How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 10:44 AM
Hey guys!
I would like to compute my profits for selling on eBay for the second half of 2016.
I have found some ways to get the numbers I need but this is incredibly confusing and a PITA to get all I need.
I need to spend like 5 hours obtaining my data from different extractions. Lots of extractions can't go back further than 4 months so I have to estimate lots of numbers. I need to spend a lot of energy in manipulating data to make it usable too.
Isn't there a report I can get to make my computations? I need my sales, final value fees and returns. I have an anchor store - in case in matters.
Thanks!
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 10:57 AM
Keep your own record of everything......
That is what I do
For income tax purposes one keeps the records for six years plus the current year.... For 2017, that means records for the six years starting with 2011 and up to 2016.
Records before 2011 are shredded to prevent any Identity theft with respect to one's buyers....
This holds true for all businesses both small and BIG and in relation to the Canada Revenue Agency,. in relation to income tax rules and regulations.
Welcome to the reality of running a business on-line.
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 11:00 AM
All true, thanks!
How do you get your numers from eBay however? That's where I'm having troubles.
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 11:47 AM
Try Paypal for sales records.... check to see how far back you can get records.....
Go to your bank account for transfers from Paypal
Go to Seller Account on eBay for invoices... and a record of sales..... How far back do the records go.....
These may no go back far enough
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 11:56 AM
Paypal may be the best source of information...
View .....Activity...... for 2017 and for last year....
Then add up the numbers on a spreadsheet..... price and shipping cost....
Paypal also has records for payment of eBay invoices, and all money transfers to your bank account
Paypal is the closest to having all of the needed information.....
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 01:11 PM
There is a lot to be said for a paper record.
Even though I toss all my printouts after six years, I've kept my notebooks with Title, C$*, US$*, S&H, Postage, Cost, Source, and Notes (mostly destinations) since 2001.
*selling price
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 02:55 PM
On a go-forward basis, do monthly downloads from the File Management Centre.
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-02-2017 10:56 PM - edited 03-02-2017 10:59 PM
For ebay details: fees. returns, etc:
My eBay > My Account > Seller Account > View Invoice
There is a link on that page to download the monthly invoice.
You can download as html file (browser viewable) or CSV file (for spreadsheet use).
Invoices are available for the last 18 months. I download mine every month.
...
For Paypal payment details:
View online: https://history.paypal.com/ca/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_history
To download: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_history-download (specify a time range, up to a 12 month chunk)
...
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-03-2017 08:16 AM
Records start ... first, on a daily basis, and this adds up to a monthly then yearly basis
For me.... It is on January 1 of every year , that I can look back and see my completed record for the 12 months previous.
Keeping records helps one understand the how and why of what is happening.... There are sales trends..... and then one learns how to maximize sales in relation to everything that is happening.
and above all... Nothing is perfect....
Records are a business reality... It does not matter how big (or how small) you are.... You are running a business... and Canada Revenue Agency is watching.. us all... Each of us, as internet sellers, has found a way to make it happen.
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03-03-2017 11:01 AM - edited 03-03-2017 11:04 AM
Although it won't help you for 2016, if you're running an Anchor store, you'd be well served to invest in at least some basic accounting software (Quickbooks is the obvious one, and has different levels for different needs, but there are many others).
It's a relatively minor one-time investment when weighed against all the hassle, loss of time, and frustration of sorting through eBay/Paypal, etc. records. While it does require daily (or at least regular) input of your sales, expenses and other data, the great advantage is that you'll be able to see how your profits and expenses are trending at any point in the year and make necessary adjustments to your business plan accordingly. I think that is vital information to have. And you'll have all your data in one place to automatically generate the figures needed for income tax filing.
The alternative is to do as some here have suggested and use the CSV downloads from eBay and Paypal. This is more unwieldy than accounting software, but again, you'll at least have all your figures in one place. If you're creative in using Excel's built-in features, with CSV charts you can actually design your own simple extrapolated summaries from the data to give you an always-current snapshot of your profit and loss status, expenses, and income.
The bottom line is that if you're running a business, no matter how small, you really need to have your own records, in some form or another. Don't rely on eBay, Paypal, etc. to keep your business records for you. For one thing, their data could crash. For another, you have no control over that data and where or how long it's kept. Incidentally, as a business, Revenue Canada does require you to keep records, which I don't think is fully satisfied by having the data stored by eBay/Paypal. And if you're ever audited, you'll need to have your own records at hand.
Personally, because I'm old-school (i.e. BCE -- "Before the Computer Era"), I subscribe to the belt-and-suspenders principle of record keeping -- I keep a hard copy printout of the details of each sale, and enter the data on a (relatively simple) accounting programme. This saves a lot of grief come tax time. If you don't keep paper copies of your records, a weekly backup of your business data onto a jumpstick (or wherever) is a very good idea. With our daily and almost total reliance on computers, it's easy to forget that the carriers (computers) can still crash and digitally-recorded information can be lost.
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03-03-2017 12:31 PM
All of my records are stored on an external hard drive.....
lots of memory, and can be moved to any computer....
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03-03-2017 04:21 PM - edited 03-03-2017 04:23 PM
One should always maintain two copies, from time to time (the duration between can be decided by how much work/time/cost it would be to recreate) backups should be maintained. They're always a PITA to do, until one needs one!
I have the pleasure of operating on museum quality equipment and a few times in the last 25 years I have had to rely on my backups to recreate things. I remind myself of that whilst I'm doing the backups....
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-03-2017 07:37 PM
How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?
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03-03-2017 07:52 PM

