The ideal software stack for the eCommerce entrepreneur.

Introduction

Every entrepreneur has a dream of creating their own business. Some want to start their own online store using eCommerce software, and some want to sell products on Amazon FBA. If you're wondering what the ideal software stack for an eCommerce store is, this article will shed some light on that topic!

Xero / Quickbooks

When it comes to accounting software, Xero is the best choice for those who sell with PayPal, especially in multiple currencies. The direct Xero integration with Paypal makes things seamless and easy, Quickbooks just does not have this functionality.

Quickbooks is better suited for invoicing, but it doesn’t integrate well with online stores like Shopify, WooCommerce or Amazon. Quickbooks has more all-in-one services that can streamline your entire business process from Accounting to Inventory Management so if you want something that does it all then this might be a good choice for you—but keep in mind there will be less functionality.

Hubdoc / Receipt Bank

Receipt Bank is a cloud-based receipt scanning and management solution that includes everything you need to track receipts, create expense reports, and submit your expenses electronically. The software does cost a bit of money but is a quality product. Hubdoc does all the same things and is free to use with Xero subscription! However you are missing out on some organizational tools such as categorizing receipts into categories automatically.

With Hubdoc you can:

• Read receipts and import transactions into Xero
• Get an instant view of all transactions in one place using the document feeder or drag-and-drop functionality
• Integrate the expense report templates into Hubdoc so that they’re automatically populated with data from Xero

A2X / Link My Books

Both A2X and Link My Books help post entries into your accounting software, but A2X is quite a bit more expensive

• A2X has been around longer, which means it has more integrations and a better track record with reliability.
• The cost of Link My Books is much lower than A2X, but the real savings come when you factor in how many hours you can save by not having to spend time on manual data entry. As bookkeepers we love working with both softwares and they help us provide accurate financials for a reasonable price

Shopify or Amazon FBA

Shopify is a great option for eCommerce entrepreneurs who want to focus on developing their brand, rather than chasing orders. With Shopify, you can build an entire store and then let it do the heavy lifting—order management, fulfilment tracking, SEO and marketing, almost everything but shipping orders yourself!

Amazon FBA offers another option that’s popular with many entrepreneurs: hands-free selling on Amazon's marketplace. While it does come with some downsides, such as losing control over your brand identity or having less flexibility in how you sell products, there are plenty of benefits as well: Amazon will handle almost all aspects of running your business including shipping!

Conclusion

If you want to start an eCommerce business, then the software stack is the place to start. The right stack can make a world of difference. Luckily there are many great companies that have great tools in place! Whenever you're ready we at Blubooks are here to help bring it all together and create tax ready financials for your business.

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