This business leak is not always a direct financial loss, but failing to stay on top of your invoice documentation can absolutely lead to losing money, and in some cases, even your Amazon account. Collecting every single invoice for your purchases is one of the most important parts of running an Amazon business.
Poor documentation can make or break a business, It can cause serious issues further down the line, whether that’s with Amazon or even the HMRC. In this blog, I’ll be describing how invoice management can become a business leak and what you can do to minimise this risk.
Why You Need to Stay on Top of Filing Documentation
Staying on top of your invoice documentation allows you to operate your business in a safe and secure manner. If anything goes wrong, you have the proof to back up your purchases and protect your account.
Proper documentation helps you in many critical areas, including:
- Fighting lost inventory claims
- Challenging under reimbursements from Amazon
- Responding to IP complaints
- Defending against authenticity complaints
- Maintaining accurate records for VAT and HMRC compliance
All of these are absolutely essential to running your business safely and correctly. Without proper documentation, your ability to fight these battles is massively reduced.
What Can Happen If You Don’t Stay on Top of Your Documentation
Failing to keep your documentation up to date creates serious risks for your business.
- You could lose the value of stock if you can’t reclaim for lost or under reimbursed inventory
- Your Amazon account could be at risk if you are unable to fight IP or authenticity complaints
- You could miss out on reclaiming VAT and other tax related benefits if you don’t have invoices
- HMRC could launch an investigation, and without documentation, you won’t be able to prove your purchases
In short, poor documentation doesn’t just cost you money — it can also put your entire business at risk.
How to Stay on Top of Collecting Documentation
This is where a Buy Sheet, a spreadsheet, and accountancy software like Xero become critical to your business.
A Buy Sheet is essential. You should be tracking every single purchase you make and attaching the invoice to the sheet. This could be done by storing invoices in a folder that you can cross reference with invoice numbers, or by directly attaching the invoice or receipt to the Buy Sheet. The key is to have every single purchase recorded and backed up.
A spreadsheet to track expenses is equally important. This allows you to attach invoices and receipts to each expense so that, if HMRC ever investigate, you can provide accurate documentation without scrambling to pull everything together.
Finally, using accountancy software like Xero gives you the ability to track, record, and reconcile every single transaction you make. It provides structure, reduces human error, and ensures you’re always audit ready.
Final Thoughts
All of the above is to ensure that you don’t lose money in the long term. You might not feel the impact of this business leak immediately, but poor documentation can be disastrous further down the line.
I’ve been caught out myself a few times when my admin wasn’t tight, and I had to accept under-reimbursements or lost inventory simply because I didn’t have the right paperwork in place.
Stay on top of your documentation, and your business will stay safe..
