A2X connects your sales channels, like Shopify and Amazon, to QuickBooks Online or Xero. It turns each payout into one summarized entry that matches the deposit in your bank account. If you sell online and your books never seem to reconcile, it's usually the missing piece. I just finished A2X's certification for accountants and bookkeepers, so here's the plain-English version.
The problem: your deposits never match your sales
Marketplaces don't pay you sale by sale. They batch everything and send one net payout:
- A Shopify payout is a few days of sales, minus refunds, processing fees, chargebacks and adjustments.
- An Amazon settlement, roughly every two weeks, nets out referral fees, FBA fees, advertising, reimbursements and reserves.
So the $4,812 that hits your bank might really be $5,600 in sales, $310 in refunds, $420 in fees and $58 in adjustments. Book the deposit as "sales," and your revenue is understated and your fees disappear. Your margins look better than they are, and your P&L can't tell you what a channel really costs you.
The other DIY option, syncing every single order into QuickBooks, floods your books with thousands of transactions that still don't line up with the deposits.
What A2X does
A2X pulls the settlement data from each channel and, for every payout, posts one summarized entry to your accounting software. That entry breaks the payout into its parts, each mapped to its own account:
| Line in the A2X entry | Where it goes | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Product sales | Sales | $5,600 |
| Refunds | Refunds and returns | −$310 |
| Marketplace and processing fees | Merchant fees | −$420 |
| Adjustments | Adjustments | −$58 |
| Payout | Matches the bank deposit | $4,812 |
Because the entry totals exactly what landed in the bank, you match the deposit in one click. Your P&L shows gross sales, refunds and fees separately, so your margins are real. (The numbers above are an illustration, not a client's.)
A2X supports Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy, Walmart, PayPal and BigCommerce, among others. It posts to QuickBooks Online and Xero, and supports NetSuite and Sage too.
Setting it up right
A2X is only as good as its setup. These are the setup problems that come up most often:
- Lazy mapping. Everything lands in one "sales" account and one "fees" account. Split out shipping income, refunds, advertising and marketplace fees, so the P&L is useful.
- Marketplace-collected sales tax. Amazon and other marketplaces collect and remit sales tax in many states. Map it so it doesn't inflate your revenue. Where your own obligations start is covered in sales tax nexus explained.
- The wrong start date. Start A2X from the last date your books were reconciled, or you'll double-count sales that were already booked another way.
- The wrong plan. A2X is priced by order volume. Make sure your plan covers what you actually sell each month.
- No clearing accounts. Shopify Payments, PayPal and other processors each need their own clearing account, so every payout can be tied out on its own.
A2X can also post cost of goods sold with each settlement if you load your product costs, which gets you product margins without a full inventory system. That one's worth a conversation before you turn it on.
Do you need it?
If you sell on Shopify or Amazon with steady order volume, refunds, or more than one channel, and you're on QuickBooks Online or Xero, almost certainly. If you're a very small seller on a single channel, a careful monthly summary entry can work for a while. For the bigger picture of ecommerce books, including inventory and COGS, read bookkeeping for ecommerce.
About the certification
A2X Certification for Accountants and Bookkeepers is A2X's program for professionals who set it up and run it for clients. I graduated on September 18, 2026. You can see the certificate on our A2X certification pageA2X certification page.
Books not matching your payouts?
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