Seller accounting differs from ordinary retail by one word — "agent": the marketplace sells your goods in its own name, withholds its share and transfers the remainder. Every quirk of the bookkeeping follows from that: revenue is not equal to money received, documents come from the platform, and errors in the tax base surface as back assessments. Here is how it works and who should be trusted with it.
How marketplace sales accounting works
- The agency scheme. The platform is an agent: it sells, withholds commission and service fees, and pays out the difference. Your revenue is the whole sales amount, while commission and logistics are separate expenses. On the "income" version of the simplified regime (USN), expenses do not reduce the base — tax is paid on sales, not on payouts.
- The primary document is the sales report. The main document of every period: sales, returns, deductions. It, and not the bank statement, is the basis of your ledger; reconcile it against the platform's actual deductions: hidden deductions and reconciliation method.
- Returns and adjustments reduce the revenue of the period in which they happened — this is where manual bookkeeping goes wrong most often.
- VAT. Above a revenue threshold a seller on the simplified regime becomes a VAT payer, and accounting gets harder in one step: when VAT applies on USN.
Three ways to keep the books
Do it yourself. Realistic for a sole proprietor (IP) on the "income" simplified regime with one platform and modest turnover: download the sales reports, track revenue year-to-date, pay contributions and advance payments on time. Cheap, but you pay with your time and with the risk of missing a change in the rules.
Online accounting service. Marketplace integrations pull the reports in automatically, calculate the tax and remind you about deadlines. A middle option on price; make sure the service treats the agency scheme and returns correctly — check the first quarter by hand.
Accountant or outsourcing. Effectively mandatory with: an LLC (OOO), the "income minus expenses" simplified regime, VAT, imports, several legal entities. Look for a specialist with marketplace experience specifically: an "ordinary" accountant who counts revenue from bank statements is a source of systematic error.
What must be set up whichever option you choose
- An archive of the platform's reports for all periods — the platform does not store them forever, and the tax office asks later.
- Year-to-date revenue tracking — for the simplified regime and VAT thresholds.
- A payment calendar: advance payments under the simplified regime, contributions, VAT once you hold payer status.
- A monthly reconciliation: sales per the reports ↔ declared revenue ↔ payouts.
Statutory accounting is about taxes and reporting; management accounting (how much you actually earn) is a separate job: seller financial accounting, how to calculate profit.
Related guides: A bank for a seller: the business account.
FAQ
"Can a marketplace seller do the accounting themselves?" Yes — a sole proprietor (IP) on the "income" simplified regime, one or two platforms, no VAT and no imports. The key part: count revenue from the sales reports rather than from the bank statement, and track the thresholds year-to-date.
"When does a seller need an accountant?" An LLC (OOO), the "income minus expenses" simplified regime, VAT payer status, official imports, several legal entities — in these setups the cost of an error is higher than the cost of a specialist. Look for hands-on experience with marketplaces specifically.
"What counts as revenue when selling through a marketplace?" The full amount of sales to buyers — before commission, logistics and fines are withheld. On the "income" simplified regime, tax is paid on that amount even if less money reached your account.
"Which documents have to be kept?" Sales reports for all periods, the platform's acts and universal transfer documents (UPD), and the purchase documents for the goods. This is the basis for tax returns and the answer to any question from the tax office.
"How does statutory accounting differ from financial accounting?" Statutory accounting is for the state: taxes and reporting. Financial accounting is for you: real profit per SKU, unit economics, P&L. The first is mandatory; without the second the business flies blind.
