Specialist accountants
Do I need an ecommerce accountant?
If you sell online, your accounts may involve marketplace payouts, stock and sales to customers abroad. Some accountants work with this every week; others see it less.
The short answer
Not always. An accountant with ecommerce experience may help if you sell through several marketplaces or channels, hold stock, sell to customers abroad or keep stock in another country, or have a lot of orders to match up. If you sell through one channel in the UK and your current accountant handles it well, a general accountant may be enough.
Signs it may help
This is our judgement, not a rule. Each of these can add work that an accountant with ecommerce experience may have seen before. One on its own may not mean you need a specialist.
| If you... | Why it can add work | More detail |
|---|---|---|
| Sell through online marketplaces | The money paid into your bank is after fees, refunds and other deductions, so it has to be matched back to your sales. GOV.UK says an online marketplace can be responsible for the VAT on some sales, depending on where the seller is established and where the goods are.1 | Matching marketplace payouts |
| Hold stock | A limited company must keep records of the stock it owns at the end of its financial year and the stocktakings used to work out that figure.2 Stock also changes your profit figure. | Stock and cost of sales |
| Sell to customers abroad | The VAT rules depend on where the goods are, where they go and who the customer is. | VAT for online sellers |
| Keep stock in another country | Amazon's own page for its Pan-European FBA service says a VAT number is required where goods are stored.3 | Amazon FBA and stock held abroad |
| Have a lot of orders, or several sales channels | More payouts, currencies and fee reports to match. Some of the firms we checked set their ecommerce prices partly by order numbers or channels. | What ecommerce accountancy can cost |
When a general accountant may be enough
You may not need a specialist if you sell through one channel, only to UK customers, with a small number of products, and your accountant already gets your sales and fees right. It may be enough to ask your current accountant how they handle marketplace reports, stock and VAT, and check their answers against the GOV.UK guidance linked on these pages.
What the label does and doesn't tell you
We have not found a protected title or separate qualification for an "ecommerce accountant", so it is the firm's own description. A firm that calls itself one may know the marketplaces and software well. A general firm may too. Ask about their experience: Specialist accountant has questions you can use, and Changing to an ecommerce accountant has ecommerce ones.
We do not check whether an accountant is competent, qualified or suitable for your business.
Sources
- HMRC, "Charging VAT when goods are sold if you're an online marketplace operator", last updated 20 June 2025. GOV.UK. Checked 12 October 2026.
- GOV.UK, "Running a limited company: Company and accounting records". GOV.UK. Checked 12 October 2026.
- Amazon, "Fulfilment by Amazon" (seller information page, comparison of Pan-European FBA and other options). sell.amazon.co.uk. Checked 12 October 2026. Cited to describe the service, not as a recommendation.