← Back to Guides 📂 Directory

Bookkeeping for Resellers

You can't manage what you don't measure. Track every dollar in, every dollar out, and know your ACTUAL profit.

What to Track

Every purchase: Date, item, cost, where sourced
Every sale: Date, item, sale price, platform, fees
Shipping costs: What you paid to ship items
Supplies: Boxes, tape, labels, poly mailers
Platform fees: Monthly subscriptions, selling fees
Mileage: Sourcing trips, post office runs
Other expenses: Phone, internet, storage, tools

Tracking Tools

Tool	Cost	Best For
Spreadsheet (Excel/Sheets)	Free	Beginners, full control, customizable
My Reseller Genie	$5/mo	Clothing resellers, auto-import sales
SellerBoard	$15-30/mo	Amazon FBA sellers
QuickBooks	$15-30/mo	Serious businesses, tax-ready reports
Wave	Free	Basic accounting, invoicing

Basic Spreadsheet Setup

Create columns for:

SKU: Your unique item identifier
Description: What the item is
Purchase Date: When you bought it
Cost: What you paid
List Date: When you listed it
Sold Date: When it sold
Sale Price: What buyer paid
Platform: Where it sold
Fees: Platform fees + payment processing
Shipping: Your shipping cost
Profit: Sale Price - Cost - Fees - Shipping

💡 Pro Tip: Enter purchases WHEN YOU BUY, not later. It takes 30 seconds now vs. hours at tax time trying to remember.

Key Metrics to Know

Gross revenue: Total sales before expenses
COGS (Cost of Goods Sold): What you paid for inventory that sold
Gross profit: Revenue - COGS
Net profit: Gross profit - all other expenses
Sell-through rate: % of inventory sold in time period
Average days to sell: List date to sold date
ROI per item: (Profit / Cost) × 100

Tax-Ready Records

Save all receipts: Digital photos or apps like Expensify
Separate bank account: Makes tracking automatic
Monthly reconciliation: Match your records to bank statements
Mileage log: Date, destination, purpose, miles
Home office: Measure dedicated space for deduction

Schedule

Daily: Enter purchases, mark sales as sold
Weekly: Review week's profit, check trends
Monthly: Reconcile with bank, review expenses
Quarterly: Calculate estimated taxes (if applicable)
Annually: Generate reports for tax filing