Penny Lowe's guest appearances

Penny Lowe

Amazing FBA Amazon and ECommerce Podcast, for Amazon Private Label Sellers, Shopify, Magento or Woocommerce business owners, and other e-commerce sellers and digital entrepreneurs.

Brian Johnson

Steve Chou

Jeff Bezos

Mark Daoust

Nathan Fox

Steve Anderson

Aaron Ross

Patrick O'Connell

Terry Lammers

Tommy Griffith

Bruce Mack

Greg Mercer

Stephen Somers

Brian Miller

Anthony Lee

OwlTail

Last time on Amazing FBA, we talked about startup businesses. Today, in part two of my discussion with Penny Lowe, owner of Wellington Consulting, we're focusing on accounting for companies that would qualify for the 10k collective. In a nutshell, today we're going to be talking about scaling from an accounting perspective. Please note that the information is discussed in a very general sense and you should consult a professional for information based on your needs.The Biggest Problem for Amazon Sellers Growing to $10k-100k per Month in Turnover One of the most substantial difficulties for Amazon sellers looking to scale up their business is undoubtedly inventory management. Where is my product? How many items are there? Is quality control being kept up? Are my items in storage or transit? These are all questions that become more and more difficult to answer without excellent record-keeping as businesses move from the startup sphere to the established. Another stumbling block for scaling Amazon retailers is excess stock. Developing a system for identifying stagnant product lines and determining what to do with those dead items can be tough. Offering a discount in the Amazon Marketplace would be foolish; that would drive up demand for the product. Knowing when to throw in the towel and how to offload excess stock can mean the difference between staying in the black and falling into the red for sellers new to high turnover Amazon merchandising. Remember, storage space is valuable. That means it's expensive. The U.K. Value Added TaxIf you find yourself approaching  £85k in turnover, you need to keep an eye on VAT. Even if you're selling abroad, you may be able to claim back some VAT for items shipped outside of the UK. On the other hand, if you've crept over that £85k, the taxman can come and claim that you owe VAT on items for which you haven't included it in your pricing; this could be an absolute disaster for the margins of a growing business. If the competition is selling more than £85k and you want to check if they've registered for VAT, check out: HMRC.The EU Value Added Tax Each country in Europe has a different turnover limit before they require VAT registration. It's imperative that Amazon sellers keep an eye on their sales turnover in each country to make sure they're not in violation of VAT regulations. If you're selling £50k in Germany, you need to register for VAT in Germany. The figures for VAT sales thresholds are typically calculated using each country's distance sales rules. The rules for digital delivery products are different. Mini One Stop Shop (or MOSS) is the resource digital-only sellers should use to avoid registering in all countries where they do business. EU Distance Selling VAT Thresholds Germany - €100,000Spain - €35,000Italy - €35,000France - €35,000U.K. - £85,000Keep in mind, VAT return and payment processing can take months. If you've been overcharged or erroneously charged for VAT get your paperwork filed immediately. These kinds of things can wreak havoc on a growing business' cash flow. Don't wait until the last minute to make tax payments. The taxpayer is responsible for knowing business hours of banks and collection centres. The best practice is always to submit tax filings and payments as early as possible. VAT and Import/ExportFor VAT registered sellers, all goods brought in through customs in the U.K. are subject immediately to VAT. If you're exporting a shipment of items, that shipment will be subject to VAT return. Keep a record of all shipments outside of the country; you'll need detailed information if you want to receive VAT returns. If you're exporting to other countries, make sure to pay attention to their list of restricted products. The last thing any Amazon seller wants is to be slapped with a penalty for importing controlled goods. Cash Flow &amp; Scaling Entrepreneurs new to private label selling on Amazon often ...

