Cross-border sellers often find bookkeeping painful because money moves through so many places: marketplaces, payment processors, payout accounts, ad platforms, logistics providers and suppliers in different currencies. When records are incomplete, tax filings take weeks, profit is guessed rather than known and disputes with platforms are hard to support. Good records do not require complex software. They require capturing the right information consistently.
1. Sales records
For each sales channel, keep the platform's settlement reports, not just the bank deposits. Settlements show gross sales, refunds, platform fees, advertising deductions and reserves. A deposit alone hides all of this.
2. Payment processor and payout records
Download monthly statements from each processor and payout account. Note the currency of each transaction, conversion rates and fees. Exchange losses are a real cost that many sellers never measure.
3. Cost of goods and supplier payments
Keep purchase orders, invoices and proof of payment for every supplier. Record the landed cost per unit: product price, freight, duties, inspection and warehouse fees. Without landed cost, product profitability is a guess.
4. Logistics and fulfilment
Carrier invoices, warehouse storage fees and return costs should be linked to periods and ideally to products. Storage fees and return shipping often grow quietly.
5. Advertising and software
Ad platforms issue invoices or receipts for each charge. Download them monthly. Do the same for software subscriptions, which add up across a team.
6. Tax-related documents
Depending on where you sell, you may need records of VAT or sales tax collected by marketplaces, import VAT paid, and registration numbers. Keep these organised by country.
7. A simple monthly routine
- Download all statements and invoices into one folder per month.
- Reconcile each sales channel's settlement with bank deposits.
- Record exchange rates used and fees paid.
- Update a profit sheet by channel and, if possible, by product.
- Note anything unusual, such as reserves or disputed charges.
Choosing tools
Accounting software that connects to your store, marketplaces and payout accounts saves time, but check which channels and currencies it supports before subscribing. A spreadsheet works for very small stores if the routine is followed.
Profit calculators, currency tools and accounting software for sellers are listed in the Facebook520 tools directory.
Clean records turn tax season from a crisis into a routine, and they show which products and channels actually make money.
Published by Facebook520 Cross-Border Navigation.