Tax Season is just around the corner! Is your eCommerce store ready?
Wednesday, February 8, 2017Lauren Macdonald
Every retailer knows how time consuming tax season can be. But, if you’re in a finance position within the eCommerce industry and are feeling a bit stressed this time of year, the good news is there’s a few steps you can take to make your life easier.
In fact, our friends at
Shopify broke it all down with their blog post titled,
8 Steps to Prepare Your Online Business for Tax Time. Here’s our ‘quick and painless’ recap of their suggested steps:
Remember the important deadlines
Tax deadlines can sneak up on you, and missing them can result in expensive (and unnecessary) penalties. Mark the dates Shopify outlines in their article on your calendar, now!
Gather those receipts!
Read Shopify’s full article for some helpful suggestions on going paperless and organizing your online receipts with helpful tools.
Make sure your books are up to date
Having clean and accurate records is a critical component of a pain-free tax season. It’s also critical in the event that you get audited.
The good news?
eBridge Connections can bridge the gap between your online store and your accounting package so that records are always accurate and up to date without you needing to do any manual data entry at all!
Submit your 1099s
Not sure what this means? Shopify breaks it down for you in their blog!
Understand sales tax requirements and how they relate to your business specifically
Sales tax requirements are dictated by a legal concept known as “nexus.” Nexus means that a business needs to have some physical connection to a state in order to collect sales tax there.
Keep in mind that tax laws vary between states, so you may want to consult a tax professional before you file your return.
Consider filing for a tax extension
Worried that your data entry hire won’t be able to manually input all of your orders, inventory, and shipping data in time for you to accurately file your taxes? Automation by eBridge can help rid your data entry employee of their headaches. But if you’re still feeling crunched for time, apply for a tax extension to allow yourself more time to file your return.
Make sure you’re getting the most out of your tax return by being aware of deductions commonly available to online sellers
Shopify breaks down the deductions you should definitely be aware of in their blog. Check it out before you start filing your return!
Have the right person in charge!
Take into consideration how well your finance expert/accountant knows your industry and the specific needs of your business.
Don’t forget that tax season can be a lot less stressful with some careful planning and organization.
It’s not too late to get your business systems automated and take the manual data entry out of your tax season process. Give us a shout anytime to learn more.