If you have accounting knowledge, then you might as well put it to good use. Ecommerce is on the rise, and as more and more online businesses are starting to sell online, business owners also need help handling their finances. Unfortunately, ecommerce accounting is messy, and many business owners outsource it to skilled experts.
If you want to expand your skills and be an accountant for ecommerce companies, here are the roles, responsibilities, and skills an effective ecommerce accounting expert should have.
The Roles and Responsibilities of Ecommerce Accountants
Understanding financial data is essential to figuring out how well a company is doing. A large revenue is not the only factor that shows that a business is booming. It is an accountant's task to organize finances and generate reports to oversee the health of businesses.
Here are some of the important duties of an ecommerce accountant.
Maintaining books of accounts.
The primary role of an accountant is keeping track of all the financial statements and preparing them for net profit or loss at the end of a specified accounting period. Companies do audits quarterly or annually, and accountants prepare reports to summarize how the money circulates in the business.
Don't confuse the books of accounts with the books involving bookkeeping tasks. The books of accounts are not just the records of sales and expenses of a business. It also contains the general ledger, debtor and creditor ledger, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and bank reconciliation statements.
Business auditing.
Making internal audits are crucial to every business. Accountants make sure business transactions recorded, declared, and summarized in all books are valid and in compliance with government laws. If there are inconsistencies, the accountant has to pinpoint the issues and fix them.
Small businesses rarely get audited, but tax collection agencies are keen on looking into big enterprises. When this happens, accountants can answer for the company.
Business forecasting.
Preparing a business for what might happen in the future is also one of the expected tasks of accountants. Business forecasting helps a business owner create a strategy for their business. There are different ways an accountant can do forecasting, but commonly, experienced ecommerce accountants use historical data and past trends to predict the future of a business.
However, there are outside variables that can have an impact on the projection. Nonetheless, accountants can present different strategies for different situations.
Tax compliance.
Ecommerce entrepreneurs despise taxes. It's tedious and time-consuming work. Ecommerce tax accountants are in charge of handling the tax liabilities of the business. An ecommerce business owner's primary concern is sales tax, especially when they own a product-based entity.
Accountants make sure that businesses collect the proper sales tax and file them. Accountants can also deal with tax deductions and exemptions. Accounting experts ensure that a business’s tax obligations are met properly.
Payroll and management duties.
Other accountants can assume the role of payroll manager. Since payroll also involves tax deductions and computations, someone with strong mathematical skills has an advantage in handling payroll. Moreover, some managerial duties may also fit an accountant’s role since you should have a strong sense of organizing and managing things.
5 Skills You Should Have to be a Competitive Accountant
To be a trustworthy accountant, you must possess a number of skills. Of course, ecommerce businesses want their finances to be in good hands, so they may be looking for a particular skill set when hiring an accountant. Here are some important skills ecommerce clients look for in their accountants.
Time management skills.
Accounting is a busy job. You have to prepare financial reports and documents and file for taxes. You can’t afford to be behind schedule because delays can negatively affect a business. Finances run businesses, and without the reports, the business will have to use guesswork instead of proper strategies.
In addition, tax filing has deadlines too. Missing the deadline will mean penalties, and employers do not want these unnecessary expenses. So being timely is essential to an accountant.
Critical thinking skills.
In ecommerce businesses, the financial department is prone to errors and issues. As an accountant, you should always be ready when facing such issues. Additionally, you want to always have a strategy in place in case something bad happens in the future.
Aside from providing solutions, decision-making is also crucial. You have to make unbiased decisions as much as possible. The plans that you lay out for the business impact it greatly. Your decisions and solutions can strengthen or start the fall of a company.
Communication skills.
Accounting professionals deal and collaborate with different departments within a business. You will meet different types of people to manage conflicts and generate reports. You'll constantly communicate with the business owner, stakeholders, and potential investors. You should be able to convey messages clearly and make them understand how the accounting data impacts the business.
Technology-driven.
The development of technology makes accounting easier for businesses. Accountants should be updated with the technological developments in accounting. There are several accounting software available that can make the job easier and less prone to errors. Establishing an accounting system for a company should be a primary goal of an accountant.
Accounting software can help with ecommerce bookkeeping, inventory management, securing financial records, calculating gross margins, preparing documents for tax returns, and many more tasks.
Specialized accountancy skills.
There are some cases where small business owners are looking for accountants that can do more than traditional accounting methods. For example, certified public accountants (CPAs) are the most common types of accountants that government entities and companies look for. They mostly handle financials involving business taxes.
However, other businesses may require other types of accountants. For example, management accountants identify and interpret accounting data and relay it to different departments so they can strategize and make plans for the business.
Final Thoughts
Business owners put their trust in ecommerce accounting experts to handle their finances. That's why being an accountant plays a big role in the success of a business. Although becoming an ecommerce accountant entails many more responsibilities, these are just some of the important duties you will attend to when you decide to become one.
But if you want to focus on developing your area of expertise on business taxes, Unloop offers a partnership for accountants. Become our partner, and we'll gladly do the bookkeeping for your clients while you continue to focus on handling their taxes. So book a call with us today and learn more about this collaboration offer.