Xero eBay Integration: Streamline Your Seller Accounting

We as a specialist eBay accountant we have worked with 100s of eBay clients, so we know which are the best integration software which sync your eBay store to Xero. There are a few options, and we will share which we think the best software is to sync your eBay transactions.

Xero is probably the best accounting software for your eBay business, beyond its core capabilities it has the most extensive third-party app integrations which means you have access to the best software to integrate eBay.

If you have more than 20 transactions per month, it is worth getting accounting software which integrates your eBay with Xero. There is a high chance you will make a mistake if you do this manually not mentioning the amount of time it will take you to record your orders directly into Xero. To save time and increase accuracy we recommend setting up a Xero integration.

What are the options to Sync eBay to Xero?

There are a lot of eBay integration software out there, the problem is not all of them are built by accountants.  You want to avoid any software which integrates individual orders; this is because if you sell anything more than 50 a month it becomes an absolute nightmare to manage and reconcile within Xero. So, we recommend software which brings whole data sets into Xero and a backup file so you can see all your eBay transaction in a manageable way.

There are three options for you to choose from. 

Ecomledger: Xero eBay Integration

Ecomledger connects directly into your eBay store and syncs all your eBay transaction data into Xero. It brings in the sales, Fees, payouts and VAT rates. It will also calculate your cost of goods sold if you have uploaded your landed cost per goods.

Using eComledger means you no longer have to run manual reports, you set it up once and it will automatically sync eBay with Xero. Unlike other software it creates journals rather than sales invoices and therefore its easier for you to change the data.

We actually use this within our accountancy firm as it has been built by accountants and brings entire data sets into Xero. This allows to look at the transactions created and drill down into the sales data so we can analyse sales for our clients.

We would say this is the best option for integrating eBay into Xero.

Pros

1. Developed by Accountants which means your accountant will be able to use it.
2. It is fully HMRC compliant and therefore can be shared with HMRC to support your eBay sales data.
3. It calculates your Cost of Goods sold by combing your sales volume with landed cost per sku.
4. It connects into Xero or QuickBooks 
5. Supports all software by creating journals.
6. Cheaper than LinkMybooks and A2X
7. connects into other ecommerce channels like Amazon, Etsy and Shopify

Cons

1. Interface works but is built for accountants. 
2. It is not free (but what is)

LinkMyBooks

Linkmybooks also syncs eBay data to Xero and brings in each payout into Xero. It has an easy-to-use interface but can be quite clunky for your accountant to use if they are working with multiple eBay stores. 

All your sales, fees, payouts and VAT are synced from eBay. 

Link My Books does work but we found that if you get more than 10 payouts a month it becomes really hard for your ebay accountant to reconcile and check VAT rates. If anything goes wrong, you have to manually delete the sales invoices it creates. This means if you have set it up wrong or it is missing a payment it can take more time deleting the sales invoice than actually adding the eBay sales manually.

Linkmybooks is probably the more expensive Xero integration software out there which means it becomes rather expensive to get your bookkeeping completed.

Pros

1. Good Interface
2. HMRC compliant 
3. Easy to setup

Cons

1. Really quite expensive
2. Your accountant will find it difficult to check and make changes.
3. Expect to have to download your eBay managed payments report if HMRC requests data.
4. Creates sales invoices rather than journals.

A2X

A2X is very similar to LinkMybooks, it works in the exact same way and syncs your eBay data to Xero. It posts a sales invoice for each payout and has all the same problems as linkmybooks when it comes to checking the data. It will include all your eBay orders, fees and VAT.

It has a good interface, but I think Linkmybooks is easier to use. 

It is just as expensive as LinkMybooks and can mean it may be more expensive to subscribe to the software than to get a bookkeeper to update the eBay sales manually.

Pros

1. Good Interface but not as good as linkmybooks
2. HMRC compliant 
3. Easy to setup

Cons

1. just as expensive as linkmybooks
2. Your accountant will find it difficult to check and make changes.
3. Expect to have to download your eBay managed payments report if HMRC requests data.
4. Creates sales invoices rather than journals.

So, which is the best eBay Xero Integration?

We recommend using EComledger due to it being built by accountants, being extremely cost effective and the control you have over your data.

How eBay Xero Integration works

Setting up each of the software are very similar but as we have recommended eComledger we will take you through how easy it is to get this setup and what you need to do.

Connect your eBay Store.

1. The first thing to do is get connected to your eBay store and all you have to do is log into eComledger and put the email of the eBay account you want to connect. 
2. You will receive an email to connect to eBay. 
3. Approve the eComledger connection to eBay.
4. You then want to connect your Xero to eComledger so it can read your chart of accounts.

Map your eBay Transactions.

Once eBay and Xero are connected you want to check the settings in eComledger.

1. Make sure You have selected the correct VAT settings on EComledger.
2. You then want to map where your eBay transactions. 
3. Go into EComledger and then click on mapping.
4. It will auto suggest where to map your eBay transactions to your Xero chart of accounts.
5. You then want to change the mapping if there are any issues, for any accounts required you can create a default account from eComledger.
6. Make sure to map the items to the correct VAT codes in Xero.

Sync your eBay data.

Once you have connected EComledger and set up the settings

1. You want to go to EComledger and select auto posting.
2. this will now bring in your eBay transactions every month!
3. if there are any historic months you need data for, you can run manual date ranges on eComledger and post directly from eComledger.
4. When you are doing your bank reconciliation you need to make sure you code any eBay payouts to the eBay clearing account.

Focus on eBay Sales.

Now you have connected your eBay to Xero, your eBay bookkeeping will automatically be done every month which means you can stop focusing on your bookkeeping and focus on growing your business.

If you are still deciding on your accounting software take a look at our guide: Best Accounting Software for eBay Sellers