How to scale your eCommerce business with Airwallex and A2X

According to a recent Airwallex poll, 70% of UK SMEs plan to scale internationally in 2023, and digital adoption will be crucial to their success. 

Rising production costs, currency volatility and the threat of inflation have put pressure on businesses to increase productivity and reduce expenditure, and most SMEs see digital investment as the best way to achieve that goal. 

71% of SMEs surveyed say they are investing in tools to optimise workforce productivity so they can better navigate the predicted market slowdown. 

In this article, we’ll look at how, by adding A2X and Airwallex to their tech stack, eCommerce businesses can reduce costs and maximise efficiency as they scale. 

What is Airwallex? 

Airwallex is an all-in-one financial suite which enables businesses to collect, hold and send multiple currencies globally, without paying unnecessary fees.

With an Airwallex Global Account, eCommerce businesses can sell their products in international markets via online platforms such as Amazon, eBay and Shopify, without being subject to forced currency conversions or extortionate FX rates. 

For example, if a UK eCommerce business sells their products on Amazon US, they can collect dollars from the Amazon US marketplace, hold those dollars in their Airwallex account and then use them to pay suppliers, all whilst avoiding currency exchange.

Lee Kaznowski, Partner at Ascentis Accountants, says: “Our main advice whenever you deal with international trade is to limit the amount of times you have to convert currency. Because every time you convert currency it will always cost you, even if you get a good rate. So setting up international bank accounts — and Airwallex is a great platform for setting up a number of international bank accounts — you can control the cost.”  

Airwallex also offers multi-currency cards, high-speed global transfers, bank-beating FX rates and an online payments API that integrates with platforms such as Shopify, WooCommerce and Magento, making it easy for eCommerce businesses to manage all their finances in one platform.  

What is A2X?

A2X is an accounting app that enables eCommerce businesses to automatically reconcile payments from platforms such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify and Etsy into their accounting software. 

Rather than manually categorising sales, fees, taxes and refunds, A2X does the job for you, cutting out hours of admin for your finance team.

A2X is an essential piece of software for eCommerce businesses that sell across multiple platforms and regions, and for accountants that serve eCommerce clients.

How eCommerce businesses can save time and resources with Airwallex and A2X

Both A2X and Airwallex are designed to help eCommerce businesses optimise their resources and maximise productivity as they scale. 

Airwallex

• Open 11 foreign currency accounts online in under 60 seconds. No bank branch visits or lengthy paperwork required.

• Hedge against currency volatility by avoiding unnecessary currency exchange when drawing funds from platforms such as Amazon, Stripe, eBay and Shopify. 

• Automatically reconcile multi-currency transactions in Xero. 

• Enjoy faster and cheaper transfers to 149 countries in 40 currencies, and benefit from market-leading FX rates. 

• Use multi-currency cards to pay for foreign currency expenses such as SaaS subscriptions and online adverts.

• Manage all your finances — from payment acceptance to transfers and company expenses — in one platform. 

A2X

• Eliminate accounting complications when collecting funds from eCommerce marketplaces.

• Automatically reconcile tax payments across multiple jurisdictions.

• Ensure you always pay the right amount in taxes. 

• Automatically categorise payouts into the correct transaction types, tax rules, regions and time period. 

[Related: Accounting trends for 2023: Expansion on a budget]

Why level up your financial eCommerce tech stack?

Most eCommerce founders understand the importance of choosing the right website host, CRM software and marketing tools. But they might not immediately appreciate the role that financial technology can play in the success of their business. 

When it comes to scaling an eCommerce business across borders, getting your financial infrastructure right is crucial. Without the best solutions in place, collecting payments and reconciling transactions across regions becomes an expensive, manual, error-prone process. 

Oliver Blackmore, Chartered Accountant at Elver eCommerce Accountants says: “Our typical minimum tech stack for an eCommerce client would be Xero as the core cloud accounting system, Dext Prepare to process all the purchase invoices and receipts, Airwallex as their bank account integrated to Xero and the live bank feeds, then A2X to integrate between the marketplaces and platforms.”  

By putting this software in place, businesses can ensure they pay the right amount in VAT, don’t get hit with unnecessary currency exchange fees and reconcile transactions accurately, all whilst cutting down on administrative tasks. 

65% of the SMEs we surveyed say they need the agility of a fintech platform in order to manage global growth, but a quarter say they do not yet have adequate software in place to enable their expansion. With the support of their accountant, 2023 should be the year that changes.

To find out how Airwallex can help your business or your accounting firm, sign upfor an account today, orsign up to become an Airwallex partner.