Hire A Tax Expert With Our Accountants for Ecommerce

If you were to ask the average owner of an online store what they dislike most about running their company, their response might be having to deal with the books.

(If you’re a part of the few people that actually like accounting, then virtual high five!)

Ironically, 41% of business owners still deal with their books instead of hiring an accountant.

However, here’s the deal: as your e-commerce firm expands, so will the complexity of its financial management. All cash flows (sales, refunds, supplier payments, banking fees) must be tracked, evaluated, and reported to the appropriate authorities.

A mountain of accounting paperwork might seem impossible if you don’t have a plan to deal with it.

Add to this the reality that only 19% of those who consider themselves financially knowledgeable are financially literate.

We don’t want you to feel bad about using that info for your purposes, nor are we discouraging you from doing so. But we need your undivided focus because keeping accurate records is as crucial as it is complex. And sometimes, it’s just not meant for you.

Good thing, it is for us. Give us a call, and we’ll be happy to assist.

Why Do You Need An Accountant?

Early on in their businesses, most proprietors of online stores can get away with doing their accounting.

It’s the most cost-effective choice and the best approach to getting to know your organisation and its operations.

When your company grows, goes global, or enters new countries with various compliance requirements, it’s crucial to deal with an ecommerce accountant specialising in this field.

Even if you stay inside one country but enter a new state, dealing with the complexities of sales tax collection and reporting will be a significant problem for your growing business.

When to call in an accountant depends on several things. The most pressing question is: can you afford to pay for one?

When your company’s revenue reaches between $20,000 and $50,000 per year, it’s time to consider hiring an expert for your books.

When and Why Should You Hire An Accountant?

Most online store owners decide to engage an accountant when one of two situations occurs:

As their company expands, they realise that managing all the bookkeeping independently is no longer practical. Or,
They make mistakes or get behind in their accounting and decide it’s better to pay an accountant than to deal with the stress of QuickBooks.

A freelance accountant would often bill you by the hour for their services. The price will be determined by the number of transactions and the complexity of your business.

Your accountant’s job is to record and file away all of your company’s financial transactions. They can make invoices and financial statements for you.

Find a freelance accountant with prior expertise with online stores like yours that has received rave reviews.

Remember that each freelancer you engage is merely one person juggling many different projects. It’s possible that your accountant won’t be accessible whenever you need them, whether because of vacation, sickness, or other personal reasons.

Our Award-Winning Services

Tax Planning

Using the services of our tax professionals, you can take advantage of tax allowances, reliefs, and industry-specific tax benefits. Your business tax returns are correctly filed and HMRC-compliant by our skilled tax experts.

Personal Tax Services

Our professionals will guide you through creating compliance in every area of your tax position. With our tax services, we aim to improve personal wealth while lowering tax bills by providing a bespoke service for simple and complex UK tax filings.

Payroll Services

Having Pearl Lemon Accountants manage your payroll and pensions will allow you to divert internal resources to more productive and profitable activities, relieving you of the stress associated with payroll management and pension compliance.

It’s a luxury knowing that knowledgeable, comprehensive back-office payroll assistance is available and that your company’s payroll will comply with an ever-changing legislative and regulatory environment.

We have vast knowledge in several areas of outsourcing payroll, guaranteeing that your payroll is given the customised, one-on-one attention it necessitates instead of a rigid automated solution.

International Tax Planning

We can help you save taxes on the UK and non-UK income whether you are doing business globally or planning to live abroad.

The structure of your overseas personal and corporate affairs impacts your tax liability. We’ll develop a global tax plan to decrease your tax burden.

Our international tax professionals will ensure that you and your company comply worldwide and save money locally and abroad from taxes.

VAT Accounting

To ensure your company pays HMRC the right amount of VAT, you need to hire a VAT accountant who ensures you follow all VAT registration procedures for the best VAT scheme.

VAT accountants will need access to your company’s records for accurate HMRC reporting.

In addition to providing vital assistance throughout the tax year, VAT accountants can answer your questions about VAT, saving you time and hassle. The volume of goods and services requiring VAT makes this crew crucial (and saves you a lot of money).

