the JOURNAL

the JOURNAL

Expert insights on bookkeeping, trust accounting, and financial clarity for law firms.

This isn’t just another blog - it’s your blueprint for organized, compliant, and profitable financials. Tailored for law firms and service-based businesses.

Amy Coats Amy Coats

Stripe Reconciliation for Ecommerce Sellers: What Everyone Gets Wrong

Stripe payouts rarely match sales totals in an ecommerce dashboard. Fees, refunds, and chargebacks are deducted before deposits reach the bank, creating gaps if not reconciled. This guide walks ecommerce sellers through Stripe reconciliation in QuickBooks Online - from recording gross sales and fees to using a clearing account for accurate reporting. Learn how to prevent overstated revenue, misclassified expenses, and hidden fraud risks with structured bookkeeping practices built for growth.

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Amy Coats Amy Coats

5 Ecommerce Bookkeeping Mistakes That Kill Your Profit

Ecommerce bookkeeping mistakes - like misclassifying expenses, skipping reconciliations, or mishandling sales tax - quietly erode profit margins. This guide breaks down the five errors most sellers make and how proactive, organized bookkeeping protects growth, compliance, and long-term profitability.

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Amy Coats Amy Coats

Ecommerce Bookkeeping: Complete Guide for Shopify & Amazon Sellers

Ecommerce bookkeeping isn’t “regular” accounting with a Shopify login. Between payout reconciliations, SKU-level COGS, platform fees, and multi-currency sales, the financial side of ecommerce is deceptively complex. This guide breaks down how to structure your books for real profit, automate with tools like QuickBooks Online and A2X, and avoid the hidden mistakes that drain margins for Shopify and Amazon sellers.

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Legal Bookkeeping Amy Coats Legal Bookkeeping Amy Coats

What Law Firm Bookkeeping Services Should Actually Include (And Why Most Don’t)

What should your law firm’s bookkeeping service actually include? This post breaks down the essential bookkeeping tasks that keep your firm compliant, from IOLTA tracking and three-way reconciliations to client ledger management. We also explore the big mistakes most firms make by relying on generalist bookkeepers - and how to fix them.

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