How online stores keep track of their finances
The math is simple: the higher your online store’s sales, the more numerous and also tangled the financial streams. This makes it all the more important to know what to look out for so that you can keep track of all your receivables at all times.
The concept of classical trade is in principle quite simple: goods (or services) for money. When customers order online, they often have the option of purchasing on account, thus pushing payment back in time. Here, store operators must be particularly well organized in order to maintain an overview of all outstanding receivables at all times. Special cases like discount promotions, credits, and cancellations add complexity – as does the growth of your store. Because the more you sell, the more complex your financial flows become. The well-known growing pains of youth are not only known to humans – but also to your online store.
But if you know what to look for (and have the right tool at hand), your online store will grow painlessly and smoothly. “Cash, boom, bang” instead of “crash, boom, bang”!
These things add complexity
in e-commerce
The step onto the international market
In your home country your online store is established and it’s time for the international market? Congratulations on that! The development of international markets holds a lot of potential – but also provides for a not inconsiderable complexity. Not only do different currencies and different tax rates lurk here, but in some cases completely different legal bases as well. So it’s worth paying extra attention here to make sure your money gets to you when you sell abroad.
For a successful user experience and thus long-term customer loyalty, a free choice of payment method is indispensable. At the same time, again, the more payment methods you offer, the more complex the management becomes for you. To stay on top of things, there are tools that can help you – read more about them below.
Really many customers – really many data
Your online store is going through the roof and thousands of new customers are buying from you? Hammer! Here you should pay attention to two things: On the one hand, your store system must be able to cope with the rush of customers on a technical level, and on the other hand, you should ensure that you treat your customers’ data with care. A CRM(customer relationship management) system remedies this, organizing your customers’ data and ensuring that your accountants can do their job properly.
Really many sales mean really many receivables – and really many special cases
As your customer numbers increase, so do your sales. That makes the cash register ring – but only if the money actually reaches you. Special cases like cancellations and returns add complexity to managing your cash flows. To help you keep track of your funds as they move back and forth, you should look into payment clearing.
And this is how you face these dangers:
With Payment Clearing from nexnet
So growth makes business more complicated. Is the solution then to stop growing? Not at all, the solution is Payment Clearing from nexnet. With Payment Clearing, all money movements can be monitored at the individual transaction level and recorded for accounting purposes.
These advantages are waiting for you:
- With Payment Clearing from nexnet you are informed about all financial flows, their due dates, completeness and correctness.
- Payment Clearing is compatible with all major PSPs(Payment Service Providers) or in German payment service providers such as Paypal, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Klarna and many more.
- And you always have an eye on what your PSPs are up to. This is because they never transfer the entire sum from the end customer’s purchase, but retain their commission on the one hand, and a kind of “security deposit” on the other, in order to be able to set aside provisions for cancellations, etc. After a certain period of time, for example after the expiration of the return period, the PSP will pay you back this amount – but not for each customer individually, but in a collective transfer with all orders from the current period. Without payment clearing, it is difficult to see for which order the PSP has already paid out the security deposit and for which it has not – with payment clearing, you can always keep track of this.
- Payment Clearing also works internationally! All cash movements are recorded with daily updated exchange rates and directly booked with the appropriate tax rates.
- nexnet prepares a testable monthly financial statement for you. All necessary data is transferred directly to your general ledger; again, all common general ledger solutions such as SAP or Datev are supported. This takes the pressure off your accountants and ensures that you never have to worry about the next audit again.
- By using Payment Clearing you save time and money, because your team has more capacity for the core business and can push your online store even further – without any growing pains!
If you’re also one of the lucky ones whose online stores are expanding, prevent the growing pains and get support. The experts at nexnet will be happy to advise you without obligation.
