Cash vs Accrual Method for my small online reselling business - which should I use?

For a small online reselling business at your scale (under $25M in annual gross receipts), you can absolutely use the cash method, and I'd recommend it. Cash accounting is much simpler - you record income when you receive payment and expenses when you pay them. This is perfect for your size operation. Accrual accounting would require you to record income when you earn it (when a sale happens, regardless of when you get paid) and expenses when you incur them (when you buy inventory, not when it sells). While it gives a more accurate financial picture for larger businesses, it's usually unnecessary complexity for small resellers. One important note: even if you use cash accounting for your income and most expenses, the IRS requires special treatment for inventory. You'll need to track inventory costs and only deduct those costs when the inventory actually sells, which is technically an accrual concept. But don't worry - your other business expenses like shipping supplies, fees, etc. can still be handled on a cash basis.

I was in the EXACT same position as you last year with my vintage clothing flipping business! I tried figuring this out myself and got so confused with all the tax rules. I finally used https://taxr.ai to analyze my business structure and get a clear answer on which accounting method made sense. It saved me so much time trying to interpret IRS rules. They analyzed my sales volume, inventory situation, and business structure, then gave me specific recommendations tailored to my reselling business. They also explained exactly how to handle inventory (which was my biggest confusion) and helped me understand when I could deduct expenses.

Just wanted to follow up and say I tried https://taxr.ai after seeing this thread and it was super helpful! I uploaded my sales reports and some pics of my inventory setup, and they gave me specific advice for my exact situation. They recommended cash method for me but explained exactly how to handle my inventory tracking separately. The best part was they showed me how to set up a simple system that'll make tax time way easier. They even pointed out some deductions specific to resellers that I had no idea about! Definitely worth checking out if you're confused about this stuff like I was.

If you're struggling to get answers from the IRS about specific accounting method questions (which I definitely was), try https://claimyr.com - they got me through to an actual IRS agent in 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c I had specific questions about inventory handling for my online business that weren't clearly answered on the IRS website, and I needed official guidance. After waiting on hold for hours over multiple days, I was ready to give up. Claimyr got me through to someone who could actually answer my specific questions about cash vs. accrual for my situation.

I'm eating my words here. I was super skeptical about Claimyr (see my comment above) but got desperate trying to get specific guidance on inventory accounting for my dropshipping business. Tried it yesterday and no joke - got connected to an IRS agent in about 20 minutes without having to sit by my phone the whole time. The agent walked me through exactly how to handle my situation and confirmed I could use cash accounting with the inventory exception the other commenter mentioned. Honestly wish I'd known about this service months ago instead of stressing about this. If you need official answers from the IRS about your accounting method, it's way better than the DIY approach I was taking.

One thing to consider besides the tax implications - cash accounting makes it harder to see your TRUE business profitability month to month if you have inventory that sits around. I switched to accrual for my own business (similar size to yours) because I wanted to better understand my actual margins on products over time. With cash, your profit looks terrible in months when you buy a lot of inventory and amazing in months when you sell stuff you bought long ago. Accrual gives you a clearer picture of your actual business performance by matching the expense to the sale.

I've been doing online reselling for 5 years, around $35k/year, and have always used cash method with no issues. Just track your inventory purchases separately and only count them as expenses when they sell. Use a simple inventory spreadsheet. For tax purposes, the cash method is SO much easier when it comes to filing Schedule C. Most tax software is set up assuming small businesses use cash accounting anyway.

For your situation with $20k annual sales, I'd definitely recommend sticking with cash accounting - it's much simpler for small resellers and you're well under the $27M threshold that would require accrual method. The key thing to understand is that even with cash accounting, you'll need to handle inventory costs differently. When you buy items to resell, you can't deduct those costs immediately like other business expenses. Instead, you track them as inventory and only deduct the cost when each item actually sells (this is called "cost of goods sold"). So if you buy a vintage jacket for $15 in March but don't sell it until August, that $15 gets deducted in August when you make the sale, not in March when you bought it. Your other expenses like eBay fees, shipping supplies, gas for thrift store trips, etc. can be deducted when you pay them under cash method. Keep a simple inventory log with purchase date, item description, cost, and sale date/price. This will make tax time much easier and ensure you're handling the inventory rules correctly while still benefiting from the simplicity of cash accounting for everything else.

