Articles

Working notes on the financial mechanics of running an e-commerce brand — landed cost, cash flow, multi-currency, VAT, and the reconciliation problems that sit underneath them. Written for founders who want to understand the numbers, not just receive them.

E-commerce VAT & Taxation

The doorstep charges quietly killing your international sales

A German customer refuses your £200 jacket at the door because the courier wants €55 in surprise VAT and fees. The right cross-border setup clears every parcel with no doorstep bill.

Stop paying import VAT upfront with Postponed VAT Accounting

Your stock lands at the border and won’t be released until the import VAT is paid — cash gone before you’ve sold a unit. Postponed VAT Accounting clears it with nothing leaving your account.

How a good year can cost you thousands in tax

A strong year tempts you to pull £100,000 out in one go. Done that way, you hand HMRC tens of thousands more than a planned draw across the year would cost.

Tech Stack & Automation

The phantom cash hiding in your clearing account

Xero shows £10,000 in your Stripe clearing account, Stripe shows zero, and your bookkeeper says it’ll wash out. It probably won’t, and it could be skewing your profit and tax.

The A2X mapping trap that corrupts your Amazon numbers

A2X fixes Amazon's month-end timing, but left on default mapping it carries bad data into your ledger — bundled cost lines hide your true advertising and fulfilment numbers, and a single VAT code across different sale types can leave your VAT return wrong. The software is doing exactly what it was told to do; the problem is what it was told.

Inventory Management

Are you selling your bulky products at a loss?

Split one freight bill evenly across a container of 50 products and your margins become guesswork. The bulky items sell at a loss while the dense ones are overpriced.

The margin you’re pricing against may already be gone

Your accountant says your margin is 60% — but that figure was loaded at launch, before your factory and freight costs climbed. You could be funding ad spend out of margin that’s already gone.

Cashflow & Profitability

The 13-week forecast that keeps you ahead

Your bank balance looks healthy, so you order Q4 stock and lift ad spend. What it doesn’t show is three bills landing together in week five, before payouts clear.

Why your dollar sales shrink before they reach your bank

Your US sales are booming, but each payout lands smaller than your margins suggested. You’re paying the currency spread twice — once converting dollars in, again converting back to pay your factory.