Payouts, landed cost, margin
Ecommerce accounting with margin by SKU and channel.
A payout is not a sale. We tie every payout to the bank, carry inventory at landed cost and show what each SKU earns after fees, returns and ads. Reviewed monthly by a licensed CPA.
30 minutes with a licensed CPA · No card · No contract
What changes
Four moments every operator has hit, before and after our help.
Pick a moment to see what usually happens, and what happens when your books are run for ecommerce.
Net sales and shipping less fees plus tax collected equals the deposit, to the penny.
On Amazon, margin at factory cost looks like 30%. At landed cost it is 22%. The reorder gets sized to the real number.
TikTok Shop returns 2.4x on ad spend and still loses $3,368 after returns, fees and fulfillment.
The question every seller asks
How do you reconcile Shopify and Amazon payouts?
Start from the settlement report, not the bank deposit. Book gross sales, then each refund, fee, chargeback, ad charge, reserve and reimbursement on its own line. Sales tax you collected goes to a liability. Those lines must net to the deposit to the penny. A2X posts each settlement to QuickBooks Online that way.
Pick a payout. Every line has a home.
The settlement report lists what the channel did with your money. Each line goes to its own account, and the total has to match the bank.
Swipe to see all columns →
| SKU and channel | Units | Net sales | Landed COGS | Channel fees | Fulfillment | Ad spend | Contribution | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Insulated bottle 32 oz Shopify | 1,800 | $58,752 | $17,194 | $1,880 | $10,980 | $9,800 | $18,898 | 32% |
| Insulated bottle 32 oz Amazon FBA | 2,600 | $78,208 | $24,318 | $11,731 | $16,770 | $8,400 | $16,989 | 22% |
| Insulated bottle 32 oz TikTok Shop | 900 | $22,176 | $7,880 | $1,774 | $5,490 | $10,400 | ($3,368) | -15%Losing |
| Travel mug 16 oz Shopify | 1,100 | $27,742 | $7,682 | $888 | $5,940 | $4,200 | $9,032 | 33% |
| Travel mug 16 oz Amazon FBA | 1,500 | $34,200 | $10,260 | $5,130 | $8,775 | $5,600 | $4,435 | 13% |
| Bottle lid 3-pack Amazon FBA | 2,000 | $27,440 | $4,508 | $4,116 | $7,600 | $2,100 | $9,116 | 33% |
| Total, 6 lines | 9,900 | $248,518 | $71,842 | $25,519 | $55,555 | $40,500 | $55,102 | 22% |
Insulated bottle 32 oz, TikTok Shop
Net sales: $25,200 gross less $3,024 returned = $22,176
Landed COGS: 792 units kept x $9.95 ($7.20 factory + $0.95 freight + $1.80 duty) = $7,880
Fees (referral and payment, 8%) $1,774, fulfillment (3PL pick, pack and ship) $5,490, ads $10,400
Contribution: ($3,368), -15% of net sales. ROAS 2.4x.
ROAS looks fine, but this line loses money once returns, fees and fulfillment are counted. Flagged for your review.
Net sales are after returns. COGS uses landed cost on units kept: factory price, inbound freight and duty. Ad spend is assigned by campaign.
What we handle
What our ecommerce accounting services do every month.
Multi-channel accounting done to a standard that holds up under diligence, reviewed by a licensed CPA, with your channel P&L on your desk by mid-month.
Reports every month
What lands on your desk each month.
Margin by channel, after everything.
Net sales, landed COGS, fees, fulfillment and ad spend for each channel, with the contribution each one leaves.
Every payout matched to a deposit.
Each settlement posted line by line and cleared against the bank, so nothing sits in a suspense account.
Inventory that ties to the count.
Opening inventory, receipts at landed cost and COGS, rolled forward to the month-end count.
Nexus before it becomes a notice.
Sales into each state against its economic nexus threshold, measured the way that state measures it, with marketplace facilitator rules applied.
Florida is at $84,200 of $100,000 and Georgia at 186 of 200 transactions. Registration is prepared before the threshold is crossed. Marketplace sales are remitted by the platform.
Questions
Ecommerce accounting questions, answered.
Still have a question? Call (336) 203-7399 or email info@acecpas.com. Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 6 PM ET.
Reviewed by Mubarak Shah, CPA · Updated November 2026
Ask a CPA directlyWhat is contribution margin in ecommerce?
Contribution margin is what an order leaves after the costs that come with it: landed product cost, marketplace and payment fees, fulfillment, returns and the ad spend that won it. It shows which SKUs and channels pay for your overhead. We report it every month by SKU and by channel, not as one blended number.
What is landed cost, and why does it belong in COGS?
Landed cost is the full cost to get a unit into your warehouse: the factory price plus inbound freight, duty, tariffs and brokerage. These costs go into inventory and reach cost of goods sold only when the unit sells. Leave them out and every margin looks better than it is, and reorders get sized on the wrong number.
Should an ecommerce business use cash or accrual accounting?
Accrual. Cash books expense inventory the month you pay for it, so margin swings with your buying cycle instead of your sales. Accrual books match the cost of each unit to the month it sells, and record payouts in transit, reserves and refunds when they happen. Buyers and lenders expect accrual books, kept monthly.
Do I owe sales tax in states where I sell on Amazon?
Every state with a sales tax has marketplace facilitator rules, so Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart and TikTok Shop collect and remit tax on sales made through them. Sales on your own Shopify store are still yours to collect. Once your sales into a state pass its economic nexus threshold, often $100,000 a year, you register and file there. Some states count marketplace sales toward that threshold, so we track both.
Do you work with A2X and QuickBooks Online?
Yes. We map Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart and TikTok Shop settlements through A2X into QuickBooks Online, so each payout posts as sales, fees, refunds and reserves and clears against its bank deposit. If you are on QuickBooks Desktop or another system, we move your data during setup at no extra charge.
How do you handle Amazon FBA fees and reimbursements?
We reconcile FBA fulfillment, storage and referral fees by category every month. Reimbursement claims for lost or damaged inventory are tracked from filing to payment, so recoveries are recorded rather than disappearing into a settlement line.
Can you get my books ready for a sale or investor diligence?
Yes. Buyers test inventory accounting and revenue recognition first. We keep accrual books and consistent inventory valuation from the start, which costs far less than rebuilding three years of history under LOI. Our Quality of Earnings team runs sell-side diligence, so we know what the buyer will test.
How much do ecommerce accounting services cost?
It depends on the number of channels, SKUs and transactions, and how much of the bookkeeping we run. After a free 30-minute review you get a fixed-fee proposal with one monthly fee, before any work starts. No hourly billing.
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