You don't need 20 apps. You need five that remove manual entry.
The core stack
- Bank feeds — native, always on; the foundation everything reconciles against
- Bill pay & capture (Hubdoc, included with Xero) — photograph a receipt, it becomes a coded transaction
- Expense management for teams — cards and reimbursements flowing straight in
- E-commerce sync (A2X for Amazon/Shopify) — turns messy payout deposits into clean, reconciled revenue and fees
- Reporting layer (Fathom/Syft) — the dashboards that turn books into decisions
For e-commerce specifically
A2X is the single highest-leverage add-on — reconciling marketplace payouts by hand is where sellers' books go to die. Pair it with our Shopify tax guide and the numbers finally match.
What we set up
We configure the stack to your business, map the chart of accounts to it, and hand you books that mostly maintain themselves.
Want the stack set up right?
We'll configure Xero and the right apps for your model, then keep the books clean monthly.
See Xero Accounting Get a free quoteIf your business pays US contractors, three obligations follow you all year.
1. Collect a W-9 before you pay
Get a signed W-9 from every US contractor before the first payment. It gives you their legal name and TIN — the two things you need at filing time. Chasing W-9s in January from contractors who've moved on is how deadlines get missed.
2. Issue 1099-NEC on time
You report nonemployee compensation on Form 1099-NEC once payments to a contractor cross the reporting threshold for the year (historically $600; recent legislation raises it for payments made after 2025 — check the current figure when you file). The form goes to the contractor and the IRS by January 31.
- Payments to corporations are generally exempt (attorneys excepted)
- Payments made by credit card or through platforms like PayPal business are reported by the processor on 1099-K instead — don't double-report
- Foreign contractors working outside the US get a W-8BEN, not a 1099
3. Make sure they're actually contractors
The IRS looks at behavioral control, financial control and the relationship. Set their hours, provide the tools, make them exclusive — and you may have an employee, with back payroll taxes and penalties to match. When in doubt, run the facts past a professional before the relationship hardens.
The bottom line
W-9 up front, 1099-NEC by January 31, and honest classification. MOREOFTAX handles contractor reporting, payroll setup and classification reviews as part of bookkeeping and tax plans.
Contractor reporting handled for you
W-9 collection, January 1099 filings and classification checks — bundled into our bookkeeping plans.
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Monthly Bookkeeping: Why It Matters
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