Today’s post is brought to you by our good friends at A2Xaccounting. Their software is best-in-class for automating and parsing accounting data from Seller Central.
In the modern world of eCommerce, more customers are at our fingertips than ever before, supply chains are ripe for disruption, and there are many tools available to help entrepreneurs effectively deliver value and operate successful businesses. Over the past 20 years, a large proportion of retail trade has shifted from physical storefronts in every town and city to online shops and powerful eCommerce platforms such as Amazon that connect consumers and suppliers throughout the world.
All kinds of businesses now have the ability to reach customers on a scale that was previously reserved for only the largest companies with abundant resources at their disposal. Now, almost anyone can sell their products on Amazon, source supply from millions of factories around the the world, or even dropship an ever expanding range of goods.
There has never been a better time to build an eCommerce business. With an ever expanding range of tools available, businesses can grow faster than ever before without the proportional growth in workload.
Automating and outsourcing tasks and functions wherever possible is the key to creating an online business that can scale. Automating business functions removes yourself from the driver’s seat, creates a predominantly self-managing asset, makes your business much more attractive to potential buyers and frees up your time for the more important things in work and life.
In our “how to sell your Amazon FBA business” eBook, we explore a few of these effective tools, and how digital entrepreneurs can use them to maximize the business valuation, minimize workload, and make the business easier to sell.
Let’s take a deeper look…
CONTRACT OUT PRODUCT INSPECTION, PACKAGING AND LABELLING TO PREP WAREHOUSES:
Most Amazon businesses take advantage of Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) or other third party logistics (3PL) providers to look after warehousing and fulfillment of orders. If you aren’t already contracting out warehousing and fulfillment to FBA or another 3PL provider, we highly recommend looking further into this option, as it practically eliminates the need to physically handle stock.
When you order product from suppliers, it is important to have checks and balances in place to ensure that faulty and damaged stock is rejected, items are branded and packaged correctly, and that labels for warehousing/fulfillment purposes are correctly attached so that your goods can enter and exit fulfillment warehouses without a hitch. This is where prep warehouses such as FBA Inspection come in handy – providing vital services and peace of mind, and ensuring that only first grade products are sent out to customers.
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF AUTOMATED ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE SUCH AS A2X AND TAXJAR:
Not only does automating record keeping remove an obscene amount of unnecessary work, but it also improves the integrity of your accounts. By eliminating the possibility for human error, potential buyers, and also auditors can have confidence in the accuracy of your financial information.
At the end of the financial year, your accountant will be delighted to receive a tidy set of books, which will also likely reduce your compliance costs.
FOR BUSY PERIODS, AND CASH STRAPPED STARTUPS, CONSIDER USING CASHFLOW SERVICES SUCH AS PAYABILITY:
Payability is a software integration that plugs directly into your seller central account, and provides next-day cash advances on sales through FBA. Amazon pays sellers once every fortnight – this presents a challenge for companies that are growing at a very fast rate, cash strapped startups, and FBA businesses struggling with maintaining stock levels during the busy season.
By receiving income almost immediately, sellers are able to keep stock levels up, pay suppliers and creditors on time, and remain in the “buy box”.
USE AUTOMATED POST-SALE FOLLOW UP TOOLS SUCH AS SALES BACKER TO GET MORE REVIEWS:
More positive reviews tends to result in more sales. However, customers often forget to review products after purchase. After a customer makes a purchase from your Amazon storefront, the Sales Backer tool automatically sends them an email politely requesting a product review. This helps sellers to achieve a higher “Best Seller Rank” (BSR). Products with a higher BSR are shown in customer searches before products with a lower BSR.
“BUYERS WANT TO PURCHASE AN INCOME STREAM, NOT A FULL TIME JOB”
Automating and outsourcing the bulk of your business operations increases the value of your Amazon business through reducing workload and making the business more scalable. Our A2X “how to sell your Amazon FBA business” eBook covers a range of topics related to optimizing and selling your Amazon business such as:
- How much is my Amazon business worth, and how do I value it properly?
- What can you do to increase the value of your Amazon FBA business?
- What are the types of buyers of Amazon FBA businesses?
- When is the best time to sell your Amazon FBA business?
- Ways of selling an Amazon FBA business.
- How to properly handle the sale – steps to success.
- Practical considerations when selling your Amazon FBA business.
If this sounds like something you might be interested in learning more about, you can get your free copy of the eBook here.
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