Profit and loss
Sales by channel, cost of goods sold, platform and payment fees, fulfilment and advertising, down to net profit.
Gross and contribution margin- Month and year-to-date views
Bookkeeping & management accounts
Management Accounts for eCommerce Sellers
Monthly management accounts built on clean eCommerce bookkeeping, so you see true margin by product and channel while there is still time to act on it. Not a set of accounts that arrives nine months after your year end.
Book a discovery call 
- Cost of goods sold by category or by SKU
- Stock valued properly across warehouses and in transit
- Year end and corporation tax handled from the same books
In short
Management accounts are a monthly set of figures, usually a profit and loss account, balance sheet and margin analysis, that show how a business is performing while decisions can still change the outcome. eCounts produces them for UK eCommerce sellers on top of accurate bookkeeping, with cost of goods sold, stock and platform fees treated properly, and the same books carry through to annual accounts and corporation tax.
Works with the platforms and software you already use
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Amazon -
Shopify -
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Etsy -
TikTok Shop -
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Xero -
QuickBooks - A2X
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PayPal -
Stripe -
Klarna
Trademarks belong to their owners. eCounts is independent and not endorsed by these platforms.
Why monthly matters
Annual accounts tell you what happened. Management accounts tell you what to do next
By the time a typical set of annual accounts is filed, stock has been reordered, prices set and ad spend scaled, all on assumptions. If a product was losing money after fees, you found out a year late.
Monthly management accounts close that gap. Every month sales, refunds, fees and settlements are reconciled and cost of goods sold is matched to what actually sold. That is the difference between bookkeeping services, which record what happened, and management accounts, which help you decide what happens next.
The bookkeeping is still the foundation. Our multi-platform reconciliation brings Amazon, Shopify, eBay and Etsy settlements into Xero or QuickBooks through A2X, so the monthly numbers start from the payouts that actually reached your bank.
What you get each month
What is in your monthly management accounts
The pack is built around how online sellers make and lose money, not a generic template.
Balance sheet
Stock, cash, VAT, money held by marketplaces and what you owe suppliers, so profit and cash can be reconciled.
- Marketplace balances in view
- Director's loan account tracked
Margin analysis
Margin by platform and by product category, or by SKU on the Growth tier and above.
- Fees as a share of sales
- Returns and refunds by channel
Commentary
On the Scale tier, a written explanation of what moved, why it moved and what to look at next.
- Variances explained
- Actions flagged, not buried
Inventory accounting
Cost of goods sold and stock valuation, done properly
Cost of goods sold is the hardest number in an eCommerce business to get right and the most valuable when it is. A real COGS figure includes the full landed cost of each unit: the supplier price, freight, duty and any other import costs. Our import duty and landed cost work feeds straight into it, so your margin reflects what the stock actually cost to get to the warehouse.
COGS is then matched to what sold in the month, not what you bought. A big stock order in March does not make March a loss-making month, and getting this timing right is what turns a bank statement into a profit figure.
Inventory accounting also means valuing what is left at the end of the period. Stock in an Amazon fulfilment centre, a 3PL, in transit or in your garage all counts. For tax purposes stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, so aged, damaged or unsellable lines may need writing down, which reduces reported profit and the tax that follows it.
Category vs SKU
Category-level COGS or SKU-level COGS: what each lets you decide
Basic tracks cost of goods sold by product category. Growth and above track it by SKU. The right level depends on how many decisions you make product by product.
By category (Basic)
Margin for each product family, such as cables, cases or accessories- Good for a focused range with similar costs
- Shows which categories carry the business
- Lower setup effort and quicker monthly close
By SKU (Growth and above)
- Margin for every product and variant after fees
- Shows the loss-makers hidden inside a profitable category
- Handles bundles, kits and changing supplier prices
- Supports reorder, pricing and delisting decisions
The detail that changes the numbers
Accruals, prepayments and the director's loan account
A monthly profit figure is only reliable if costs land in the month they relate to. We accrue for costs you have incurred but not yet been invoiced for, such as freight or a 3PL bill, and spread prepayments like annual software across the months they cover. Done monthly, this stops lumpy swings in the P&L.
