A2X or Manual Reconciliation? An Honest Answer
A2X is a genuinely good tool. It is also an unnecessary subscription for a lot of the stores that buy it. Here is where the line actually falls.
We are an A2X-capable firm with no affiliate relationship — we get nothing either way
What A2X actually does.
Worth understanding before deciding whether you need it.
It splits the payout
A2X takes a Shopify or Amazon deposit and breaks it into sales, fees, refunds, shipping and tax, then posts a summarised journal into QuickBooks or Xero.
It handles the cut-off
Settlements straddling month end are split across periods automatically — genuinely fiddly by hand every month, and easy to get subtly wrong.
It summarises rather than imports
One clean journal per settlement instead of thousands of individual orders, which keeps your accounting file fast and legible.
It is consistent
The same mapping every time. Consistency across twelve months matters more for useful reporting than perfection in any single month.
It does not categorise for you
A2X posts to the accounts you map. A bad chart of accounts produces bad output — the tool does not decide what anything means.
It is not a bookkeeper
It reconciles sales channels. Inventory decisions, COGS timing, nexus judgement and anything unusual still need a person.
Where the line actually falls.
Under roughly 200 orders a month, on one sales channel: A2X is usually not worth it. Manual reconciliation of two settlements a month takes a competent bookkeeper under an hour, and the subscription buys convenience rather than accuracy.
Over roughly 200 orders a month, or more than one channel: A2X earns its cost quickly. The cut-off handling alone is worth it, and manual reconciliation at that volume starts producing errors that cost more than the subscription.
Any volume, if you are behind: do the catch-up manually first. A2X works forward from when you connect it and will not reconstruct history. Clean up, then automate.
We have no affiliate relationship with A2X and earn nothing from recommending it. We run it for the clients who need it and reconcile directly for those who do not — because a subscription nobody needed is a cost that shows up every month forever.
How to decide.
Four questions, in order.
1. How many orders a month?
Under 200 on a single channel, manual is usually fine. Over that, automation starts paying.
2. How many channels?
Shopify plus Amazon plus anything else raises the error rate sharply. Multi-channel tips the decision toward A2X well below 200 orders.
3. Are you current?
If you are behind, clean up first. A2X starts from connection day and will not go backwards.
4. Who does the reconciling?
Doing it yourself, A2X saves real time. If a bookkeeper does it, ask whether their fee changes — often it does not.
However you reconcile, these must be true.
Clear deliverables, every month — nothing vague.
Common questions.
01Do you charge more if I do not use A2X?
02What about Link My Books or Entriwise?
03Can A2X fix books that are already wrong?
04Should I set it up myself?
05Do you set A2X up for clients?
Not sure which applies to you?.
Tell us your volume and channels and we will tell you honestly which way to go — including when the answer is "you do not need us".