Accountants For
Amazon Sellers

If your Amazon business is run as a limited company, you need to prepare and submit annual accounts (also called statutory accounts) to HMRC and Companies House.

These are prepared using your financial records for the year, and they provide a clear picture of your financial position. As well as being sent to Companies House and HMRC, they must also be given to shareholders and guarantors, or anyone entitled to attend your AGMs.

While many business owners handle this task, it can be time-consuming and difficult, depending on the size of the company and the volume of sales. It's imperative that you provide accurate data, and human error is always a possibility, particularly if you're under pressure to reach the deadline.

Your personal Auditox accountant for Amazon sellers will take away all this stress by completing and sending your statutory accounts to HMRC and Companies House accurately and on time.

If your Amazon sales exceed £85,000 for any rolling 12-month period, you will have to become VAT registered.

This means you'll need to include VAT in your sales prices and keep a record of how much VAT you charge your customers as well as how much you pay other businesses.

You'll then need to submit a VAT return every three months, after which HMRC will calculate whether they owe you money or you owe them (depending on whether you paid more VAT than you charged).

Auditox will help you register for VAT and will examine your VAT liabilities. We will also prepare and submit your VAT returns every three months, leaving you to focus on the daily running of your Amazon business.

Limited companies have to submit annual tax returns to HMRC every year. This includes information about your income and expenditure, assets, liabilities and all relevant details about the people who hold any positions of authority within the business. You are expected to complete a tax return (form CT600) whether or not you make a profit.

For most small businesses, you can usually get away with just providing a total income figure, along with expenses and any profit (or loss) made. Any other adjustments can be made using the relevant boxes on the form.

HMRC will calculate your tax bill using your profit and loss figure, so it's essential that all of the information is accurate.

Your personal Amazon accountant from Auditox will complete the CT600 for you to ensure that it contains all the necessary information. They will check it for 100% accuracy and submit it well before the proposed deadline to avoid any penalties.

If you run your Amazon store alone (that is, you don't run a limited company or limited liability partnership, etc.), and your income exceeds £1,000* a year, you'll need to submit a self-assessment tax return to HMRC as a sole trader.

This lets HMRC calculate your tax bill for the year, based on any profit you have made when expenses have been deducted.

Directors of limited companies also have to report any additional taxable income by filing a self-assessment return.

Your Auditox specialist ecommerce accountant will complete your self-assessment return online for you and sort out any tax bill with HMRC. It may be possible for you to pay your tax bill through your full-time job using your tax code, and our accountant will arrange this for you.

*This is the current trading allowance: if you already have a full-time income elsewhere, and selling on Amazon is a part-time side gig or hobby, you can earn up to £1,000 tax-free. Be careful, though - HMRC can and will keep tabs on Amazon sellers to make sure they aren't flouting the law!

As part of our Amazon accounting services, we offer expert advice on tax efficiency and planning.

'Big-tech' platforms like Amazon and eBay are now obliged to provide HMRC with sales data and other information about sellers, so you need to make sure that you abide by the tax rules by submitting your figures and paying the required amount.

We can help you arrange your finances to ensure that you are tax-efficient, only paying the very minimum amount required.

Overseas Tax

If you sell large volumes of goods abroad, you need to be aware of the tax rules for those countries. Although the UK has 'double tax agreements' with many countries to avoid paying tax twice on the same income, this isn't always the case.

We will ensure that you are aware of all relevant tax information for the countries where you sell goods and that you don't fall foul of the local tax laws.

Sales Tax

This applies to goods sold in the US, and is their version of VAT, effectively.

It used to be a relatively straightforward matter (at least, for us accountants!) until a case involving Wayfair and the state of South Dakota. This prompted a change in the rules regarding the tax obligations of each state, known as nexus.

While this doesn't affect many Amazon sellers, it can cause you a lot of hassle if you sell extensively across the US. Your Amazon business accounts specialist will provide expert guidance on this matter to avoid any problems with US sales tax issues.

Making Tax Digital

Under new government rules, all financial information and figures (such as tax returns, VAT returns, year-end accounts, etc.) will have to be submitted online using compatible software. Some aspects have already transitioned to this new system (like VAT), and the rest will follow soon.

Many e-commerce businesses, including those operating on the Amazon marketplace, are not up to speed with this new system and are unlikely to be ready in time for the deadlines. This will inevitably lead to fines and penalties.

To make sure that you don't incur financial penalties, it's essential that your accounting system is compatible with the government's software and that you don't miss any deadlines.

Your dedicated Amazon accountant from Auditox will ensure that you are fully prepared for the coming changes and that all your returns, statements and reports are filed in the correct format.

Managing cash flow is essential for any business, and this can be difficult at times, particularly for ecommerce businesses where income fluctuates greatly.

The key is to plan the timings of income and expenditure as far as possible so that you aren't in a negative position. This can be a real challenge, but it's not impossible.

Our expert accountants for Amazon sellers will examine your sales data and outgoings and help you arrange the payments carefully to stay in control and avoid any cash flow problems.

This is a critical aspect for an Amazon seller (or any ecommerce seller!) running a busy online business if you want a competitive advantage.

Keeping tabs on your stock is essential if you want to avoid continually running out. Online entrepreneurs soon find that customers are fickle and will switch to a competitor in a heartbeat if they feel let down.

If you want to keep a steady flow of new customers and boost your chances of returning customers, it's extremely important to manage your inventory carefully.

The best way to do this is with one of the many inventory apps designed specifically for the job. We will help you secure the best app for the task and show you how to use it to your advantage.

We offer our clients cloud accounting software and train them how to use it to enhance their online business.

With our powerful accounting software combinations, you can integrate different aspects of your Amazon business to help things run smoothly. And if you need advice or support at any time, your Auditox accountant will be available at short notice to guide you through any problems.

It's very easy to neglect certain tasks, especially the ones you don't enjoy! Bookkeeping is one of those tasks for many people, with managing cash flow following a close second.

However, it's important to keep your Amazon accounts up to date and organised, as this makes it easier to get financial clarity. That is, you can have a true picture of your finances in real-time, whenever you need it.

This is helpful for many reasons, such as producing financial statements and accounts, filing returns, and providing reports for shareholders or lenders.

Auditox accountants for Amazon sellers will help you get organised with our easy-to-use cloud-based software.