Amazon Invoices for non-UK activities - exchange rates
I only recently started shipping outside UK via FBA and I’m a little confused regarding how to manage my monthly Amazon invoices.
Invoices for seller fees & FBA are in EUR but I want to record them as GBP.
I get paid in GBP to my UK bank and I can calculate the exchange rates of the individual transfers by checking the payment details but I’m a little lost regarding the invoices which would have some sort of average exchange rate through the month.
How do people in a similar position manage this?
9 replies
Seller_Wl0AIA91Mcql0
asking the wife to do the paperwork!? (as usual) 
or hiring an expert! 
Seller_BgKbtb0cerTCs
Well, I work the opposite way round GBP to EURO, my accountant told me to use the Central Bank Rate for the Month. So I go to the Central Bank website and take that exchange rate.
This is just how we do it but I am sure there are many ways.
Seller_BpSMg54YI3wjL
I go from my fortnightly Payments Report (Reports/Payments/Statement View). This way it’s easier to convert the sterling to the euro amount that clears (hence reconcile against the bank statement amount coming in).
Referring to the Payments Report; I divide the bottom figures (transfer amount initiated divided by the currency converted amount) to get the exchange rate. Then I post the sales (product charges, promo rebates, other) total divided by the exchange rate you calculated. Then same for purchases/fees (amazon fees + FBA fees). Therefore sales less purchases posted = the converted amount that should clear your bank. My accountants have bever questioned it anyway… 
Hope that helps. If you print your fortnightly payment report and refer to it while you read this it will make more sense! Of course, because of VAT returns you may want to submit the odd early transfer at the end of a VAT quarter for it to tie up more accurately with the “tax point” (depends how fussy you are!)
Update: There is also the rate you can work on (an average rate as referred to by another post). In my previous jobs (doing bookkeeping) that average rate was used more for larger businesses and my accountants says it’s ok the way I do it (using that rate at the time per the fortnightly report) - known as “spot rate” - as I prefer it to tie in accurately. Whichever way you choose - I believe both are correct/allowed.
Seller_GGzDKOkzQyKkd
I can’t answer the question about the calculation of the invoices, but I do have a question about selling outside the UK via FBA in the UK. Is this what you are doing keeping the stock in the UK? I am finding it difficult to make sense of the process.
I asked SS and have had the most unhelpful replies, most of which don’t even relate to the questions I asked.
- How do you set this up, do you add your listings to the other sites but keep the stock in the UK?
- How do returns work, would a return be put into stock in a warehouse in Germany for example and as a result, you would be treated as holding stock in Germany and require to be registered there for vat?
- How do you see what the fees are for this and how much the postage is going to be so that you can price accordingly?
Amazon’s details about the how and the why are as clear as mud as usual.