The director's loan account needs the same discipline. In owner-managed businesses, personal spending on the business card and money drawn without a payroll or dividend decision often end up there. If a director owes the company money at the year end and it is not repaid within nine months, the company can face an additional corporation tax charge, and larger loans can create a taxable benefit. Tracking it monthly means there are no surprises at year end.
Annual accounts and corporation tax
Year end for a limited company, without the scramble
Because the books are reconciled every month, year end becomes a review rather than a rebuild. These are the main deadlines for a private limited company.
| What | Who it goes to | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| First annual accounts | Companies House | 21 months after the company was registered |
| Annual accounts after that | Companies House | 9 months after the financial year end |
| Corporation tax payment | HMRC | 9 months and 1 day after the accounting period ends (profits up to £1.5 million) |
| Company Tax Return (CT600) | HMRC | 12 months after the accounting period ends |
Corporation tax is 19% on profits up to £50,000 and 25% on profits over £250,000, with marginal relief in between. The limits are divided by the number of associated companies and reduced for short accounting periods. Source: GOV.UK.
Tax planning while it still counts
Why a limited company accountant who sees monthly numbers helps
Most corporation tax planning only works before the year end. With current figures you can see where profit is heading in relation to the £50,000 and £250,000 limits, time investment in equipment, plan director pay and dividends, and decide on stock write-downs on the evidence rather than the deadline.
The same monthly books also support your VAT. Our VAT returns and MTD service draws from the same reconciled ledger, so the figures in your management accounts, your VAT return and your annual accounts agree with each other.
When you want to look forward rather than back, the management accounts become the starting point for cash flow forecasting. Bookkeeping is included from the Compliance tier, and the pricing page shows what each tier adds.
Example dashboards
What your monthly management accounts look like
A monthly pack built from reconciled data: channel P&L, SKU margins and a rolling cash forecast, with a written note on what changed and why.
eCounts client dashboard Sample data
Channel P&L
1 to 31 August 2026 · margin after landed COGS
Revenue
£97,500
▲ 5.9% on July
Landed COGS
£60,110
incl. freight & duty
Gross margin
38.3%
£37,390 gross profit
Channels
5
reconciled to payouts
- Shopify
- Amazon FBA
- eBay
- Etsy
- TikTok Shop
| Channel | Revenue | Gross profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | £38,420 | £17,290 | 45.0% |
| Amazon FBA | £28,140 | £8,720 | 31.0% |
| eBay | £15,610 | £5,310 | 34.0% |
| Etsy | £9,170 | £3,760 | 41.0% |
| TikTok Shop | £6,160 | £2,310 | 37.5% |
SKU profitability
August 2026 · per unit, net of VAT
Yoga mat 6mm on Amazon FBA is now at 7.0% margin. Landed cost rose £1.11 a unit after the July shipment's freight increase. Same product on Shopify: 30.7%.
| Product | Channel | Units | Price | Landed cost | Fees & ads | Profit / unit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoga mat 6mmYM-6MM-PUR | Amazon FBA | 640 | £20.83 | £11.95 | £7.42 | £1.46 | 7.0% |
| Yoga mat 6mmYM-6MM-PUR | Shopify | 410 | £23.33 | £11.95 | £4.22 | £7.16 | 30.7% |
| Cork block, pairCB-CORK-2 | Shopify | 520 | £12.49 | £3.20 | £2.95 | £6.34 | 50.8% |
| Resistance bands, set of 5RB-SET-5 | Amazon FBA | 880 | £16.66 | £4.10 | £6.38 | £6.18 | 37.1% |
| Foam roller 45cmFR-45 | eBay | 300 | £20.83 | £7.80 | £6.10 | £6.93 | 33.3% |
| Meditation cushionMC-BUCK | Etsy | 190 | £29.16 | £9.40 | £5.20 | £14.56 | 49.9% |
| Water bottle 750mlWB-750 | TikTok Shop | 410 | £12.49 | £4.60 | £2.90 | £4.99 | 40.0% |
Margin bands: under 15% red, 15 to 30% amber, over 30% green.