VAT is complicated and time-consuming to navigate.

Accountants who specialise in VAT can assist in completing these accounting procedures efficiently and accurately. Companies that sell VAT-taxable goods and services should hire accountants.

HRMC Tax Investigations

If you’re unsure what to do, seek professional guidance before undertaking a tax audit or inspection.

A tax investigation can result in significant tax bills, insolvency, and the need for a time-to-pay arrangement, voluntary arrangement, or even creditors’ liquidation.

If an investigation is underway, HMRC will contact or write to you. Generally, a tax investigation begins with a letter of notification. You will have to provide records to the inspector during a tax audit. Most of the time, HMRC will get in touch with your accountant.

Refusing a visit or ignoring a request for information could result in a fine.

For many reasons, hiring a tax expert to represent you during a tax investigation is a good idea.

Our services include many more.

Interested in something not on the list? Give us a call.

Tronc Services

Customers’ tips are rewarded to employees via a specific compensation method called tronc. It was derived from An English term originating from the early 20th-century French expression, “tronc des pauvres” (literally, a “collecting box”).

Often, customers will leave a generous tip on their checks as a thank you to the staff member that served them. Unfortunately, these individuals are frequently let down by reality, with numerous reports claiming that the amount of employers who unfairly reap the rewards is steadily rising.

So, how does one solve this dilemma? How do you fairly and openly give tips in the service and hospitality industries?

The inclusion of gratuities in a company’s standard payroll is a common method of distributing them. Since tip money can be treated as a salary, employees do not have to pay income tax or national insurance contributions (NICs).

A position that poorly compensates won’t be tempting to high-quality hospitality talent in an industry notoriously known for its difficulty getting into and high employee turnover rate. Due to this, troncs and tronc services have emerged as an effective alternative.

FAQs

Should I outsource, or should I just DIY my accounting?

You could be thinking about doing it yourself if you’re just getting started. Consider a few factors as you decide if this is the right course of action:

Are you familiar with accounting software and procedures and willing to learn the basic financial abilities necessary to construct your accounting system and interpret your accounts consistently?
How much money you have allocated to finance someone else to handle it, and
How much time can you devote to working on your finances weekly basis?

Evaluating how you can put your efforts to the most effective possible use is essential as a founder. Is it bookkeeping, or may you better utilise your time in marketing, sales, product sourcing, service delivery, or supply chain management?

What common accounting mistakes should you avoid?

Not checking financial statements until it’s too late.

It is not a good idea to wait until the end of the month, or worse, the end of the reporting year, to organise your expenses. There is a high probability of missing critical information from thousands of data. Even a small item like an unreported tax break might fall into this category. Or a significant oversight that will need amending your tax filings.

Alternative actions:

Set aside two to four hours monthly to evaluate all financial papers.
Sort them into relevant categories.
Reconcile your bank accounts.

Incomplete corrections (due to the lack of time)

When you have to rush through your bookkeeping, mistakes are inevitable. If your books aren’t in order, you might lose money and fail to meet your financial goals. These can spread to your tax returns if you don’t take care of them. If that’s the case, you’ll need to file a tax return amendment. Which, once again, isn’t exactly a pleasurable activity.

Alternative actions: You should implement an automated accounting system to eliminate the possibility of human error and discrepancies. A chief financial officer (CFO), certified public accountant (CPA), or in-house ecommerce accountant should be hired once a budget has been established to assist with tax filing.

How much will this cost me?

At Pearl Lemon Accountants, we recognise that a firm can’t obtain all of the benefits of hiring our accounting services from a standard service package. Every service you pick for your business or account may be tailor-made precisely for you.

Because of our high regard for diversity and uniqueness in every company we partner with, your financial statements will seem different from those of our other clients. Our prices will depend on whatever services you pick.

Contact us today for more information regarding this matter.

When you allow us to keep track of your finances, you give yourself more time to do your work and please more clients. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Aside from that, you'll also gain financial stability because your assets and liabilities are managed well enough not to cause any trouble for you in the future.

So let our experts work for you, and you won't regret it even a bit.

Book a call today to get started.