Who it’s for
Bookkeeping for Online and Market Vendors
Farmers market and craft fair booths, Etsy, Shopify and TikTok Shop stores, merch, Amazon and other marketplaces, and goods brought in or sent out from home: KeyLine keeps the books for owner-run selling businesses.
We work with sellers who run it as a registered business, whether that’s an LLC, a corporation or a sole proprietor with the business set up.
The books
Payouts, Packages and Booth Days
Payouts, Net of Fees
Amazon pays every two weeks and Etsy weekly by default, while Shopify and TikTok Shop pay on the schedule you choose. Each payout is sales less fees, ads, labels and refunds, so the books split it back into its parts. When a marketplace such as Amazon, eBay, Walmart Marketplace or Etsy certifies that it collects Texas sales tax on your orders, that tax isn’t yours to send. Those sales still count in your total sales, but not your taxable sales.
Refunds and Returns
A refund comes out of the next payout, so it’s matched to the sale it reverses. A returned item goes back on the shelf or is written off.
Inventory and Cost of Goods
The books track what you buy to sell, what’s on the shelf, and what sold each month and what it cost you, with freight, duties and broker fees for anything you import. Stock you buy to resell through a marketplace can be bought tax free with a resale certificate.
Shipping
What buyers paid for shipping, and what the labels cost, whether they came out of a payout or went on a card. When an order is exported outside the United States, the seller has to hold the proof of export, and a buyer’s word that it left the country isn’t enough.
Booth Days
The card reader’s payout, the cash box and the booth fee each go in the books. At a booth, sales tax is collected based on where the event is, and the booth fee itself isn’t taxed. A seller in Texas needs an active sales tax permit, even when every sale goes through a marketplace that collects the tax.
A sample
A Sample Month of an Online and Market Vendor’s Books
How we’d record one month, with each of the five things above in its place. Made-up numbers, not a real client.
A candle maker selling on Etsy, on her own Shopify site and at two Saturday markets.
| Entry | Amount |
|---|---|
| 1Payouts, Net of Fees | |
| Etsy sales, before the tax Etsy collected | $2,800.00 |
| Sales tax Etsy collected on her orders and sends to the state itself: not hers, and not in her taxable sales | $246.00 |
| Etsy fees and ads, taken out | $430.00 |
| 4 weekly Etsy deposits, matched to the bank | $2,372.00 |
| Shopify sales to Texas buyers, $1,150, plus $94.88 in sales tax she collected, 8.25 percent as an example | $1,244.88 |
| 14 Shopify payouts, less $39.10 in fees, matched to the bank | $1,205.78 |
| 2Refunds and Returns | |
| Refund for a cracked jar, taken out of an Etsy deposit | $48.00 |
| The cracked candle, written off from stock at what it cost | $9.00 |
| 3Inventory and Cost of Goods | |
| Wax, wicks, jars and fragrance | $900.00 |
| Cost of the candles sold: $1,400 on hand at the start, plus $900 bought, less $1,250 counted at month end and the cracked one | $1,041.00 |
| 4Shipping | |
| Shipping the Etsy buyers paid | $360.00 |
| Shipping labels bought on Etsy, taken out of the deposits | $310.00 |
| Labels for the Shopify orders, which ship free, 12 card charges | $96.00 |
| 5Booth Days | |
| Two market Saturdays: card reader sales, tax included | $940.00 |
| Card reader fees, taken out | $24.44 |
| Cash box, tax included, deposited | $310.00 |
| Sales tax inside the booth sales, 8.25 percent as an example | $95.27 |
| Booth fees, two Saturdays, not taxed | $100.00 |
The Month as the Books Show It
- Sales tax she collected comes to $190.15, held for the state: $95.27 at the booth and $94.88 on Shopify. The $246 Etsy collected is Etsy’s to send.
- Buyers paid $360 for shipping, and her labels cost $406.
- The candles she sold cost $1,041 to make, and the cracked one’s $9 is a loss of its own.
Payouts
How Each Channel Pays You
| Where you sell | How often it pays you |
|---|---|
| Square’s card reader | The next business day by default. Payments from Friday and Saturday arrive on Monday. |
| Etsy | Weekly, on Mondays, by default for a new seller. Daily, every two weeks or monthly if you choose. |
| Amazon | Every two weeks. |
| Shopify Payments | Daily, weekly or monthly, as you choose. On daily payouts, sales from Friday to Sunday arrive as one payout. |
| TikTok Shop | Daily, on business days, weekly or monthly, as you choose. |
These sales tax points come from the Texas Comptroller. This isn’t tax advice: for your own business, read the Comptroller’s pages below or ask your CPA.
- Texas Comptroller, Remote Sellers and Marketplace FAQ, read October 2, 2026
- Texas Comptroller, Publication 96-211, Fairs, Festivals, Markets and Shows, read October 2, 2026
- Texas Comptroller, Rule 3.323, Imports and Exports, read October 2, 2026
Book or call
Selling Online or at Markets?
Bring a payout report to the free consultation, and we’ll show you how it would read in your books.