When Sarah, a solopreneur running a small but growing e-commerce business, reached out to me, she thought she had a tax question.
But the real issue was hiding in plain sight—inside her expense report.
We got on a quick call. She shared her screen and opened her accounting software. That’s when I saw it: a sea of transactions labeled “Amazon.” Hundreds of them.
Everything from printer ink to office snacks, packaging supplies, laptop cables, and even her kid’s birthday decorations—all under one vague category: Office Expenses.
“I just order everything from Amazon,” she shrugged.
“So I just categorize it all the same.”
It’s a common story. Amazon’s marketplace sells everything, and for busy business owners, it’s easy to treat it like one giant bucket. But the problem is—it’s not just one bucket.
The Hidden Cost of Vague Categories
As we started digging, it became clear: Sarah had no real visibility into her business spending.
- Were her shipping supply costs increasing month over month?
- Was she overspending on tech accessories she didn’t really need?
- Were any of these expenses actually personal and not deductible?
She didn’t know—and couldn’t tell.
Worse still, when it came time for tax filing, her accountant had to guess what each expense was or send her back a giant spreadsheet to manually decode. It was time-consuming, frustrating, and left room for costly mistakes.
Fixing the “Amazon Problem”
We put a simple fix in place.
- Split Out Business vs. Personal Accounts: First, we made sure all business purchases went through a dedicated business account. No more birthday decorations getting mixed in with shipping tape.
- Set Up Rules by Product Type: Using the details from her Amazon receipts, we created rules inside her bookkeeping software to auto-categorize recurring items (e.g., packaging materials as “Supplies,” electronics as “Office Equipment,” etc.).
- Monthly Review Habit: We set a 15-minute monthly reminder for her to scan the uncategorized or “miscellaneous” expenses and recode anything that slipped through the cracks.
The Result?
In just two months, Sarah could finally see what she was really spending—and where she could cut back.
Even better? When tax season rolled around, her accountant barely had to ask a question. Her books were clean, organized, and defensible. No guesswork, no stress.
The Takeaway
If your expense report reads like a shopping list from Amazon, it might be time to pause and rethink your categories.
The difference between “miscellaneous” and “meaningful” accounting is clarity—and clarity leads to smarter decisions, better cash flow, and a smoother tax experience.
Need help sorting your own Amazon jungle? I offer quick 1:1 clean-ups and setup sessions to get you back on track. Let’s chat