13-week cash flow forecast
From w/c 7 September 2026
Cash today
£32,200
Lowest point
£18,400
w/c 5 Oct
Cash buffer
£15,000
£3,400 headroom at the low
End of forecast
£89,100
after Q4 stock is paid
Example figures for illustration. Your dashboards are built from your own reconciled data. See it with your numbers.
Top tips
Four bookkeeping tips for online sellers
- 01
Close each month within a fortnight
Numbers you see two weeks after month end can still change a decision. Numbers you see at year end cannot.
- 02
Count stock at least once a year
A closing stock figure is what makes profit correct. Without it, profit is wrong in one year and wrong the other way the next.
- 03
Keep the director's loan account clear
Personal spending through the business builds up a director's loan balance, which can have tax consequences if it is not cleared.
- 04
Look at margin, not just sales
Growing sales on a product with falling margin can make you busier and poorer. Check margin by product every month.
Coming up
Accounts and compliance changes coming up
Companies House filing, e-invoicing and payroll reporting are all changing.
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Benefits in kind must go through payroll
Company cars, car fuel, vans, van fuel and employer-provided medical benefits must be reported in real time through payroll, replacing P11D forms for those benefits. Most remaining benefits follow from April 2028.
Source: GOV.UK, Changes to reporting of benefits in kind from April 2027
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Small companies must file a profit and loss account
Companies House plans to require small and micro companies to file a profit and loss account (with an option to keep it off the public register) and to file accounts through software only.
Source: GOV.UK, Companies House to bring in changes to accounts filing from April 2028
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Mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices
The government will require all VAT invoices to be issued and received electronically from 2029, with a roadmap due at Budget 2026. Accounting software choices made now should support it.
Source: GOV.UK, Promoting electronic invoicing: consultation response
Pricing
Management accounts pricing
Monthly management reporting starts at Basic, SKU-level COGS at Growth and management accounts with commentary at Scale.
Compliance
£250/mo
Sole trader. £590/mo ltd company.
Basic
£350/mo
Single platform, up to 500 orders.
- Usual fit
Growth
£700/mo
Multi-platform.
Scale
£2,500+/mo
Seven-figure operations.
Fractional FD
£4,500+/mo
Everything included.
Monthly numbers you can make decisions from
Find out what your margin really is by product and channel. Your accounts are handled by an ICAEW chartered accountant, fully UK based.
What are management accounts? 
Management accounts are internal monthly reports that show how your business is performing while there is still time to act. For an online seller they usually include a profit and loss account, balance sheet and margin analysis by channel and product. Unlike annual accounts, they are not filed anywhere.
What is the difference between bookkeeping and management accounts?
Bookkeeping records what happened, management accounts explain what it means. Bookkeeping reconciles sales, fees, refunds and payouts into your ledger. Management accounts add cost of goods sold, stock, accruals and analysis so the profit figure is reliable enough to act on.
How do I work out my cost of goods sold?
Cost of goods sold is the landed cost of the units you actually sold in the period. In practice that is opening stock plus purchases and import costs, less closing stock. Getting it right depends on including freight and duty in the cost of each unit and valuing closing stock accurately.
Stock is not a cost until I sell it, so why does valuing it matter?
Because the value you put on closing stock directly sets your reported profit and therefore your corporation tax. Overvalue it and you pay tax on profit you have not made.
Do I need monthly management accounts?
Not every seller does. If you sell on one platform, have a simple range and are not making regular stock or pricing decisions, the Compliance tier with good bookkeeping and annual accounts may be enough. Once stock, multiple channels or growth plans are involved, monthly numbers usually pay for themselves in better decisions.
Do you file our annual accounts and corporation tax return?
Yes, annual accounts and tax returns are included in every tier. We prepare the accounts for Companies House and the Company Tax Return for HMRC from the same reconciled books, and tell you the corporation tax due and when to pay it.