Last time on Amazing FBA, we talked about startup businesses. Today, in part two of my discussion with Penny Lowe, owner of Wellington Consulting, we're focusing on accounting for companies that would qualify for the 10k collective. In a nutshell, today we're going to be talking about scaling from an accounting perspective. Please note that the information is discussed in a very general sense and you should consult a professional for information based on your needs. The Biggest Problem for Amazon Sellers Growing to $10k-100k per Month in Turnover One of the most substantial difficulties for Amazon sellers looking to scale up their business is undoubtedly inventory management. Where is my product? How many items are there? Is quality control being kept up? Are my items in storage or transit? These are all questions that become more and more difficult to answer without excellent record-keeping as businesses move from the startup sphere to the established. Another stumbling block for scaling Amazon retailers is excess stock. Developing a system for identifying stagnant product lines and determining what to do with those dead items can be tough. Offering a discount in the Amazon Marketplace would be foolish; that would drive up demand for the product. Knowing when to throw in the towel and how to offload excess stock can mean the difference between staying in the black and falling into the red for sellers new to high turnover Amazon merchandising. Remember, storage space is valuable. That means it's expensive. The U.K. Value Added Tax If you find yourself approaching  £85k in turnover, you need to keep an eye on VAT. Even if you're selling abroad, you may be able to claim back some VAT for items shipped outside of the UK. On the other hand, if you've crept over that £85k, the taxman can come and claim that you owe VAT on items for which you haven't included it in your pricing; this could be an absolute disaster for the margins of a growing business. If the competition is selling more than £85k and you want to check if they've registered for VAT, check out: HMRC. The EU Value Added Tax Each country in Europe has a different turnover limit before they require VAT registration. It's imperative that Amazon sellers keep an eye on their sales turnover in each country to make sure they're not in violation of VAT regulations. If you're selling £50k in Germany, you need to register for VAT in Germany. The figures for VAT sales thresholds are typically calculated using each country's distance sales rules. The rules for digital delivery products are different. Mini One Stop Shop (or MOSS) is the resource digital-only sellers should use to avoid registering in all countries where they do business. EU Distance Selling VAT Thresholds Germany - €100,000 Spain - €35,000 Italy - €35,000 France - €35,000 U.K. - £85,000 Keep in mind, VAT return and payment processing can take months. If you've been overcharged or erroneously charged for VAT get your paperwork filed immediately. These kinds of things can wreak havoc on a growing business' cash flow. Don't wait until the last minute to make tax payments. The taxpayer is responsible for knowing business hours of banks and collection centres. The best practice is always to submit tax filings and payments as early as possible. VAT and Import/Export For VAT registered sellers, all goods brought in through customs in the U.K. are subject immediately to VAT. If you're exporting a shipment of items, that shipment will be subject to VAT return. Keep a record of all shipments outside of the country; you'll need detailed information if you want to receive VAT returns. If you're exporting to other countries, make sure to pay attention to their list of restricted products. The last thing any Amazon seller wants is to be slapped with a penalty for importing controlled goods. Cash Flow &amp; Scaling Entrepreneurs new to private label selling on Amazon often ...

Scaling your Business (Penny Lowe 2 of 2)

It's long overdue that we've had an accountant on Amazing FBA. Today I'll be sitting down for part one of my interview with Penny Lowe, owner of Wellington Consulting. If I had to name one single item as the most significant pain point for most entrepreneurs, it's accounting. So many people in all walks of business struggle with tax accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll. It’s impossible to cover everything accounting in just an hour’s worth of interviews, but today in part one of this two part series on accounting, we’ll be covering the basics for new sellers on Amazon.Registering as a Sole Trader vs. Limited CompanyThere are advantages and disadvantages to running an Amazon business as a sole trader or limited company. The first question in setting up a company is trading name. As a limited company, it's essential to find out if the name is available. As a sole trader, it's still a good idea to make sure the name is available in the event a business should need to become a limited company after doing business for a time as a sole trader. The rules for sole traders regarding tax reporting and obligation are less strict than those of a limited company. As a sole trader, one can use a portion of many expenses to offset other income; as a limited company, the rules are much much stricter, both in the way in which one keeps books and in what can be claimed as an allowable expense. From an ease point of view during the first few months of running a company, you may want to choose to do business as a sole trader. You'll have a three month period in which you don't have to register. That means if you decide after two months this industry isn't for you, you won't have spent all your time and money registering a business you've got no intention of getting off the ground. Conversely, if after two months business is booming, you can have the option of skipping registry as a sole trader altogether and move on to becoming a limited company. Do keep in mind though that if you want to switch your Amazon or bank account from sole trader to limited company, you may not be able to do that without starting over from scratch. If you're serious about the business of selling with Amazon, jumping straight to registering as a limited company may be the right choice. Setting up a Limited CompanyWhether you decide to do it yourself or use an online or brick-and-mortar solution to set up your limited company, the process is quite simple. One of the things you need to decide is where you're going to have your registered office. It can be your home. It can be a family member's home. Just make sure as part of your rental agreement you're not restricted from running a business at your address. You can change your address later, so don't fret too much over this. Once you've made this decision, you're ready to begin the process of setting up your company. Keep in mind there are some restrictions on who can and can't set up a limited company; for example, you can't serve as director of a limited company if you're bankrupt. The next step in setting up a limited company is choosing a name. Penny likes to search the web for names that are the same or similar to the name of the new company.  Should there exist a name similar to the one you've chosen, it may be a good idea to pick another. Changing the name of a company later due to legal considerations can mean serious headaches down the road. People often assume that a business name, the brand name, and the name you're selling under are one in the same. There can, however, be more nuance. My pro-tip is to make the name you're trading under on Amazon different than that of your limited company. The reason for this is not because you're trying to fool any consumers; it's because the only people who would be interested in that are people trying to reverse engineer your business and steal your best product ideas. If you're going to trade under a different name than your limited company name,...

