Retail Bookkeeping Services for Store Owners Sales, Stock and Margin You Can Trust
Retail bookkeeping services for independent stores, multi location retailers and omnichannel brands. We reconcile point of sale and card deposits daily or weekly, keep inventory and cost of goods sold accurate and show margin by store and category.
- POS reconciledSales to deposits
- Inventory accurateCounts tied to the books
- Margin by storeAnd by category
Card deposits matched
- POSPoint of sale summarySales, discounts and returnsRecorded
- CARDCard processor depositFees split from salesMatched
- CASHCash drawerCounted and depositedBalanced
- TAXSales tax collectedBy jurisdictionTracked
- GCGift cards soldRecorded as a liabilityTracked
Monthly margin by store ready
Big Accountants provides retail bookkeeping services to US store owners, from single boutiques to multi location and omnichannel retailers. We connect your point of sale, card processors, bank and inventory so sales, sales tax, gift cards and cost of goods sold are recorded correctly every period.
Retail books break in predictable places: card deposits that never quite match sales, cash over and short that nobody investigates, gift cards booked as revenue and inventory that only gets checked at year end. Each one distorts your margin. We fix them with a routine that ties every sale to a deposit.
- Sales by store, channel and category
- Card fees separated from sales
- Cash over and short, investigated
- Gift card and layaway liabilities
- Inventory and gross margin by category
Why Retail Bookkeeping Has Changed
Retail now runs across tills, websites and marketplaces at once, and tax rules have followed the customer.
What Our Retail Bookkeeping Services Include
A routine built around how stores sell, get paid and restock.
POS sales reconciliation
Daily or weekly sales summaries recorded and tied to deposits.
Card and payment deposits
Processor fees, holds and chargebacks separated from sales.
Cash management
Drawer counts, deposits and over or short tracked by store.
Inventory and COGS
Purchases, receiving, counts and shrink reflected in cost of goods sold.
Sales tax tracking
Tax collected by location and channel kept ready for filing.
Gift cards and layaway
Liabilities recorded when sold and released when redeemed.
Multi location reporting
Profit and loss by store, so you see which locations perform.
Margin by category
Gross margin by department or category, including markdowns.
Retail Inventory Methods Compared
How you value inventory changes your margin and your taxes. We help you choose and apply a method consistently.
| Method | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Cost method | Each item valued at what you paid, often with FIFO | Stores with fewer, higher value items |
| Retail inventory method | Cost estimated from retail value using a cost to retail ratio | Stores with many low value items |
| Perpetual tracking | Inventory updated with every sale and receipt in your system | Retailers with integrated POS and inventory |
| Periodic counts | Inventory counted and adjusted at set intervals | Smaller stores without item level tracking |
The IRS explains inventory accounting rules for tax in Publication 538. Your tax preparer can confirm which method applies to your business.
Retail Bookkeeping Problems We Fix
If any of these sound familiar, your margin is probably wrong.
- Card deposits never match daily sales
- Gift cards recorded as revenue when sold
- Inventory only adjusted once a year
- No profit and loss by store
- Shrink and markdowns invisible in the numbers
- Sales tax collected at different rates not reconciled
Retail KPIs We Report Every Month
The numbers store owners use to decide what to buy, discount and staff.
Gross margin by category
What each department keeps after product cost.
(Sales - COGS) / Sales
Inventory turnover
How many times stock sells through in a year.
COGS / Average inventory
Sell through rate
Share of stock received that sold.
Units sold / Units received
Shrink percentage
Inventory lost to theft, damage or error.
Shrink / Sales
Sales per square foot
How hard your space works.
Sales / Selling square feet
Average transaction value
What each customer spends.
Sales / Number of transactions
How We Set Up Retail Bookkeeping
A clean start, then a routine you can rely on.
- Week 1
Connect
POS, card processors, bank and inventory system connected with read only access.
- Weeks 1 to 2
Structure
Chart of accounts by store and category, with gift card and tax accounts.
- Weeks 2 to 4
Baseline
Opening inventory and balances agreed, past months cleaned up if needed.
- Ongoing
Reconcile and report
Daily or weekly sales reconciled, monthly margin reported by store.
Retail Bookkeeping Pricing
Price depends on the number of locations and registers, transaction volume, inventory method and reporting needs. Every quote is fixed in writing after a free call, and our pricing is competitive. See how our pricing models work.
Fixed monthly fee
Ongoing retail books
Sales reconciliation, inventory and reporting for an agreed fee.
Per task
Inventory projects
Count reconciliations or a cleanup at a set price.
Hourly
Advice on demand
Pricing, margin or sales tax questions as they arise.
More Services for Retailers
Accounts payable
Bills coded, approved and paid on time.
Tax preparation and filing
Business returns prepared and e-filed.
Controller services
Month end close and internal controls.
Business intelligence
KPI dashboards built on clean books.
See all our accounting and bookkeeping services for US businesses.
Retail Bookkeeping FAQs
What do retail bookkeeping services include?
Retail bookkeeping services include reconciling point of sale and card deposits, managing cash, tracking inventory and cost of goods sold, recording sales tax, gift cards and layaway, and reporting profit by store and category.
How often should retail sales be reconciled?
Most stores benefit from daily or weekly reconciliation of sales to deposits. Problems with cash, card holds or chargebacks are much easier to fix within days than at month end.
How should gift cards be recorded?
Gift cards are recorded as a liability when sold and as revenue when a customer redeems them. Recording them as sales at the point of purchase overstates revenue.
Which point of sale systems do you work with?
We work with the major point of sale systems, such as Square, Shopify POS, Clover, Lightspeed and Toast, and record them in QuickBooks Online, Xero or Zoho Books.
Can you report profit by store?
Yes. We set up classes or locations in your accounting system so each store has its own profit and loss, with shared costs allocated on a basis you agree.
Do you help with inventory counts?
We reconcile your physical counts to the books, record shrink and adjust cost of goods sold. Your team or a counting service carries out the physical count.
How much do retail bookkeeping services cost?
Cost depends on locations, registers, transaction volume, inventory method and reporting needs. We offer a competitive fixed monthly fee, hourly billing or per task pricing, quoted in writing after a free call.
Do you handle sales tax for retailers?
We track sales tax collected by location and channel so your filings are supported. Filing returns can be added to your scope in the states where you are registered.
Know Your Real Retail Margin
Tell us your stores, systems and volume. We will recommend a setup and send a clear written quote.