E-commerce Accounting in Thailand

Map the transactions before choosing the package

The first discussion should identify the systems, people and evidence behind each flow. Agree which records the business supplies, how often they are delivered and which exceptions require management approval. A clear transaction map is more useful than a package based only on the number of bank entries.

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Sales, collections and revenue cut-off

Reconcile each channel independently before combining sales in the ledger. Record refunds, seller-funded promotions, platform support, shipping income, payment fees and settlement reserves with their supporting evidence. A bank payout is the final step of the collection process, not a substitute for the order history. For cross-border transactions, keep currency, conversion date and fees visible. The contractual role of the business also matters when deciding how revenue is presented.

For Thai VAT, registration, tax invoices and return obligations must be reviewed separately from the management report. The Revenue Department VAT guidance and tax-invoice provisions provide the official starting points. Use the dedicated VAT guide for the wider filing workflow.

Costs, balances and operating controls

Build the landed-cost record from the relevant purchase, freight, customs and other directly attributable evidence under the adopted accounting policy. Do not put every cash payment into stock or expense it immediately without review. Track stock in transit, fulfilment warehouses, returned goods, damaged products and promotional samples. Reconcile physical counts with system quantities and investigate discrepancies by SKU before posting a general stock adjustment.

Payroll, responsibilities and approvals

Define responsibilities between the online sales team, warehouse, payment approver and accountant. The sales team should explain promotions and returns; the warehouse should support receipts and counts; management should authorise supplier and payroll payments. Restrict the ability to change bank details and approve refunds. Where external contractors or foreign suppliers are used, obtain the contracts and invoice details needed for the relevant withholding or VAT review.

Connect this work with payroll administration and, where relevant, work-permit preparation. Payroll processing does not replace management approval or employment-law review.

A monthly close that management can use

A good close matches orders to payments, shipping or delivery evidence, invoices and returns. Review settlement reserves and funds held by platforms, uncollected cash-on-delivery balances, negative stock and orders that were cancelled in one system but remain active in another. Archive the original exports and record the reconciliation logic so a later platform change does not erase the audit trail. Agree who can reopen a closed reporting period.

The final handover should include the agreed financial statements, key reconciliations, an outstanding-items list and the status of relevant submissions and payments. Keep evidence of both filing and payment. Explain any estimates or unresolved records so the owner understands what can safely be concluded from the figures.

Reports and indicators worth discussing

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Define the calculation and comparison period before judging performance. Management reporting and cash-flow planning can be included in the agreed scope; it should not be assumed to come with every bookkeeping quotation.

An illustrative workflow

Illustrative reconciliation: website orders are imported into the accounting system while payment-gateway deposits are also posted as sales. The same commercial activity can then be counted twice. A controlled workflow records the sale once, uses a clearing balance for the collection and matches the later bank settlement to that balance. The example illustrates a control risk, not a claim about a particular client.

Documents for an initial review

• Order-level exports from every sales channel
• Gateway, marketplace and courier collection statements
• Purchase invoices, import documents and stock records
• Refund, promotion and shipping policies
• Software integration map, opening balances and tax registrations

Provide one representative month and identify known gaps rather than sending an unstructured archive first. If the business is changing providers, use the accountant handover guide. If several periods are incomplete, start with catch-up bookkeeping so historical work and ongoing monthly work can be priced separately.

Agree the scope, outputs and fee

A quotation should specify the entities and locations covered, source systems, transaction complexity, payroll population, reporting frequency, tax-return responsibilities and annual work. It should also state who collects missing evidence, what is excluded, how additional work is approved and who controls payments. Do not infer an audit, a licence review or unlimited historical corrections from the phrase “full accounting”.

Use the accounting package comparison to prepare the discussion. The document checklists and working-paper templates help organise the information before the engagement begins.

Illustrative engagement example

Explore the fictional ecommerce accounting handover example for a proposed work plan, document requests, deliverables and review criteria. This teaching scenario is not a record of a completed client mission.

Frequently asked questions