Do I need an e-commerce CPA, an accountant or a bookkeeper?

The titles overlap in everyday speech, so it helps to describe the work rather than the label.

• A bookkeeper records and reconciles what happened: every sale, payout, fee, refund and purchase, matched to bank, card and marketplace statements, closed each month into a profit and loss and a balance sheet. For a seller, that includes inventory, cost of goods sold and channel-by-channel revenue.
• An accountant usually works from those books: reviewing them, producing financial statements, advising on structure, cash and planning. Accountants may or may not hold a license.
• A CPA is an accountant licensed by a state board of accountancy who has passed the Uniform CPA Examination and completes continuing education to keep the license active.^[1]
• An enrolled agent is licensed by the IRS itself, after a suitability check and a three-part Special Enrollment Examination, with 72 hours of continuing education every three years.^[1]

This is where the credential matters. The IRS gives unlimited representation rights to three groups: CPAs, enrolled agents and attorneys. They can represent clients on any matter, including audits, payment and collection issues, and appeals.^[1]

Preparers in the IRS Annual Filing Season Program have limited rights: they can represent clients only for returns they prepared and signed, and only before certain IRS employees, not in appeals or collection matters. Preparers who hold only a PTIN have no authority to represent clients before the IRS.^[1]

So if you want someone who can speak for you in an audit, you want a CPA, an enrolled agent or an attorney. Who prepares your return is a separate choice, and the same IRS page explains each credential if you are comparing preparers.

Seller books differ from most small-business books in a few specific ways, and each needs a step general small-business books skip:

• Payouts are net. Marketplaces pay after fees, refunds and reserves, so revenue has to be rebuilt from settlement reports, not read off the bank.
• Inventory moves through several locations. A warehouse, a 3PL and a marketplace fulfillment center all hold stock you own.
• The 1099-K reports gross. Each platform's form has to tie back to the books before the return is prepared.
• Landed cost decides margin. Freight and duty belong in product cost, or margin per product is overstated.

Whoever does your books, ask whether they reconcile marketplace settlements line by line and track inventory at cost. That matters more for an online store than the title on the door.

A setup that fits a store doing $50k to $1M a year:

• Every month: an e-commerce bookkeeper closes the books, reconciles every payout and keeps inventory and cost of goods sold current.
• Once a year: a tax preparer, often a CPA or enrolled agent, prepares the return from those books.
• When needed: a CPA, enrolled agent or attorney for an IRS notice, an audit or a question about entity structure.

The handover is what makes this work. Tax-ready books mean the preparer spends their time on the return, not on rebuilding a year of payouts.

We are e-commerce bookkeepers. Our e-commerce accounting service covers the monthly books for online sellers: every payout reconciled, inventory and cost of goods sold kept current, a 1099-K tie-out at year end, and clean, tax-ready books your tax preparer can work with. If you are weighing the cost, see what a bookkeeper costs for an online store.