For non-US residents selling on US platforms
US bookkeeping and compliance for international sellers
You built a US LLC to sell on Amazon, Walmart or Shopify from abroad. Then you discovered the hard part: most US bookkeepers won’t take non-resident clients, the formation platform’s “bookkeeping” is an app with a chatbot, and somewhere in the fine print is a form called 5472 with a $25,000 penalty attached.
We’re a US-based firm that does both halves properly: marketplace-grade monthly bookkeeping, the same settlement-level work our American clients get, plus coordination of the entire non-resident compliance stack.
The traps that catch foreign sellers
The $25,000 form nobody told you about
A foreign-owned single-member US LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro-forma 1120 annually, even with zero US tax owed. Miss it and the penalty is $25,000 per form, per year. We've studied a case of a seller hit for $50,000 across two missed years. Filing it requires books that can state your related-party transactions, which is bookkeeping, not just a form.
Contradictory advice about whether you owe US tax
Ask three CPAs whether FBA inventory creates a US trade or business and you'll get three answers. The honest answer depends on your facts and your country's treaty. We keep your books clean enough that whichever position your tax advisor takes, the numbers behind it hold up.
Paperwork that assumes you have an SSN
EIN applications, ITIN routes, W-8BEN versus W-8BEN-E versus W-9 in the Amazon tax interview, sales tax registrations that want an SSN field filled. Each has a non-resident path; each is slower and easier to get wrong. We've walked sellers through all of them.
What the package includes
- Monthly settlement-accurate bookkeeping, all channels
- Your own QuickBooks or Xero file, owned by you
- Form 5472 + pro-forma 1120 preparation coordination
- W-8/W-9 guidance for platform tax interviews
- EIN without SSN, ITIN via CAA when needed
- Related-party transaction tracking (5472's core input)
- Sales tax registration and filing coordination
- Books closed by day 10, questions answered on WhatsApp
How we compare on total cost
| Option | What you get | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Formation platform (e.g. doola) | Filings bundle; software-first bookkeeping only at top tier | $1,999–$2,999/yr |
| Filing shop + separate bookkeeper | 5472 filed ($399–$999) but books done by someone who's never seen a settlement report | $2,800–$6,000/yr combined |
| eMerchant Books | Real marketplace bookkeeping + full compliance coordination, one team | From $1,250/mo, published rate card |
Closed by day 10, or 50% off
Your prior month is reconciled and delivered by the 10th business day, guaranteed in writing. Miss it and that month's fee is half price. No competitor guarantees anything.
You own your books
We work inside your QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite file, not ours. Leave any time and everything stays with you, diligence history included.
Exit-grade, always
Accrual books with landed-cost COGS and a maintained addback schedule. If a buyer or lender called tomorrow, your books would be ready.
Published pricing, no lock-in
Our full rate card is on the website and engagements run month-to-month. Every ecommerce-exclusive competitor hides pricing behind a sales call. We don't.
International seller FAQs
I'm not a US citizen but own a US LLC that sells on Amazon. What do I need to file?
A foreign-owned single-member LLC files a pro-forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 every year, even with no US tax owed, plus BOI reporting where applicable and any state obligations. Whether you owe US income tax is a separate question that depends on your home country's treaty and whether your activity rises to a US trade or business. We keep the books and coordinate the filings; a partner CPA signs the returns.
What happens if I never filed Form 5472?
The penalty is $25,000 per missed form per year, and it applies even when zero tax is owed. If you're behind, don't panic and don't keep waiting: there are reasonable-cause paths for first-time and voluntary corrections, and clean books make that case far stronger. We can rebuild past years as a catch-up project.
Can you get me an EIN or ITIN without a US Social Security Number?
An EIN, yes, without an SSN via the fax/mail route, and we coordinate the paperwork. ITINs go through a Certifying Acceptance Agent when needed. Both take longer than US applicants experience, so we start them early in onboarding.
Amazon's tax interview is asking for a W-8BEN or W-9. Which one?
It depends on how your entity is treated for US tax purposes: a foreign individual or foreign entity generally provides a W-8 variant, while a US LLC treated as a US person provides a W-9. Getting it wrong causes withholding or account problems. We walk you through the right answer for your structure before you submit.
Why not just use doola or a formation platform's bookkeeping?
Formation platforms are good at forming companies. Their bookkeeping tiers are software-first add-ons, and their marketplace accounting is shallow: no settlement rebuilds, no real COGS. doola's filings-only tier runs $1,999/yr. We deliver actual monthly marketplace bookkeeping plus filing coordination, usually for less total cost, in a QuickBooks or Xero file you own.
Do you understand marketplace payouts, or just the compliance side?
Marketplace bookkeeping is our core business for US clients too. You get the same settlement-level Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Walmart and Etsy accounting our domestic sellers get, with the non-resident stack layered on top. That combination is exactly what's missing in this market: filing shops don't do books, and bookkeeping firms don't take non-residents.
Get compliant and get real books, in one move
We'll scope your compliance backlog honestly, quote it flat, and never bill you hourly for answering a question. Published pricing, month-to-month, in a file you own.
- ✓ Books closed by day 10, guaranteed in writing
- ✓ Everything stays in your QuickBooks, Xero or NetSuite file
- ✓ Published pricing, month-to-month, no lock-in