🧾 How to Set Up a Chart of Accounts for Your eCommerce Business
Estimated Reading Time: 2 MinutesIf you're running an eCommerce business—especially through platforms like Shopify, Amazon, or WooCommerce—you already know how important it is to keep your books clean. One of the first steps in doing that? A well-organized Chart of Accounts (COA).
A COA is like the filing cabinet for all your financial activity. Done right, it creates clarity. Done poorly, it creates chaos. And nobody's got time for that—especially not when you're trying to scale.
In this article, we’ll walk you through a standard eCommerce Chart of Accounts you can use as a starting point. (Hint: this is the starting point we use at DataZen when we build out a custom COA for our Shopify merchants.)
✅ What is a Chart of Accounts?
A Chart of Accounts is simply a structured list of all the accounts you use to categorize your financial transactions. These include assets, liabilities, income, cost of goods sold, expenses, and more.
Think of it like the map that helps your business understand where money is coming from and where it's going.
📘 Example Chart of Accounts for eCommerce
Below is a simplified and scalable COA tailored to direct-to-consumer and multichannel sellers. This version is designed to get you started—future additions can include channel-specific accounts, foreign currencies, and clearing accounts for third-party logistics.
🏦 Balance Sheet Accounts
| Number | Account Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1000 | Checking Account | Bank |
| 1010 | PayPal Account | Bank |
| 1020 | Reserve Account | Bank |
| 1100 | Accounts Receivable | Accounts Receivable |
| 1200 | Inventory | Current Asset |
| 1210 | Prepaid Expenses | Current Asset |
| 1300 | Shopify Payout Clearing | Current Asset |
| 1310 | Amazon Payout Clearing | Current Asset |
| 1400 | Deposits Held | Current Asset |
| 2000 | Accounts Payable | Accounts Payable |
| 2100 | Credit Card | Credit Card |
| 2200 | Sales Tax Payable | Liability |
| 2210 | Deferred Revenue | Liability |
| 3000 | Owner’s Equity | Equity |
| 3100 | Retained Earnings | Equity |
💰 Revenue Accounts
| Number | Account Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 4000 | Sales – Website | Income |
| 4010 | Sales – Amazon | Income |
| 4020 | Sales – Wholesale/B2B | Income |
| 4100 | Shipping Income | Income |
| 4200 | Gift Card Breakage | Income |
| 4300 | Returns & Discounts | Income (Negative) |
📦 Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)
| Number | Account Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 5000 | Product Costs | COGS |
| 5010 | Fulfillment & Shipping | COGS |
| 5020 | Packaging Supplies | COGS |
🧾 Operating Expenses
| Number | Account Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 6000 | Advertising | Expense |
| 6010 | Software & Apps | Expense |
| 6020 | Merchant Fees | Expense |
| 6030 | Professional Services | Expense |
| 6040 | Payroll & Contractor Fees | Expense |
| 6050 | Office & Admin | Expense |
| 6060 | Insurance | Expense |
| 6070 | Rent | Expense |
| 6080 | Travel | Expense |
📉 Other Income & Expenses
| Number | Account Name | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 7000 | Interest Income | Other Income |
| 7100 | Interest Expense | Other Expense |
| 7200 | Depreciation | Other Expense |
🧠 Final Thoughts
This is just a starting point. Your COA should evolve with your business—whether that means expanding internationally, adding new channels, or setting up deeper automation for inventory and fulfillment.
Most importantly: a good COA is worthless if it’s not maintained properly.
That’s where we come in.
✨ Need Help?
At DataZen, we specialize in helping eCommerce brands set up and maintain their financial systems, including custom COAs built for scale. If you’re feeling stuck, or just want to make sure you're getting the most out of your bookkeeping systems—get in touch.