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Knowledge Hub
Practical guides to accounting, inventory, cash flow, and tax for growing eCommerce brands. Choose a topic below to find useful articles and related services.
Missing a topic? Email sales@ecomcpa.com and we will consider adding it.
01
Accounting
Start here if deposits, BNPL, or the books themselves do not match the orders. These pieces cover settlement-to-ledger work and the method choice that makes inventory accounting possible.
May 1, 2026
The Payout Reconciliation Gap: Why Amazon, Shopify, and TikTok Shop Deposits Are Wrecking Ecommerce Books in 2026
Net deposits are the single largest source of misstatement on ecommerce P&Ls. The fix is not exotic - but the cost of not fixing it keeps climbing. The quiet problem hiding in your bookkeeping Ask an ecommerce bookkeeper what causes the most errors on a seller’s books and the answer is almost always the same:
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May 5, 2026
BNPL Settlement Accounting: How to Book Klarna, Affirm, and Afterpay Without Losing Track of Revenue
If you take Klarna, Affirm, or Afterpay at checkout, the way most ecommerce sellers book those settlements is wrong. Not catastrophically wrong. Just wrong enough that the revenue line doesn’t reconcile, the fees get buried, and refunds float around for weeks before anyone notices. BNPL volume crossed $50 billion in the US in 2025 and
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May 29, 2025
Modified Cash Basis vs. Accrual Accounting for E-commerce: A Beginner’s Guide
Modified Cash Basis vs. Accrual Accounting for E-commerce: A Beginner’s Guide E-commerce business owners often hear about different accounting methods and wonder which one to use. Two common methods are accrual basis accounting and modified cash basis accounting. Each method affects how you record sales, expenses, and profits, which in turn influences your financial reports
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September 20, 2025
When to Ditch QBO/Xero for an ERP
When to Ditch QuickBooks Online/Xero for an ERP (and Which One) If you’re scaling ecom on QBO, you’ll hit the ceiling. The symptoms aren’t subtle: spreadsheet chaos, inventory blind spots, and a month-end close that steals your weekends. Here’s the no-BS version of when to switch-and where to land (NetSuite, Fulfil.io, or Odoo). Signs You’ve
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December 19, 2023
Bookkeeping vs Accounting: Understanding the Different Roles
Being a business owner entails managing all facets of your enterprise, including its financial aspects. The assistance of professional bookkeepers and accountants can prove invaluable in simplifying financial procedures, ensuring compliance with financial regulations, and preventing monetary mishaps. Recognizing the distinct roles and responsibilities of these professionals is integral to acquiring the right expertise for
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Next step
Monthly Accounting
Reconciled books, a monthly close packet, and a P&L you can actually manage from. Accounting plans start at $1,397/month.
02
Inventory
Inventory is not a year-end adjustment. These articles walk through COGS errors, shrinkage, landed-cost duties, and when standard costs have to move with the metal or the tariff.
September 5, 2025
74 Ways Your Inventory Value and COGS are wrong
Inventory accounting isn’t just about tracking what sits in your warehouse. It drives your margins, cash flow, taxes, and valuation. Yet, most businesses mess it up-often in dozens of small but costly ways. Below are 74 of the most common mistakes we see. Setup Errors Purchasing Mistakes Inventory Tracking Issues Production & Assembly Errors Sales
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May 7, 2026
Your Shrinkage Number Is Probably Wrong (and It’s Costing You at Tax Time)
Most ecommerce sellers I work with treat shrinkage like weather. It happens, you can’t really stop it, you write down the number once a year and move on. Then they’re surprised when their tax bill comes back higher than expected, or when an investor poking at their P&L asks why COGS is so noisy quarter
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August 24, 2026
The July 24 Tariff Reset Changed Your Landed Cost. Rebuild It Before Q4 Orders Ship
New Section 301 duties took effect July 24: 12.5% on China and Korea, 10% on India, a 10% EU floor. Where the cost lands in your books, and what to re-source.
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May 6, 2026
Tariff Accounting for Ecommerce Sellers: Capitalizing Duties Into Inventory Without Wrecking Your Margins
Most ecommerce sellers I’ve talked to this spring started 2026 by booking tariffs as an operating expense. It’s an honest mistake. The tariff line item shows up on a customs broker invoice, gets paid out of operating cash, and the bookkeeper plugs it into the closest expense category they can find. Often that’s “Duties and
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September 4, 2026
Silver Is $65. Pandora's Hedge Book Says Its 2027 Costs Double. What a $30M Jewelry Brand Should Do About Its Own Books
Silver is up 59% in a year; Pandora is hedged at $32 for 2026 and $65 for 2027. How to reset standard costs, value lab-grown stock, and decide on LIFO by Q4.
