Start here · Essential guide
Money Basics for Online Store Owners
A plain-language overview of the money concepts every new store owner needs: revenue, costs, profit and cash, and how they differ in practice.
Running It Safely
Money and Legal Basics
Bookkeeping, margins, policies and general legal groundwork.
Bookkeeping Basics for Small Stores
How a small online store can keep simple, regular records of sales and expenses, and why tidy books make tax time and everyday decisions easier.
Cash Flow for a Growing Store
Why a profitable online store can still run short of cash: how inventory, supplier terms, payout delays and refunds create timing gaps, and ways to plan.
Choosing a Business Structure
A general look at the common kinds of business structure for a small online store, what they tend to affect, and questions to raise with a professional.
Consumer Rights in Distance Selling
A general introduction to the kinds of rights buyers often have when shopping online, such as clear information, cancellation and remedies, and how they differ by place.
Product Labeling and Safety Rules
Why some products carry labeling or safety requirements, which product types commonly do, and how to find out which rules apply to what you sell.
Terms and Conditions for Online Sales
The sections online stores commonly include in their sale terms, what each is meant to clarify for buyers and sellers, and why clear wording matters.
Trademarks and Copyright for Store Owners
Basic intellectual property ideas for store owners: choosing a name that avoids conflicts, and using images, text and product designs without infringing.
Understanding Margins and Costs
How gross and net profit margin differ, how to calculate them, and which costs quietly erode profit in an online store, with hypothetical figures.
Writing a Privacy Policy
What a privacy policy for an online store typically describes about data collection, use and sharing, and why the wording must match what the store really does.
Related topics
More in running it safely
Payments and Security Taking payments safely and protecting the store. Shipping and Rules Fulfillment, taxes and legal basics. Trends and Mobile Where online selling may be heading. Checkout and Payments Experience The final steps of the purchase, from forms to declined cards. Fraud and Risk Understanding fraud, chargebacks and keeping the store recoverable.