As someone who's been running a small online reselling business for about 3 years, I can definitely relate to your confusion! I started with the same questions and similar revenue numbers. I went with cash method and it's been perfect for my situation. Here's what I wish someone had told me when I started: 1. **Cash method is your friend** - You're well under the revenue threshold where accrual becomes required, and the simplicity is worth it for a solo operation like yours. 2. **Inventory tracking is the tricky part** - Even with cash accounting, you'll need to track your inventory purchases separately. I keep a simple spreadsheet with columns for: Date Purchased, Item Description, Cost, Date Sold, Sale Price. Only deduct the cost when the item sells. 3. **Don't overthink it** - I spent way too much time researching this initially. For your size business, cash method + proper inventory tracking covers 99% of what you need to know. 4. **Track everything else normally** - eBay/Etsy fees, shipping supplies, mileage to thrift stores, storage containers, etc. can all be deducted when you pay for them under cash method. The inventory exception trips up a lot of new resellers, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature. Your accountant at tax time will thank you for keeping it simple!

I'm also a small online reseller (about 2 years in) and went through this exact decision process! For your revenue level, cash method is definitely the way to go. One thing that really helped me was setting up a simple system from day one. I use a basic spreadsheet with tabs for "Inventory Purchases" and "Sales" - when I buy something to flip, it goes in the inventory tab with date, description, and cost. When it sells, I move that cost over to my sales tab as COGS (Cost of Goods Sold). The cash method makes everything else super straightforward - when you pay for shipping supplies, they're deductible. When eBay charges your account, it's deductible. When you drive to estate sales, that mileage is deductible. No complicated accrual calculations needed! Don't let the inventory exception scare you - it sounds complicated but it's really just "buy it, track it, deduct it when it sells." Once you get into the rhythm, it takes maybe 10 minutes per week to maintain. At your current sales volume, the simplicity of cash accounting will save you way more time and headache than any potential tax advantages from accrual method. You can always switch later if your business grows significantly!

This is such a common question for new resellers! I went through the exact same decision process when I started my vintage book flipping business two years ago. For your situation with $20k expected annual revenue, cash method is absolutely the right choice. You're well under the $27 million threshold that would require accrual, and the administrative burden of accrual accounting would likely outweigh any benefits at your scale. Here's what I wish I'd known starting out: the inventory exception everyone mentions isn't as scary as it sounds. Think of it this way - your business expenses (shipping supplies, platform fees, gas, etc.) follow normal cash accounting rules, but your actual inventory purchases get treated like a separate mini-system where costs only become deductible when items sell. I keep it simple with a two-column approach: "Money Spent on Inventory" and "Cost of Goods Sold." When I buy a book for $3, it goes in column one. When that specific book sells months later, I move that $3 to column two (which becomes my tax deduction). Everything else - my eBay fees, bubble mailers, printer ink - gets deducted when I pay for it. The key is starting with good tracking habits now rather than trying to reconstruct everything at tax time. Your future self will thank you for keeping detailed records from day one, even if it feels like overkill when you're just getting started.

Great question Ruby! I was in almost the exact same situation when I started my reselling business - similar revenue, sole proprietor, working from home. After going through this decision process myself, I'd definitely recommend the cash method for your situation. At your $20k annual revenue level, you're well under the threshold where accrual becomes required, and the simplicity will save you tons of time and headache. The cash method is perfect for small operations like yours where you don't have complex payment terms or large outstanding receivables. The inventory aspect that others mentioned is really the only "gotcha" - even with cash accounting, you can't deduct inventory costs until the items actually sell. So that vintage sweater you bought in January but won't sell until December gets deducted in December, not January. But all your other business expenses (eBay fees, shipping supplies, gas for thrift store runs, etc.) can be deducted when you pay them. I'd suggest setting up a simple tracking system now with separate categories for inventory purchases vs. regular business expenses. It'll make tax time so much easier when you have clean records showing what sold when and what your actual cost basis was for each item. The cash method has worked great for my reselling business, and switching to it was one of the best decisions I made when starting out. Don't overthink it - keep it simple and focus on growing your business!