How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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!

Message 1 of 14
latest reply
13 REPLIES 13

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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.

Message 2 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

All true, thanks!

 

How do you get your numers from eBay however? That's where I'm having troubles.

Message 3 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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

 

 

 

 

Message 4 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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.....

Message 5 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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

Message 6 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

On a go-forward basis, do monthly downloads from the File Management Centre. 

 

Message 7 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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)

 

...

 

 

Message 8 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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.

Message 9 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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. 

Message 10 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

All of my records are stored on an external hard drive..... 

 

lots of memory,  and can be moved to any computer....

Message 11 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

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....

Message 12 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?


@ricarmic wrote:


I have the pleasure of operating on museum quality equipment ....


Running on cassette tapes?  Or punch cards?  There must be a few of those still around somewhere...

Message 13 of 14
latest reply

How to get your numbers to compute sales, profits, etc?

Application running on DOS 5.0 I expect I am the only person here who has anything running on that! Most support folks these days don't even know what that was, they weren't born then!
Message 14 of 14
latest reply