E-commerce accounting: invoicing, VAT, software... follow our guide to comply!

How do you manage e-commerce accounting? If you're planning to set up an e-commerce site, or have already launched your own online store, this is a question you'll want to ask yourself.

Yes, you want to do things right, and accounting is an important part of your business. From a legal point of view, there are legal obligations to respect, such as opening a bank account, issuing invoices to customers, and keeping accounts for certain companies.

Let's take a look at some of the points you need to bear in mind when managing your e-commerce accounts.

See all software Accounting

Opening a bank account

This is the starting point for selling online. All companies are required to open a bank account for their business. After all, you'll need to receive payment for the orders your customers place with you.

Now, are you obliged to open a business bank account ? This will depend on your company's status:

• for companies with share capital, it's compulsory;
• for self-employed entrepreneurs and sole traders, a standard bank account is sufficient, as long as it's dedicated to your business and separate from your personal accounts.

Billing management

Invoicing: an essential step

Invoices form the basis of your e-commerce accounting. The law is very clear:

"Any purchase of products or provision of services for a professional activity must be subject to invoicing" Art. L441-3 of the French Commercial Code.

Your online store is no exception to the rule! What's more, in e-commerce, the invoice must be issued when the order is shipped, and not when payment is received.

"The seller is obliged to issue the invoice as soon as the sale is completed or the service provided" - Art. L441-3 of the French Commercial Code.

The invoice must include all the mandatory information required.

To meet this obligation, you can :

• generate an electronic invoice at the time of order, which your customers will receive by e-mail in PDF format and/or via their customer area;
• generate and print the invoice for inclusion in the parcel at the time of dispatch;
• or opt for both, as long as both invoices are strictly identical.

If you'd like to automate invoice issue to save time and avoid human error:

• check whether the e-commerce platform or marketplace on which you sell allows you to manage this natively or via additional modules;
• use invoicing software that interfaces with your e-commerce platform.

💡 Upload customer invoices regularly (weekly or monthly) to gather supporting documents for your accounting, if your solution doesn't handle this automatically.

Issuing credit notes

In online sales, customers have 14 days to retract their order, whatever the reason. A situation you're bound to encounter sooner or later.

In this case, you can offer your customer a credit note, which he or she may or may not accept. You'll then need to generate a credit invoice, which will correct the first invoice he received.

💡 Here again, you can automate the issuing of a credit note invoice on your invoicing software or via your e-commerce platform if it allows you to manage it directly.

VAT management

VAT invoicing and collection: who's concerned?

VAT, or value-added tax, is a tax payable by virtually all businesses.

In fact, some businesses are automatically exempt from VAT, while others can opt for VAT exemption under certain conditions:

• with auto-entrepreneur status, VAT exemption applies automatically;
• sole proprietorships (EI, EIRL, etc.) may opt for the micro-enterprise system, and therefore the VAT exemption;
• all businesses with sales of goods not exceeding 85,800 euros can also opt for the exemption.

In this case, you won't need to invoice your customers for VAT, but will need to issue an invoice without VAT, clearly marked "TVA non applicable, art. 293 B du CGI".

VAT on sales within France

If you are liable for VAT, you will have to charge it on your sales price, so that you can collect it and redistribute it to the tax authorities. The rate varies according to the type of goods sold.

The general rate applicable in France is 20%, whether you're selling B2B or B2C. Reduced VAT rates of 10%, 5.5% and even 2.1% apply to certain types of product, such as :

• books
• foodstuffs,
• pet food
• medicines,
• works of art,
• equipment for the disabled, etc.

To find out more, see the full list of the different VAT rates in force in 2024.

💡 So don't forget to set the right VAT rate for each of your products in your e-commerce solution.

VAT for e-commerce sales in the EU

The previously complex intra-EU VAT system has been simplified from July 1, 2021.

Here's the rule: if you sell more than 10,000 euros (excl. VAT) worth of goods in an EU country, then you're liable for VAT according to the rules in force in the recipient country.

To pay the amount due, go to the VAT one-stop shop (OSS).

Here's an illustrated example to get you started:

A French company sells swimwear on its online store, and must collect VAT. It delivers only to France and Spain, where its customers are located. In 2024, it generated sales of 45,000 euros (excl. VAT) in Spain, and exceeded the 10,000-euro threshold on July 1.

It must therefore :

• invoice, collect and pay French VAT at 20% on the 10,000 euros of sales in Spain,
• invoice, collect and pay Spanish VAT at 21% (at the one-stop shop) on the 35,000 euros above the threshold.

VAT on sales to the UK

As you know, from January 1, 2021, Great Britain will no longer be part of the European Union. As a result, every e-commerce sale is now an export, and comes with its own set of formalities.

You'll need to obtain an EORI number, and make sure you register with HMRC to declare and pay UK VAT.

Here are the formalities:

• if your sale does not exceed £135: you must pay UK VAT directly;
• if your sale exceeds £135: no VAT to pay, in the same way as exports outside the EU.

💡 Check that your e-commerce platform takes this British specificity into account, or if a plug-in, module or software can do so.

Equip yourself with e-commerce accounting software

You can, of course, manage your invoices and accounting with an Excel file. This is perfect when you're just starting out and sales are still low. But as soon as the pace of orders picks up (and we wish you all the best), performing these tasks manually can quickly become time-consuming.

Many e-commerce solutions allow you to produce invoices and credit notes, and possibly export your sales, but they don't allow you to record the financial flows of your business.

It is therefore highly recommended that you turn to sales management software with an integrated accounting module, such as Lundi Matin Business, or professional accounting software.

In addition to saving you time, they enable you to :

• automate workflows,
• avoid re-entries and human errors,
• comply with legislation,
• track your expenses to control your cash flow and profitability.

See all software Accounting

Is it compulsory to use a chartered accountant?

Is it compulsory to use a chartered accountant for your e-commerce site's accounting? The answer is no.

Often, due to a lack of cash at the start of your business, you may be reluctant to outsource your accounting. This is understandable, but you should know that it often represents a profitable investment for a number of reasons (sound advice on optimizing expenses, saving time, avoiding fines for non-compliance with tax legislation, etc.).

We therefore recommend that, as soon as you have sufficient cash and a significant sales volume, you call in a chartered accountant to take your e-commerce site to the next level.