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The three ecommerce-specific issues
1. GST across channels and borders. The $75,000 registration threshold counts all channels combined - Shopify, eBay, Etsy, markets - and sellers routinely cross it in aggregate while each channel looks small. Then the edges: imported stock under $1,000, with GST generally charged at sale and import GST on larger consignments creditable; marketplaces collecting GST on some transactions on your behalf, which you must not remit twice; and exports GST-free with the evidence kept. A channel-by-channel GST map is the first artefact of any ecommerce catch-up, and frequently reveals over-remittance recoverable by revision.
2. Inventory is not expense. Stock purchases are not deductible when bought - they are trading stock, deducted as sold, with closing stock valued at year end. Sellers who expensed every stock order have overstated deductions in buying years and understated them in selling years. The reconstruction re-runs it properly, which cuts both ways and, done voluntarily, frames the corrections on your terms.
3. The hobby line is behind you. "It is just a side thing" stops being true at business-like scale - systematic sales, profit intent, inventory - and platform data matching means the ATO's view of your scale is already formed. The flip side is genuinely good: business status brings the full deduction layer - cost of goods, packaging, platform and payment fees, home office, a share of the 3PL and software stack. Unlodged seller years reconstructed properly are routinely smaller tax events than the gross platform figures imply, which is exactly what the ATO's estimates would be built on.
The catch-up, ecommerce edition
The standard spine, with data on your side for once: platform exports, payment processor statements and bank feeds reconstruct years quickly, so nothing is lost. Channel GST map, then BAS oldest-first, then the inventory re-run, then returns, then remission, and finally the structure question growth already asked. Dropshippers and content-commerce hybrids: same page, same sequence - the platform mix changes, the method does not.
Frequently asked questions
Does the ATO know about my eBay, Etsy or Shopify income?
Do I charge GST on online sales?
Can I deduct stock when I buy it?
My store started as a hobby - when did it become taxable?
General information only - not personal tax, financial or legal advice. Consider your own circumstances or speak to a registered tax agent. Remission of penalties or interest and payment plans are decisions of the ATO and outcomes can't be guaranteed.