments directly, also to Sync with PayPal and download all payments into the accounts and has a full address book which is very similar to the way Macs Address book works and looks to hold suppliers and customers. We made it for our own internal use, but then started giving it away to good customers and have now released it to the public to use.

The link is in my signature, it is free and open source.

 

[dino.abraham]

We had the same problems as the OP, we were running multiple online websites, maintaining hundreds of websites, and there was no bookkeeping system in place to do your accounts.

We didn't want to use SaaS (software as a solution) like KashFlow, Sage Online, etc, as you are trapped using that company, they are expensive over time, you have no freedom to modify or alter it, and what happens if they close down, or they are hacked? You lose everything and have nothing left. SaaS software is only good for one person, and that is the provider of that software. It is easy to maintain, support, host, bill and traps the customer with them.

We didn't want desktop software, as we use mainly Macs for everything, but have a handful of Windows machines. Also if it is on my work machine, how do i update my accounts from home, on holiday, on the sofa, if the software is on one machine. I wanted my machine, my sales staff, my accounts dept to have access, all to be synced and all to be live.

So 2yrs ago, we started making online bookkeeping software, which plugs into your website and allows it to sync with the eccomerce invoices, allow you to ask for payments directly, also to Sync with PayPal and download all payments into the accounts and has a full address book which is very similar to the way Macs Address book works and looks to hold suppliers and customers. We made it for our own internal use, but then started giving it away to good customers and have now released it to the public to use.

The link is in my signature, it is free and open source.

Thanks for this! Will try tomorrow morning

 

[antropy]

The link is in my signature, it is free and open source.

Nice decision to open source it! And really great answer to the OP!

 

[dino.abraham]

Anyone got any other solutions? online will be fine... so long as its free please!

 

[Brightpearl]

All the solutions previously mentioned could work well for you. Going off on a bit of a tangent is Brightpearl as not only would it be your accounts but it syncs all your business processes from orders and inventory across multiple sales channels (online & offline) to customers (CRM) and full accounting system. So your accounts and reports are available in real time at the click of a button!

Check out www.brightpearl.co.uk for more detail. I recommend you read through the customer section to get a feel for how it works, and you can take out a 30 day free trial to test it out for yourself!

 

[dino.abraham]

All the solutions previously mentioned could work well for you. Going off on a bit of a tangent is Brightpearl as not only would it be your accounts but it syncs all your business processes from orders and inventory across multiple sales channels (online & offline) to customers (CRM) and full accounting system. So your accounts and reports are available in real time at the click of a button!

Check out www.brightpearl.co.uk for more detail. I recommend you read through the customer section to get a feel for how it works, and you can take out a 30 day free trial to test it out for yourself!

hey I'm looking for something free - whether its online or software it doesnt matter. none of the above suit my needs. joomla would have worked but i don't get how to install it and after contacting an IT guy he said its way way too complicate for my needs.

 

[da8iwr]

Hi There, no i said you need to have a joomla website, and if you dont have one, i can install one for you in a sub directory for free and add in the extension so you can use it

 

[antropy]

so long as its free please!

If you want free accounting software, this is good: www.gnucash.org

 

[ILilja]

Is there no other free software out there? Or even a cheap paid one that I can buy? (that will work on a Mac)

Cannot compete with the free accounting solutions out there, but just want to mention that E-conomic (which is strictly online) works perfectly fine on a Mac.

Integration with PayPal is indeed possible, but via a third-party add-on, not as a part of the standard package.

It's £12.99 a month - but if you can find a free solution that does the same, there you go, of course.

I work at E-conomic, so if you are curious to learn more, just let me know.

 

[dino.abraham]

The software was good but i have to input everything manually.

The online solution is great but I don't have £12.99 a month haha.

Is there nothing else out there?

 

[akash986]

You can use onionaccounts. I am sure it really helps you a lot.

 

[Niamh-Allan]

You can implement PayPal in your website depends on which technology your site has been developed.

 

[dino.abraham]

You can also consider using integrated financial/accounting module in Your on-line store software. Try the IdoSell.com, that has both the financial/accounting module and a stock-management module. Both can be very helpful in running Your e-commerce enterprise in one place, without the necessity of looking for additional applications or sites all over the Internet.

Im looking for a free software or online software

 

[dino.abraham]

You can implement PayPal in your website depends on which technology your site has been developed.

But this wont calculate financial statements will it?

 

[ChrisMaj]

Im looking for a free software or online software

There is nothing free in this World ;8)

 

[da8iwr]

There is nothing free in this World ;8)

Joomla and many of its extensions are free, as it is an open source system that works on ethical values and voluntary work.

The Joomla finance bookkeeping extension is produced by my company, completely free, with no catches. I have made thousands upon thousands of pounds from selling websites using the Joomla system that volunteers have manufactured, supported and maintained, some sites at very high prices.

The websites would have cost in some cases tens of thousands of pounds more to produce without the Joomla system/framework being free and open source.

We produced www.joomlafinance.com for free for the Joomla Community to say thank you, this also means that the Joomla community has now got a new business tool, that improves the Joomla system and the chances of clients choosing to use the Joomla system itself... which increases the chance of me selling websites powered with Joomla.

So it is genuinely free, with no catches of any form.

 

[DuaneJackson]

We didn't want to use SaaS (software as a solution) like KashFlow, Sage Online, etc, as you are trapped using that company...

That's simply not true. Not with KashFlow anyway.

You can export all of your data at any time to excel. The file structured is in as close to an industry standard format as there is - Sage.

In fact, you can even set the software to automatically email you your data in this format every week/month so you don't even need to remember to export it.