Ecommerce accountant for online stores.
A specialist ecommerce accountant for Shopify, Amazon and Etsy sellers, not a generalist who sees one online business a year. We handle tax planning, bookkeeping and corporate accounting for ecommerce the way it actually runs, from solo founders in Whitby, Oshawa and Ajax to multi-channel brands across the GTA, all from a chartered professional accountant (CPA, CA) who has worked with online retail since the early Shopify days.
Ecommerce accounting is multi-everything.
Most general accountants treat an online business like any other small business. It isn't. You may need to charge 13% HST in Ontario, 5% GST in Alberta, PST in BC and Saskatchewan, and QST in Quebec, because for goods shipped to a customer the rate follows the province of delivery. The digital economy rules that took effect on 1 July 2021 changed who collects what, so a marketplace operator like Amazon may now collect GST/HST on some of your third-party sales. Your Shopify and Stripe payouts are not your real revenue, because they land net of platform fees, refunds and chargebacks. Inventory accounting drives your cost of goods sold. And if you ship to the United States, state sales tax nexus is a separate question CRA has nothing to do with.
So yes, an online seller genuinely needs a specialized ecommerce accountant, not a generalist learning on your file. We have handled e-commerce accounting and bookkeeping, multi-province sales tax and tax planning for online sellers across Durham Region and the GTA since the early Shopify days, and we know what breaks at $100K, $500K and $1M in revenue. The bookkeeping handles the multi-platform reality. The tax planning anticipates the next compliance trigger before you cross it. Less guesswork for you, fewer surprises at year-end.
Ecommerce accounting services, the full picture.
One firm for tax, bookkeeping, payroll and advisory, built for how an ecommerce business runs. One point of contact, one consistent set of advice, and nothing falls between your accountant and your bookkeeper because they are the same team, so you can focus on growing the store.
Personal and corporate tax
Your personal T1 and your ecommerce company's T2 tax return filed together, planned together, and on time every year, with the salary and dividend mix set for tax efficiency.
Multi-province sales tax registration and filing
GST/HST, plus PST and QST where your sales require it, registered correctly and filed on the monthly, quarterly or annual schedule the CRA and each province set for you.
Platform reconciliation
Shopify, Stripe, Amazon, Etsy and PayPal reconciled to your bank every month, gross-to-net, so your revenue, fees and refunds are right and your bookkeeping actually ties out.
Inventory accounting
FIFO, weighted average or specific identification, set up against your physical or 3PL inventory and maintained so cost of goods sold and gross margin are accurate all year.
US sales tax nexus check
An annual review of where your shipments have crossed state economic nexus thresholds in the US, kept separate from your Canadian filings, so you do not get caught offside.
Bookkeeping and payroll
Monthly ecommerce bookkeeping built for high transaction volume, refunds, chargebacks and platform fees, with payroll and source deductions run cleanly once you have a team.
Four things most accountants miss.
These are the questions that come up almost every time an ecommerce business changes accountants. Worth knowing whether or not we end up working together.
Sales tax follows the customer, not your home province
Once your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four rolling quarters you have to register for GST/HST, and from there the rate you charge follows the place of supply. For goods shipped to a customer that is generally the province of delivery: 13% HST to Ontario, 5% GST to Alberta, 15% in most of the Atlantic provinces. PST in BC and Saskatchewan, RST in Manitoba and QST in Quebec are separate regimes with their own registration rules, and selling into those provinces can require you to register and collect them on top of GST/HST. Most online sellers register for HST and assume that covers everything. It does not. We monitor the thresholds across every province and register you only where the sales actually require it.
Amazon may collect GST/HST, but that does not clear your own obligations
Under the digital economy rules in effect since 1 July 2021, a distribution platform operator like Amazon can be required to collect and remit GST/HST on certain qualifying third-party sales made through its marketplace. That is helpful, but it does not automatically remove your own registration or filing duties, and it does not touch your sales on Shopify, Etsy or your own site. Booked carelessly, platform-collected tax gets double counted or missed entirely. We map which sales the platform handles and which ones you still report, so the filing is right.