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Next step
Inventory and COGS in the monthly close
Landed cost, warehouse balances, and channel COGS belong in the close — not in a spreadsheet you open at tax time.
03
Cash Flow
Profit on the P&L and cash in the bank are different numbers for an inventory brand. These pieces cover the 13-week forecast, Q4 working capital, and when a fractional CFO is the right next hire.
September 7, 2026
Profitable on Paper, Short in the Bank: Build the 13-Week Cash Flow Before the Fed Meets on September 16
The Fed leans toward a hike, Amazon's cutoffs tie up cash for six weeks, and the Q3 estimate lands Sept. 15. How to build a 13-week cash forecast for Q4.
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May 27, 2026
The Pre-Q4 Working Capital Stack: How Ecommerce Brands Should Be Building Holiday Liquidity Before September 2026
May 2026 Late May is the right time to be talking about Q4 cash. Not October. Not Black Friday week. Not the moment your factory invoice lands and you realize you’re $180K short. Inventory financing applications take 30 to 45 days. Supplier deposits go down 60 to 90
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March 18, 2026
E Commerce Cash Flow Trap
Why Profitable Brands Still Run Out of Money Your P&L says you are profitable. Your bank account says otherwise. Here is why-and how to fix it. You look at your income statement and see healthy margins. Revenue is growing. Gross profit looks solid. But when you check your bank balance, there is barely enough to
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February 21, 2024
Ecommerce Financial Health Unlocked: Smart Cash Flow Strategies
A whopping 82% of businesses fail due to poor cash flow management. This is how crucial smart cash flow strategies are in business success, especially in ecommerce. If you have an online store, transactions are often conducted digitally and involve many stakeholders. Without a steady cash flow stream, it won’t be long until your business
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February 8, 2024
Navigating Growth: When to Hire a Fractional CFO for Your eCommerce Business
In the dynamic landscape of eCommerce, scaling your business often comes with a multitude of financial challenges. As your revenue surpasses the million-dollar mark, strategic financial management becomes paramount. If you’re exploring the key indicators and scenarios that signal it’s time to consider hiring a Fractional CFO for your growing eCommerce venture, you’ve come to
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Next step
Fractional CFO
Cash-flow forecasts, inventory planning, and financial guidance for your next growth decision.
04
Tax
Planning that still has a window: R&D expensing under Section 174A, tariff-refund treatment, QSBS timing, and the 2026 SALT/PTET math.
August 26, 2026
Does Your Formulation Work Qualify for the R&D Credit? The Honest Math for Supplement and Beauty Brands
R&D expensing is back under Section 174A, and the credit runs about 8% to 10% of qualified US spend. Which formulation costs count, and when a study pays.
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August 21, 2026
Tariff Refunds Are Paying Out. File, Sell, or Hold, and What Each Choice Does to Your Tax Bill
CBP is paying IEEPA refunds. Pandora sold its claim at 77 cents; e.l.f. banked $50M. How to decide, and how the refund hits inventory, taxes, and your lender.
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September 2, 2026
Thorne Sold for 5.8x Revenue. Nature's Bounty Sold for 0.8x. Which Side Are You On, and Has Your QSBS Clock Started?
Two supplement deals priced the same industry at 5.8x and 0.8x revenue in four weeks. What buyers paid for, and the $15M tax exclusion you may not have started.
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July 6, 2026
The SALT Cap Is 40,400 Dollars in 2026. Ecommerce Founders Should Re-Run the PTET Math Now
minutes For seven years the state and local tax deduction was capped at 10,000 dollars, and pass-through business owners found a workaround: the pass-through entity tax, or PTET. Your business pays your state income tax at the entity level, deducts it in full against federal income, and
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April 22, 2026
The Section 174 Refund Window: What Ecommerce Sellers Should Know After July 6, 2026
Updated September 7, 2026. The July 6, 2026 deadline to file amended returns for the small-business Section 174A retroactive election has passed. Remaining unamortized 2022–2024 domestic R&E and current-year 174A expensing are separate from that closed refund window.
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Next step
Tax Planning
Annual, premium, and exit planning for profitable brands — scoped in a free session, not at filing time.
The rest of the archive
This hub is a starting library, not a replacement for the blog. Older explainers, channel-specific notes, and everything we have published live on the eCommerce accounting blog.
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