Shopify accounting: how to automate Shopify invoices thanks to apps and keep everything in view

While a few are enthusiastic about it, for the vast majority of traders it is a major but necessary evil: we are talking about bookkeeping. The principle of proper accounting dictates that all business transactions must be documented in a timely and chronological manner. To comply with this, you should automate your Shopify accounting. How to create an online store invoice and bring it together with your accounting software is explained in this blog post.

Shopify invoices must be recorded for accounting purposes

The principle of proper accounting according to the German Commercial Code (HGB) also applies to companies in e-commerce. This essentially says nothing other than that all income and expenses must be recorded and documented. On the revenue side, this means that every outgoing Shopify invoice must be recorded for accounting purposes. The same applies to the documentation of costs, be it for personnel, purchases of goods, storage facilities, office rent, etc.

In addition, for most businesses, sales tax liability applies. If this is the case, in addition to revenues and expenses (net), the sales tax collected as well as the input tax already paid to the tax office in advance are also recorded. The input tax can be paid either monthly or quarterly.

These requirements give rise to an expense for retailers that should not be underestimated. If errors occur in accounting, there is also the threat of serious consequences from the tax office. To prevent this, many companies use DATEV accounting software to automate their bookkeeping. There are various Shopify accounting apps that, depending on their features, create an invoice online, can be used to view Shopify invoices, post incoming and outgoing payment flows (e.g. via Shopify Payments), and can transmit these directly to the relevant tax office in accordance with DATEV specifications. In the following, we would like to introduce you to some of these apps.

Shopify accounting: this is what matters

When it comes to accounting, Shopify merchants usually focus on three aspects: Invoice creation, payment reconciliation, and DATEV-compliant data provision.

You can create invoices using one of the numerous apps from the Shopify App Store, such as Sufio. In addition, many merchants use their ERP system for invoice creation.

When providing DATEV-compliant data that accumulates in the store, such as transactions or returns, it is recorded in DATEV format. For this purpose, for example, the pathway app is suitable, with which you can also create your invoices.

During payment reconciliation, it is checked whether all payments are correct. You can download your data in the Shopify backend as a csv or Excel file and thus track transaction fees, for example. However, this is only possible with Shopify Payments, with payment providers like Paypal you have to download them separately.

Shopify accounting apps at a glance

Shopify offers many accounting apps in the Shopify App Store. Some of them have already been mentioned in the previous chapter. In the following, we will go into more detail about some of the apps that are frequently used by us and our customers.

pathway Buchhaltungsexport

In order to relieve the accounting department and to take care of tedious manual assignment of transaction data, pathway provides you with exports in DATEV format. All you need to do is install the Accounting Export Pro app. The solution was developed together with Shopify merchants and tax consultants. In just a few clicks, you can retrieve and export all relevant data.

The advantages:

• DATEV-compliant exports incl. refunds, discounts & delivery fees for your tax advisor.

• Multi-shop: Manage several of your stores with only one tariff

• Sales can be separated by delivery country (OSS)

• Reconciliation of all payment providers (e.g. Shopify Payments)

• Monthly cancellation possible

• Onboarding takes place together with your tax consultant

Pricing structure (net):

• The lowest tariff "Starter" starts at 29€/month for up to 250 orders per month. For up to 7500 orders the "Professional" tariff starts at 49€ to 149€ per month. Everything above that is covered by the "Enterprise" tariff for 149€ per month. For every 1,000 additional orders, an additional 10€ is added to the monthly fee.

pathway accounting export is also used by our customer Live Fast Die Young.

WISO MeinBüro

With the accounting software WISO My Office, all relevant functions can be mapped, from invoice creation to annual financial statements. The integration takes place via the WISO App in the Shopify App Store.

The advantages:

• Automatic reconciliation of payments and automatic dunning process.

• Creation of invoices with all order data automatically transferred from Shopify

• DATEV interface for tax consultants

Pricing (net):

• WISO MeinBüro can be tested free of charge for 14 days. After that, the cheapest package costs €6.00 per month when taking out an annual subscription for the web version. In addition, there is also a desktop version starting at 9.90€ per month. Both versions are not compatible with each other.

pathway Rechnungsprinter

The pathway invoice printer is a Shopify app for invoice creation. It creates a corresponding invoice for every order in the store. Access for the tax advisor can be granted via the provider's platform.

The advantages:

• Send automatic and legally compliant customer invoices

• Seamless and continuous invoice numbers and credit notes

• Can be combined with Shopify POS

• Designed for many orders, international delivery countries and tax rates

Pricing (net):

• The smallest package, with up to 50 invoices per month, starts at $9.99 monthly. Starting at 2,500 invoices, it's $19.99 per month. For every additional 1,000 invoices, the price increases by $5.

Our customer ooia uses pathway invoice printer for their Shopify accounting.

Order Printer Pro

For automated invoice sending, Shopify merchants can also rely on Order Printer Pro. For extensive invoice design, the Order Printer Template app is also required.

The advantages:

• Automatic sending of a PDF invoice for each customer order.

• Export of data as bulk export possible

• Filtering and creation of invoices from Shopify backend and POS possible

• Supports Shopify Markets (translations, multi-currency, taxes)

Pricing (net):

• Up to 50 orders per month, the app is free. After that, there is a $10 monthly fee.

Order Printer Pro is also used by our customers like Gymondo, Vogue or Shape Republic.

Sufio

Sufio is a Shopify app that can be used purely for invoice creation. Invoices can be downloaded here as PDFs and sent to the customer.

Advantages:

• Automatic creation and sending of invoices, credit notes and reminders.

• Legal in over 50 countries

• Documents can be translated into 35 languages

• Template customization: logo, colors and fonts can be applied

• Print and download many invoices at once, simplifies sharing

• B2B sales: check VAT in the EU, and classify exempt customers

Pricing (net):

Sufio can be tested free of charge for a period of 14 days. After that, you can choose between different plans:

• Basic plan for $19/month including 50 invoices.

• Standard plan for $49/month with unlimited invoices and additional features

• Premium plan for $129/month with unlimited invoices and many more features, such as priority support and quotes and estimates

• Enterprise plan for $499/month with unlimited number of invoices as well as all available features

Our client #You uses Sufio for their Brand Ava & May accounting.

Conclusion: This is why you should automate your Shopify accounting

Above a certain order volume, manual processes become your company's bottleneck, as they tie up a lot of resources and are enormously error-prone. Shopify accounting is no exception. Automating invoicing can take a lot of work out of the day-to-day business of you and your team and help document your payment flows in a timely manner and according to DATEV, depending on the app. This, in turn, helps authorities track your business transactions and prevents queries and associated inconveniences. In the article, we have introduced you to some of the most renowned Shopify accounting apps that will surely simplify your everyday business life.