The Amaka Blog

In the past few months, we've interviewed a range of accounting firms (RSM, Illumin8, POP Business and Ecommerce Accountants) and even a coach for accounting firm owners (Future Firm), asking about the rise of the Accounting Technologist. The role defines a new wave of accountants that have a strong understanding of how accounting and technology intersect.

There's no doubt that all industries have been evolving in response to technology and accounting isn't an exception. In this article, we interview Sidney Cachuela, COO and co-founder of POP Business. The accounting firm has won the Accountants Daily "30 Under 30" Award and has gone from 100 to 800 clients in the past year.

One of the accounting hurdles that e-commerce businesses face is international sales taxes. Fortunately, if you're using an e-commerce platform like Shopify, the right amount of sales tax is usually already collected for you. However, it's still useful to understand how rules and exemptions apply to you. Otherwise, you could end up upsetting customers or overpaying taxes.

Finding an accountant for your e-commerce business who actually understands the ins and outs of the industry can be difficult. How can you figure out who to trust? What knowledge should they have? We completely understand the struggles which is why we've put together this article to help you. Let's go through how to do your due diligence when hiring an accountant.

Most Shopify owners won't be an accounting whizz at the start, making it hard to understand how to reconcile payments. Fortunately, we'll take you through how to make it as quick and easy as possible. Today, we're using Shopify and Xero to demonstrate the process. However, the main principles are applicable for most businesses and cloud accounting solutions.

Recently, we've interviewed a range of firms including RSM, Illumin8 and Ecommerce Accountants, asking them about the rise of the Accounting Technologist role. The role encompasses those at the intersection of accounting and technology, driving innovation in the accounting industry.

There are now a range of apps you can use to automate your dropshipping business, including the accounting side of things. If you're doing the accounting for a dropshipping business, you can automate the majority of your data entry and bank reconciliation through software, meaning managing your books becomes much easier.

One of the biggest feats a multinational company can overcome is staying on top of industry change. RSM is the world's sixth largest professional services network, with over 30 offices, just in Australia. Despite their size, they've been able to keep up with the latest innovations in accounting technology and digital ecosystems.

Order and pay systems saw huge growth during the pandemic in a wide variety of venues across the globe. For example, the mandatory table ordering rules in 2020 meant that the UK saw a surge in the number of pubs adopting order and pay systems. Other venues adopting order and pay systems include restaurants, cafes, hotels, and even theatres and cruise ships.

Whether you're managing the books for your own e-commerce business or an e-commerce client, there are a few accounting mistakes you should try to avoid. Especially with the e-commerce industry booming, it's easy to get caught up in a million and one different tasks, ultimately forgetting about keeping your books updated.