The dmi guide to ecommerce

Setting up Payment and Shipping Info

Next comes the best part about running an ecommerce store: getting 

paid and sending products to your customers! If your site is run on 

an ecommerce platform like Shopify, setting up payment processing 

information usually only takes a few clicks. However, depending on the 

country you’re in, you may also need to get a business tax ID number. 

In the US, this is called an EIN (employer identification number). Some 

payment processors require this information before allowing you  

to accept payments as a business. Look up the guidelines for your  

country (and, where applicable, state/province) to make sure you 

have all the information needed to start accepting payments on your 

site. Platforms like Shopify will list the information they require to start 

accepting payments.

In the United States in particular, payment processors like PayPal are 

required to submit records of the payments made through their platform 

if the revenue and transactions received hit a specific guideline. Be sure 

to set up your business properly with an accountant or tax professional 

before launching a store.

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Suggested Vendors

Many ecommerce stores use Stripe, PayPal, Square, and other payment 

processors to collect payments from transactions. Which is best for your 

site depends on your location and what fees you’re willing to pay. Many 

processors will collect a set amount per transaction, like $0.25, as well  

as a percentage of the total amount paid, usually from 2 to 5 percent. 

There are a few factors to think about when it comes to choosing  

a vendor:

 

Ɉ

Costs 

 

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Ease of use for customers and business 

 

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Payment processing time 

 

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Availability of different options for customers to pay 

 

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Countries served (both where customers and the business  

are based) 

 

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GDPR and other data protection regulation compliance 

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Many ecommerce website builders will walk you through this process, 

but it doesn’t hurt to do your own research to determine the best option 

for your site. Some possible resources to look at to compare credit card 

processors include PCMag, MerchantMaverick, and Fundera.

When to Collect Sales Tax

When should ecommerce stores be collecting sales tax from customers? 

According to 

TurboTax

, the essential rule in the United States is that if 

you have a physical store or office in the state the customer is in, then 

you need to collect sales tax. If you don’t, then it’s not required. However, 

legislation brought in during 2018

 sought to remove this exemption and 

many tax professionals are expecting businesses to have to charge sales 

tax for every customer, no matter where they are located.

Be sure to check the laws in your state and country about sales tax and 

follow them accordingly. Not doing so could have major implications for 

your business, such as penalties and fines by the IRS or other governing 

bodies.

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After orders have been paid for and processed, the fulfillment 

component of ecommerce begins – getting the product to the 

customer. Depending on the type of product, the fulfillment process 

is going to vary. There are a few different ways that ecommerce 

businesses get products to customers. 

The first is dropshipping: this is where another company fills the  

order on behalf of the original company. 

Essentially, they act as a fulfillment agent for all orders, and the original 

company does not have to do anything besides making sure that the 

orders are being properly transmitted to the dropshipping company. 

This is often a great option for business owners who don’t want to hold 

inventory or spend time filling orders. Of course, there are some caveats, 

such as shipping order errors and/or the cost of utilizing a fulfillment 

company versus doing it yourself. 

Oberlo

 is a good resource if you want 

to get started in dropshipping (note that it’s connected to Shopify). They 

are a dropshipping marketplace that allows you to browse products that  

are available for dropshipping to sell in an online store.

Another order fulfillment option is to do everything manually. Many 

business owners that are making products themselves or have 

handcrafted and manufactured it using their own design and  

prototypes will go with this option. They often start out with a small 

quantity of inventory and fulfill the orders themselves, choosing to  

scale as they grow. As more orders come in, owners will have to start 

looking for additional employees and a bigger space to fill orders.