Shopify and Stripe payouts are not your real revenue
What lands in your bank from Shopify is gross sales minus payment processing fees, refunds, chargebacks and the Shopify fee itself. Book the payout as revenue and your books are wrong by 5 to 10 percent, your sales tax is calculated on the wrong number, and your tax position is wrong with them. This is the single most common error we see in ecommerce bookkeeping. We download the payout reports every month and record them gross-to-net so sales, fees and refunds each show up where they belong, then reconcile to the bank.
Inventory accounting drives cost of goods sold
Whether you use FIFO, weighted average or specific identification changes your cost of goods sold, your gross margin and your tax bill. The CRA accepts these methods as long as you apply one consistently, but most small ecommerce sellers never pick a method, never reconcile inventory to what is actually on the shelf or at the 3PL, and end up guessing at margin. Good inventory management is the difference between books you can trust and books you cannot. We set the method up once and run it cleanly from then on.
Three kinds of ecommerce clients.
Solo founders
Single-operator stores doing $50K to $500K. We handle the personal tax return, the HST registration and filing, and the multi-platform bookkeeping so the numbers are right without you living in a spreadsheet.
Multi-channel sellers
Sellers across Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and sometimes wholesale. We reconcile revenue across every platform, sort out which marketplace collects which tax, and handle the multi-jurisdiction sales tax registrations.
Brands scaling past $1M
Established ecommerce businesses with inventory financing, multi-country logistics and a payroll. We coordinate with your fulfilment partner and your bank, and keep the corporate tax planning consistent as you grow.
You'll work directly with Elena.
EK CPA Pro is owner-operated. When you call, you're talking to the CPA, CA who's actually doing the work, not a junior who hands the file off at year-end. Elena has been working with owner-operated businesses across Durham Region since 2009, and is a graduate of CPA Canada's In-Depth Tax Program.
Questions store owners ask first.
What is an ecommerce accountant?
An ecommerce accountant is an accountant who specializes in online sellers rather than treating a store like any other small business. The work is different: revenue arrives net of platform fees through Shopify, Amazon, Stripe and Etsy, sales tax depends on where each customer is, inventory drives cost of goods sold, and marketplace rules decide who collects GST/HST. A specialized ecommerce accountant has seen those patterns before, which usually means cleaner books, lower tax and fewer surprises. We are a CPA, CA firm that has worked with online retail since the early Shopify days.
How is ecommerce accounting different from regular accounting?
Three things set e-commerce accounting apart. First, your platform payouts are net of fees, refunds and chargebacks, so the deposit is never your real revenue and the bookkeeping has to be done gross-to-net. Second, sales tax is multi-jurisdiction: you may collect HST, GST, PST and QST at different rates depending on where the customer is, and a marketplace may collect some of it for you. Third, inventory and cost of goods sold have to be tracked properly or your margin and your tax bill are both wrong. A general accountant who does one online business a year tends to miss all three.
Do I need to register for sales tax in other provinces?
Maybe. Once your taxable sales pass $30,000 over four rolling quarters you register for GST/HST, and you charge the rate of the province the goods ship to. Selling into Quebec can require separate QST registration, and BC and Saskatchewan have their own PST rules that can apply to out-of-province sellers. Each province is different and the marketplace rules add another layer. We monitor the thresholds for you and register only where your sales actually require it.
How do you reconcile Shopify, Amazon and Stripe payouts?
Every payout is net of payment fees, refunds, chargebacks and platform fees. We pull the payout reports each month and record them gross-to-net, so gross sales, the fees and the refunds each post correctly instead of being buried in a single bank deposit. Then we reconcile to your bank. That is what makes ecommerce bookkeeping tie out and your sales tax calculate on the right number.
Which inventory accounting method should I use?
Most small ecommerce sellers use weighted average or FIFO. The CRA accepts both as long as you apply one consistently, so the wrong move is switching back and forth or not tracking inventory at all. We pick a method based on your inventory turnover, reconcile it to what is actually in your warehouse or at your 3PL, and run it the same way every period so cost of goods sold and margin stay accurate.
How do you bill?
Fixed-fee, quoted up front. You will know the cost of your year-end, your tax filings, your multi-province sales tax and your monthly bookkeeping before we start. No surprise invoices, no hourly billing.