What Should an Ecommerce Chart of Accounts Look Like?
An ecommerce chart of accounts separates revenue from fees, keeps each type of platform fee in its own account, holds inventory as an asset, and carries deferred revenue for gift cards and pre-orders. Twenty-five to forty accounts is usually enough; the channel split belongs in classes or locations, not in duplicated accounts. Best for a seller who wants this built once and kept right: SF Business Solutions, from $250 a month.
By SF Business Solutions · Our team includes a licensed CPA · 1 sources · Updated September 14, 2026The principle: accounts by type, channels by class
The mistake that makes ecommerce books unreadable is duplicating accounts per channel: Amazon sales, Shopify sales, Amazon fees, Shopify fees, and so on. Twelve channels later there are two hundred accounts and no usable profit and loss.
Do it the other way. One account per type of thing, and a class or location per channel. Then you can read total fees across the business, or fees for one channel, from the same ledger without maintaining two structures.
A worked chart of accounts
This is the set most sellers need. Add to it when a real decision depends on the split, and not before.
| Account | Type | What goes in it |
|---|---|---|
| Product sales | Income | Gross sales before any deduction |
| Shipping income | Income | Shipping charged to customers |
| Discounts | Contra income | Promotions and coupon codes |
| Refunds and returns | Contra income | Reversals of revenue |
| Chargebacks | Contra income | Disputed orders lost |
| FBA reimbursements | Other income | Lost and damaged inventory compensation |
| Foreign exchange gain and loss | Other income or expense | Currency movement on settlements |
| Cost of goods sold | COGS | Landed cost of units shipped |
| Inventory shrinkage | COGS | Units written off and not reimbursed |
| Marketplace and referral fees | Expense | Amazon, Shopify, TikTok, Walmart commissions |
| Payment processing fees | Expense | Shopify Payments, PayPal, Stripe |
| Fulfillment fees | Expense | Pick, pack and outbound shipping |
| Storage fees | Expense | Monthly and long-term storage |
| Affiliate and creator commissions | Expense | Paid out of settlements |
| Advertising | Expense | Platform ads and off-platform marketing |
| Inventory | Asset | Stock on hand at landed cost |
| Inventory in transit | Asset | Paid for, not yet received |
| Platform reserves | Asset | Money held back by a marketplace |
| Bank clearing | Asset | Settlement net awaiting the deposit |
| Sales tax payable | Liability | Tax collected and not yet remitted |
| Gift card liability | Liability | Cards sold and not yet redeemed |
| Deferred revenue | Liability | Pre-orders and subscriptions not yet delivered |
Why fees get their own accounts
Marketplace fees, payment processing, fulfillment and storage behave differently and respond to different decisions. Storage tells you about slow-moving stock. Fulfillment tells you whether your packaging is costing you. Lumped into one line called platform fees, none of that is visible and there is nothing to act on.
Foreign exchange gain and loss deserves its own account for the same reason. Rolled into sales, it makes revenue move for reasons that have nothing to do with selling.
Mistakes to avoid
These are the ones that show up most often in a cleanup:
- Recording the net deposit as sales, so fees and refunds never appear at all
- Expensing inventory purchases instead of holding them as an asset
- Duplicating the whole account structure per channel instead of using classes
- Posting gift card sales to income rather than a liability
- Putting reimbursements into sales, which overstates revenue and hides a loss
- Leaving sales tax collected in income instead of a payable account
Working with SF Business Solutions
We build this chart of accounts in QuickBooks Online or Xero, set up the classes per channel, map the settlements into it, and prepare and file your tax return from the same books. Monthly bookkeeping starts at $250 a month. Restructuring an existing file is cleanup work, which starts at $250, depending on how far behind the books are.
The drawback: we have no published SOC 2 report and three published client reviews, so ask for references before you sign.
How many accounts should an ecommerce business have?
Usually twenty-five to forty. More than that and monthly reports get hard to read; the channel detail belongs in classes or locations instead.
Should I have separate sales accounts per channel?
No. Use one product sales account and a class or location per channel. You still get per-channel reporting without duplicating the whole structure.
Where does sales tax collected go?
In a sales tax payable liability account. It is money you are holding for a state, not revenue, even when a marketplace remits it for you.
Do I need a deferred revenue account?
Yes, if you sell gift cards, pre-orders or subscriptions. Money taken for goods not yet delivered is a liability until delivery.
Where do Amazon fees belong?
Split across marketplace fees, fulfillment fees and storage fees. Each one tells you something different about the business.
Can I change my chart of accounts mid-year?
Yes, but restate the year to date so the comparatives still work. That is usually a cleanup job rather than a switch you make in an afternoon.
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