It's long overdue that we've had an accountant on Amazing FBA. Today I'll be sitting down for part one of my interview with Penny Lowe, owner of Wellington Consulting. If I had to name one single item as the most significant pain point for most entrepreneurs, it's accounting. So many people in all walks of business struggle with tax accounting, bookkeeping, and payroll. It’s impossible to cover everything accounting in just an hour’s worth of interviews, but today in part one of this two part series on accounting, we’ll be covering the basics for new sellers on Amazon. Registering as a Sole Trader vs. Limited Company There are advantages and disadvantages to running an Amazon business as a sole trader or limited company. The first question in setting up a company is trading name. As a limited company, it's essential to find out if the name is available. As a sole trader, it's still a good idea to make sure the name is available in the event a business should need to become a limited company after doing business for a time as a sole trader. The rules for sole traders regarding tax reporting and obligation are less strict than those of a limited company. As a sole trader, one can use a portion of many expenses to offset other income; as a limited company, the rules are much much stricter, both in the way in which one keeps books and in what can be claimed as an allowable expense. From an ease point of view during the first few months of running a company, you may want to choose to do business as a sole trader. You'll have a three month period in which you don't have to register. That means if you decide after two months this industry isn't for you, you won't have spent all your time and money registering a business you've got no intention of getting off the ground. Conversely, if after two months business is booming, you can have the option of skipping registry as a sole trader altogether and move on to becoming a limited company. Do keep in mind though that if you want to switch your Amazon or bank account from sole trader to limited company, you may not be able to do that without starting over from scratch. If you're serious about the business of selling with Amazon, jumping straight to registering as a limited company may be the right choice. Setting up a Limited Company Whether you decide to do it yourself or use an online or brick-and-mortar solution to set up your limited company, the process is quite simple. One of the things you need to decide is where you're going to have your registered office. It can be your home. It can be a family member's home. Just make sure as part of your rental agreement you're not restricted from running a business at your address. You can change your address later, so don't fret too much over this. Once you've made this decision, you're ready to begin the process of setting up your company. Keep in mind there are some restrictions on who can and can't set up a limited company; for example, you can't serve as director of a limited company if you're bankrupt. The next step in setting up a limited company is choosing a name. Penny likes to search the web for names that are the same or similar to the name of the new company.  Should there exist a name similar to the one you've chosen, it may be a good idea to pick another. Changing the name of a company later due to legal considerations can mean serious headaches down the road. People often assume that a business name, the brand name, and the name you're selling under are one in the same. There can, however, be more nuance. My pro-tip is to make the name you're trading under on Amazon different than that of your limited company. The reason for this is not because you're trying to fool any consumers; it's because the only people who would be interested in that are people trying to reverse engineer your business and steal your best product ideas. If you're going to trade under a different name than your limited company name,...

Accounting for Amazon (Penny Lowe 1 of 2)