If you sell via Amazon then you'll find they usually retain all of the money for your sales and then send you a payment to settle what you are owed for those sales, less Amazons fees and commission. This guidance advises on how we suggest you deal with this scenario in your account.

Setting Up

The first step is to create a new Amazon bank account by going to Bank > Add a new bank account. Using the options on the next page, enter the following:

• Account Name – give this account a unique identifying name, i.e. 'Amazon Account'.
• Starting Date – the starting date should be before the first transaction, i.e. 01/01/1970.
• Starting Balance – this should be 0.00. If this account has transactions associated to it you will either have to input all these transactions using the importer, manually by adding transactions (bank transactions, invoice payments, purchase payments) or by using the opening balance journal.

Recording Transactions

Record your sales as usual but when you mark them as paid, within the Payment Details section select the newly created Amazon bank account instead of your Current Account. This will result in a balance building up on your Amazon bank account. When Amazon transfer you money, click Bank > Transfer money between accounts. Enter a transfer from the Amazon account to your current account and the amount you received.

Recording Fees

To record your Amazon fees and charges, go to Bank > View/Add Transactions next to the Amazon bank account. Add a transaction showing money going out for the amount you were charged by Amazon for their fees and commission. It's totally up to you whether or not you separate commission and fees into two separate bank transactions. If you do then it'll take a little longer to enter but it will give you better reporting information if and when you want to analyse your outgoings. If you've not already done so, you may want to create a new Transaction Type called Amazon Fees. To do that, go to Bank > Transaction Types > Add a new transaction type.