Most general accountants look at your Amazon reports and guess. They categorize fees incorrectly, miss reimbursement opportunities, and deliver financials that do not reflect reality.
The wrong accountant costs you more than their fee in missed deductions and tax surprises. The right one understands marketplace complexity and keeps your books clean.
In this guide, you will learn what separates Amazon accountants from generalists, which questions to ask before hiring, and how to evaluate whether your current accountant actually understands your business.
Amazon’s seller accounting complexity outpaces what most generalists can handle. Relying on a standard CPA or DIY approach leads to missed reimbursements, unreliable financials, and costly compliance gaps.
Amazon settlements contain an average of 15+ fee types that impact your true margins. These include referral fees, FBA fulfillment fees, storage charges, shipping, returns, and more.
Unlike traditional retail, Amazon nets these fees against your payouts, making it difficult to see your real revenue and expenses without specialized reconciliation.
|
Standard accounting tasks |
Amazon-specific accounting tasks |
|
Record sales by invoice |
Reconcile settlements with 15+ fee types |
|
Track basic COGS |
Allocate COGS by channel and fulfillment method |
|
Simple sales tax filing |
Manage multi-state nexus and marketplace facilitator rules |
|
Monthly bank reconciliation |
Match payouts to orders, refunds, and reserves |
Table 1: Standard accounting vs. Amazon-specific accounting
Automation platforms like Webgility handle routine Amazon reconciliation, freeing your accountant to focus on strategy.
Once you hit these triggers, what kind of specialist do you need?
Ecommerce automation is no longer optional for accounting. Here is how it helps Amazon accountants work faster.
Automation platforms like Webgility sync orders, fees, payouts, and inventory in real time. This means your accounting is always up to date, and your accountant can focus on analysis.
So, which Amazon accountant types are best equipped to leverage these accounting automation tools?
Choose an Amazon accountant based on your business’s stage and needs.
If you are at $2M, selling FBA and FBM, you need a tech-enabled accountant who can reconcile both fulfillment models, track inventory across channels, and provide monthly margin analysis. Budget $2,000-$4,000 per month for this level of support.
Tech-enabled Amazon accountants often recommend or use Webgility for real-time insights.
Once you know which type you need, how do you vet the right fit?
A few targeted questions can reveal whether a candidate is the right fit for your business.
Discovery call questions:
Red flags to watch for:
As your business grows, your accounting needs and your accountant’s role will evolve.
Growth brings new accounting challenges. Here is how to keep up.
Automation frees up accountants for forecasting, margin analysis, and strategic advisory. This partnership delivers real-time insights and margin growth.
Cost comparison:
|
Model |
Typical monthly cost |
Key benefits |
|
DIY |
$0-$200 |
Low cost, high time investment |
|
Bookkeeper |
$500-$1,500 |
Accurate records, limited strategy |
|
CPA |
$1,500-$3,500 |
Tax compliance, some advisory |
|
Tech-enabled + CFO |
$3,500-$15,000+ |
Strategic, automated, scalable |
Table 1: Cost comparison for Amazon accountants
Timeline: Expect 30-60 days to find, vet, and onboard a specialist Amazon accountant. Complex businesses may take longer.
Webgility bridges the gap between automation and accounting expertise. The platform syncs Amazon orders, fees, settlements, and refunds directly to QuickBooks in real time, eliminating the manual data entry that eats into your accountant's hours.
Your accountant receives clean, categorized data instead of messy exports that require hours of sorting. Fee mapping happens automatically, settlement reconciliation runs without manual matching, and SKU-level profitability is visible without spreadsheet gymnastics.
Danwidth, an accounting consultant, uses Webgility to help his ecommerce clients save an average of 38 hours per month on reconciliation and data entry. His clients collectively saved nearly 1,000 hours of busywork in the first few months and gained visibility into gross profit and fee breakdowns across channels.
Book a demo with Webgility today.
Most sellers struggle with complex fee structures, multi-state tax rules, and time-consuming reconciliation. Manual processes often lead to errors and missed deductions, so automation and Amazon-specific expertise are crucial.
Bookkeepers usually charge $500-$2,000 per month, while tech-enabled accountants range from $2,000-$4,000 per month. Fractional CFOs may cost $3,000-$10,000+ monthly. Costs depend on your business size and complexity.
Automation saves time, reduces errors, and ensures accurate reconciliation of Amazon’s complex settlements. Sellers using automation platforms like Webgility save up to 90% of reconciliation time and close books 3x faster.
Many modern Amazon accountants offer both services, especially those specializing in ecommerce. This integrated approach improves communication and accuracy, but some sellers prefer separate providers for bookkeeping and tax strategy.