Accounting and advisory for Retail & E-commerce
Retail and e-commerce sellers live and die by inventory and margin, where cash is tied up in stock and a few points of cost or fees decide profitability. Whether you sell through a storefront, Shopify, Amazon, or all three, Laya turns messy multi-channel sales into clean, timely books — with the COGS and margin visibility to actually run the business.
The financial challenges Retail & E-commerce face
Inventory and COGS that drift from reality
Inventory is usually your biggest balance-sheet asset, yet COGS gets booked late, lumped together, or estimated. Without accurate cost of goods, your margins and net income are guesswork — and you can't tell a profitable product from one quietly losing money on every sale.
Multi-channel sales that never tie out
Revenue arrives through Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, and an in-store POS, each with its own processing fees, refunds, chargebacks, and payout timing. Net deposits rarely match gross sales, so reconciling every channel back to the bank is tedious and easy to get wrong.
Sales tax and economic nexus across states
Selling online means you can trigger economic nexus the moment your sales or transaction count crosses a state's threshold — often without a physical presence. Each new state adds a registration and filing obligation, and missed deadlines invite penalties and interest.
Margins you can't see by SKU or channel
Top-line revenue hides what matters: which SKUs and which channels actually make money after product cost, shipping, and platform fees. Without that breakdown, pricing, promotion, and purchasing decisions get made on gut feel instead of contribution margin.
How Laya helps Retail & E-commerce
Inventory and COGS accuracy
We structure your chart of accounts so cost of goods, freight-in, and inventory adjustments are booked correctly each month, and your inventory asset ties to reality. Every close shows gross margin as a true percentage of sales — so you're managing on real product economics, not estimates.
Multi-channel sales reconciliation
We reconcile Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, and POS payouts against your bank, separating gross sales from processing fees, refunds, and chargebacks. Each channel's revenue and fees land in the right accounts, so your books reflect what actually hit the bank — net of every deduction the platforms take.
Sales tax registration and filing
We monitor where your sales create economic nexus, register you in states once you cross the threshold, and file returns on each state's schedule. As you scale into new markets, your filing obligations stay current and penalty-free instead of piling up as a surprise.
SKU and channel margin reporting
We build reporting that breaks profitability down by channel — and by product category or SKU where your data supports it — so you can see contribution margin after product cost, shipping, and fees. That visibility turns pricing, promotion, and purchasing into decisions backed by numbers.
What's included
- Monthly close by the 10th business day
- Inventory and COGS tracking
- Multi-channel sales reconciliation (Shopify, Amazon, Stripe, POS)
- Gross margin and channel reporting
- Sales tax registration and filing (add-on)
- Vendor and accounts payable tracking
- Year-end books ready for tax filing
Frequently asked questions
How do you reconcile Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe payouts?
We reconcile each platform's deposits back to your bank, separating gross sales from processing fees, refunds, and chargebacks. Shopify, Amazon, and Stripe all pay out net of their cuts, so we book the gross revenue and the fees to the right accounts — your sales and merchant costs reflect reality instead of just the deposit amount.
Can you track inventory and cost of goods sold?
Yes. We structure your books so COGS, freight-in, and inventory adjustments are recorded each month and your inventory asset stays accurate. Every close reports gross margin as a percentage of sales, so you can see true product profitability rather than estimating it after the fact.
Do you handle sales tax and economic nexus across states?
We monitor where your sales create economic nexus, register you once you cross a state's threshold, and file returns on each state's schedule so you stay penalty-free as you expand. Sales tax is available as a $100/month add-on; without it we'll still flag when you appear to be approaching a nexus threshold.
Can you show me profitability by product or channel?
Yes. Beyond a consolidated P&L, we report margin by channel — and by product category or SKU where your platform data supports it — so you can compare contribution margin after product cost, shipping, and fees. That makes pricing and purchasing decisions data-driven instead of guesswork.
How fast are my books closed each month?
By the 10th business day of the following month, every month — so you're managing inventory, margins, and cash on fresh numbers, not data that's six weeks old.
Do I need to use QuickBooks Online?
Yes. Laya runs on QuickBooks Online as the source of truth, with your sales channels, payment processors, and bank accounts connected digitally. QuickBooks Online is included in every plan at no extra cost.
Ready to get your books in order?
Book an intro and we'll show you exactly how Laya works for Retail & E-commerce.
Book an Intro