NZ Ecommerce Chart of Accounts for QuickBooks: Import GST + Platform Fees

Ecommerce makes tax a question of origin. Stock arrives across the border, fees come off overseas platforms, and the GST treatment depends on a consignment’s value and whether the supplier is registered for New Zealand GST. A plain chart hides all of that. This is a New Zealand ecommerce chart of accounts for QuickBooks Online built around imports, fees and inventory, as a readable reference CSV plus an import CSV for the structure.

Set up GST first, including imports

QuickBooks Online does not create New Zealand GST codes for you, so the starting point is to turn on GST under Taxes, create the GST agency, and add the rates you will need: GST on Income, GST on Expenses, Zero Rated, No GST and a GST on Imports code for border charges. The chart-of-accounts import builds the structure, and you assign the GST codes from the CSV afterwards, since the import carries no tax column.

The NZ$1,000 import rule

New Zealand splits imported goods at NZ$1,000, and the chart keeps the two paths separate:

• Imported goods for resale is the cost account. Since 1 December 2019 offshore suppliers charge 15% GST on low-value consignments of NZ$1,000 or less, so you hold their evidence and code the cost on GST on Expenses.
• For consignments over NZ$1,000, the New Zealand Customs Service collects GST at the border. Record it with GST on Imports on the customs entry, listed as the alternative on the import account, so the GST comes from the customs documentation rather than the supplier invoice.

Customs, duty and freight

Customs duty and freight is a separate cost account, because the border charges are not the cost of the goods and their GST is claimed through the customs entry. Keeping it apart shows true landed cost and stops the border GST being double counted.

Platform and processing fees

Online channels run on third-party fees whose GST depends on the supplier. Merchant and payment fees and marketplace and platform fees default to GST on Expenses for New Zealand-registered providers, each listing Zero Rated as the alternative for an offshore supplier charging no New Zealand GST. For some businesses such an imported service can fall under the reverse charge, which the note flags. Separating merchant fees from marketplace commissions keeps each channel’s true cost readable. Returns and refunds reverse the original GST, so process a credit note against the same code rather than booking a fresh expense, which keeps the GST return accurate as order volumes climb.

Inventory and fulfilment

Inventory on hand holds stock as an asset coded No GST, since the GST sits on the purchase, not the balance. Packaging and fulfilment and shipping and courier capture order-dispatch costs, both standard-rated at 15%.

How to use it

1. Open the CSV: each account is mapped to its QuickBooks GST code, with alternatives and a note.
2. In QuickBooks Online go to Settings, then Import data, then Chart of Accounts, and upload the CSV for the structure.
3. Turn on GST, create the rates including GST on Imports, then bulk-assign the codes from the CSV.
4. Agree a rule for low-value versus over-threshold imports so each consignment is coded consistently.

Coding each cost correctly as orders and bills flow in is the ongoing work:

• Dext extracts GST and supplier from photographed bills.
• ExpenseFlow reads each receipt, bill and customs document, applies the right New Zealand GST treatment including import and reverse-charge cases, and posts it into QuickBooks Online against the correct account, so landed cost and channel cost stay accurate.
• Hubdoc pulls recurring freight and platform invoices into the file.

On Xero instead? See the NZ ecommerce chart of accounts for Xero. For the detail on import GST, see the New Zealand ecommerce expenses guide.