Accounting Guide for Shopee & Lazada Sellers in Malaysia

Selling through Shopee or Lazada in Malaysia is still a business for accounting and tax purposes. Sellers should therefore track their full sales, marketplace deductions, product costs, refunds and business expenses instead of relying only on the amount deposited into their bank account.

Good bookkeeping also helps answer a more important question: is your online store actually profitable?

What Accounting Records Should Shopee and Lazada Sellers Keep?

Your accounting service records should clearly show how much you sold, how much you spent and how much profit the business made.

HASiL requires digital businesses to maintain relevant business records and supporting documents for seven years.

Useful records can include:

• Shopee and Lazada sales reports
• Marketplace settlement and payout reports
• Supplier invoices and inventory purchase records
• Bank statements
• Advertising and packaging expenses
• Refund and return records
• Software and subscription invoices
• e-Invoices and self-billed e-Invoices, where applicable

Keeping these records digitally is usually much easier than reconstructing months of transactions at tax filing time.

Should Shopee and Lazada Payouts Be Recorded as Sales?

Usually, no.

The amount Shopee or Lazada transfers into your bank account may already have fees, advertising costs, refunds or other deductions taken out.

For example:

Transaction	Amount
Gross Completed Sales	RM10,000
Marketplace Fees	RM500
Advertising Charges	RM300
Refunds And Adjustments	RM500
Net Payout	RM8,700

If you record only RM8,700 as revenue, your accounts may understate both sales and expenses.

Your bank statement tells you how much cash arrived. Your marketplace reports explain how that figure was calculated. Both should be reconciled.

Read More: Accounting for Construction Companies in Malaysia

How Should Marketplace Fees Be Recorded?

Shopee and Lazada may deduct commission, transaction charges, promotional costs, advertising fees and other platform-related charges.

These should generally be recorded separately rather than simply reducing recorded sales.

Common categories may include:

Marketplace Fees: Commission and transaction charges.

Advertising: Sponsored listings and marketplace advertising.

Shipping Costs: Seller-borne delivery or logistics expenses.

Promotional Costs: Seller-funded vouchers, discounts or campaign contributions.

Separating these expenses makes it easier to calculate true profit margins and understand how much each marketplace is costing your business.

How Should Shopee and Lazada Sellers Calculate Profit?

Sales revenue is only the starting point.

A simple accounting formula is:

Net Profit = Sales Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold – Marketplace Costs – Operating Expenses

For example:

Item	Monthly Amount
Sales Revenue	RM25,000
Cost Of Products Sold	(RM11,000)
Platform Charges	(RM1,500)
Advertising	(RM2,000)
Packaging And Logistics	(RM1,200)
Other Expenses	(RM500)
Estimated Profit	RM8,800

A seller generating RM25,000 in monthly sales is therefore not necessarily earning RM25,000.

Accounting profit and taxable business income are also not always identical. Tax calculations may require adjustments for non-deductible expenses, capital allowances and other tax treatments.

How Should Inventory Be Recorded?

If you buy products for resale, purchases and cost of goods sold are not always the same thing.

Suppose you buy RM20,000 worth of stock but only sell part of it during the month. The remaining products are still inventory rather than immediately becoming the full cost of goods sold.

A basic calculation is:

Opening Inventory + Purchases – Closing Inventory = Cost of Goods Sold

This helps produce a more accurate gross profit figure.

Sellers should therefore avoid treating every stock purchase as an immediate expense simply because money has already left the bank account.

How Should Refunds and Returns Be Recorded?

Refunds can distort your accounting if they are ignored.

A transaction may first appear as a sale but later be cancelled, returned or partially refunded.

Your accounting should reflect the final transaction position. Cancelled orders should not remain recorded as completed sales, while returned or refunded orders may require previously recorded revenue to be reduced or reversed.

Where e-Invoice rules apply, an appropriate adjustment document may also be required.

What Business Expenses Can Marketplace Sellers Track?

Common business costs may include:

• Cost of products sold
• Packaging materials
• Marketplace fees
• Advertising
• Seller-borne shipping expenses
• Accounting software
• Inventory management systems
• Professional accounting or bookkeeping fees
• Business equipment, subject to the correct tax treatment

Expenses should be properly supported and related to generating business income.

Normal operating expenses may be deductible if they meet the relevant tax rules. Business equipment and other capital assets may instead qualify for capital allowances rather than being claimed as an immediate expense.

Similarly, unsold inventory generally remains part of closing stock until it is sold.

Avoid mixing personal spending with business expenses wherever possible.

Do Shopee and Lazada Sellers Have to Pay Income Tax?

Yes, income earned from an online business can fall under Malaysian income tax rules.

HASiL treats digital business income as taxable business income where applicable. This means income earned through Shopee or Lazada should not simply be ignored because it comes through an online marketplace.

However, tax is generally based on taxable business income rather than total marketplace sales alone.

For example, if your business records RM200,000 in sales, the full RM200,000 is not automatically treated as profit. Cost of goods sold, allowable business expenses, capital allowances and other tax adjustments can affect the final taxable amount.

