Jul 262011
If you are serious about starting an eBay business, then it’s important to get the accounting and bookkeeping in place from the start. eBay traders generally do low value – high volume sales. This means that if you neglect your bookkeeping, the backlog can buildup quite quickly. Leaving it until “year end” will create a massive task that will be time-consuming or expensive to get into order.
Depending on your volume and competence with numbers & bookkeeping, you have the option of:
- Manual records (least recommended, due to the volume and value of eBay transactions – but better than nothing at all)
- Excel spreadsheet records (better for smaller traders, as it can quickly become unwieldy for high volumes).
- Software (best option in theory, but only if you know how to use it properly. Most packages won’t interface automatically with eBayPaypal, but many have “bolt-ons” or extra modules that will handle data imports etc… look carefully at all the options to ensure that the software does all that you need – eg, stock control, barcodes/serial numbers, PayPal or credit card transaction imports, invoicing, VAT – if registered etc… etc…)