The exact treatment also depends on whether you operate as a sole proprietor, partnership or company.

This article provides general information only. Sellers with complex transactions or unusual tax circumstances should seek advice based on their own business situation.

Read More: Accounting for Hotels in Malaysia: Revenue and Cost Guide

What Should Sellers Know About e-Invoice?

Malaysia’s e-Invoice system is being implemented according to taxpayers’ annual turnover or revenue.

Under HASiL’s implementation timeline updated on 30 August 2026, taxpayers with annual turnover or revenue below RM3 million are exempt from e-Invoice implementation under the current rules.

The current implementation timeline is:

Annual Turnover or Revenue	Implementation Date
Above RM100 million	1 August 2024
Above RM25 million up to RM100 million	1 January 2025
Above RM5 million up to RM25 million	1 July 2025
Up to RM5 million	1 January 2026
Below RM3 million	Exempt under current guidance

Businesses should still check the latest HASiL guidance because e-Invoice rules and exemptions can change.

How Does e-Invoice Work for Shopee and Lazada Sales?

Sales completed through an e-commerce platform have specific e-Invoice rules.

Under HASiL’s current e-commerce framework, the e-commerce platform provider is responsible for issuing a self-billed e-Invoice to the merchant or service provider for qualifying transactions concluded through the platform.

The platform provider is also responsible for issuing an e-Invoice to the merchant for applicable platform charges.

This means sellers should not automatically assume they need to independently issue an e-Invoice for every Shopee or Lazada order in the same way they would for a direct sale outside the marketplace.

However, sellers may still need to consider e-Invoice obligations for:

• Sales completed outside the marketplace
• Other business income
• Purchases and expenses
• Documents issued or received from marketplaces
• Other direct transactions with customers or suppliers

Sellers should check the latest HASiL guidance and marketplace procedures.

Do Shopee and Lazada Sellers Need SST Registration?

Not every marketplace seller automatically needs to register for SST.

Sales tax and service tax operate separately from income tax.

Whether SST applies depends on what your business actually does.

A seller that simply buys finished products and resells them online should not assume that reaching a particular Shopee or Lazada sales figure automatically creates an SST obligation.

You may need to examine whether your business:

• Manufactures taxable goods
• Imports goods
• Provides taxable services
• Carries out another activity covered by SST legislation
• Exceeds the registration threshold for a taxable activity

Check your business activities against the latest Royal Malaysian Customs Department guidance before registering.

How Should Sellers Reconcile Their Accounts Each Month?

A practical monthly process is:

1. Export your Shopee and Lazada sales and settlement reports.
2. Confirm completed sales after refunds and cancellations.
3. Record platform fees, advertising costs and other deductions.
4. Match marketplace payouts against your bank deposits.
5. Update inventory and cost of goods sold.
6. Record other business expenses.
7. Save relevant e-Invoices and self-billed e-Invoices.
8. Investigate any unexplained differences.

Doing this monthly is much easier than rebuilding an entire year of marketplace activity before tax filing.

What Accounting Mistakes Should Marketplace Sellers Avoid?

One of the biggest mistakes is treating the final payout from Shopee or Lazada as total sales.

Other common problems include:

• Ignoring platform fees
• Forgetting refunds
• Failing to track inventory
• Treating all stock purchases as immediate expenses
• Treating capital equipment as an ordinary expense
• Mixing personal transactions with business spending
• Failing to keep marketplace and e-Invoice records

Another major mistake is postponing bookkeeping until tax season.

Consistent bookkeeping gives you a clearer picture of both compliance and profitability.

When Should You Consider Professional Bookkeeping?

A small seller processing a few transactions per week may be able to maintain basic records independently.

Professional support becomes more useful when you have higher sales volumes, multiple stores, significant advertising spending, employees, large inventories or more complex tax and e-Invoice requirements.

Good bookkeeping can help answer questions such as:

• How profitable was your 9.9 campaign?
• Which marketplace produces the better margin?
• How much are platform fees reducing your profit?
• Why does your payout not match your sales report?
• Are your records ready for tax filing?

At that stage, bookkeeping becomes more than an administrative task. It becomes part of how you manage the business.

Getting the Accounting Right

Accounting for Shopee and Lazada does not need to be overly complicated, but it should go beyond checking how much money reaches your bank account.

Malaysian Shopee and Lazada sellers should keep clear records of sales, marketplace charges, refunds, inventory, expenses and actual profit while staying aware of their income tax, SST and e-Invoice responsibilities.

Accounting.my can help online sellers keep their financial records organised through our professional accounting and bookkeeping services. Cleaner accounts can make tax compliance easier while giving you a clearer view of which products and campaigns are actually making money.

Sources

• Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (HASiL), Digital Business guidance
• Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (HASiL), e-Invoice Implementation Timeline
• Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (HASiL), e-Invoice Specific Guideline
• Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (HASiL), e-Commerce Industry-Specific FAQs
• Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Malaysia (HASiL), Income Tax guidance
• Royal Malaysian Customs Department, MySST guidance
• Royal Malaysian Customs Department, SST Registration guidance