Digital Accounting of Export Electronic Commerce of Small Enterprises in Ukraine

The aim of the article. The aim of the study is to develop methodological recommendations for establishing digital accounting in small enterprises in Ukraine that engage in electronic commerce in foreign markets. To achieve this aim, the following tasks were set: 1) to describe the circumstances of choosing the organizational and legal form of business in the field of electronic commerce; to argue that international online sales are more rationally conducted as a legal entity rather than a sole proprietor; 2) to prove that enterprise accounting should not be a complication for conducting business, but rather a basis for high-quality information support for effective management; to this end, accounting needs to be organized digitally; 3) to develop a model for the digitalization of accounting and analytical support for managing an export online store; to describe the functions of the model components; 4) to propose suitable options for cloud-based CMS, CRM, and ERP systems for small enterprises engaged in electronic commerce in foreign markets. Analyses results. The study is conducted at the intersection of two scientific problematics – e-commerce and digital accounting, which are distinct objects of modern scientific inquiry. The theoretical foundation of the work is the hypothesis that only digital accounting functionally meets the information demands of online trading businesses in the context of the digital economy; the capabilities of partially automated accounting are insufficient. ERP systems are the software solution for digital accounting. For a small enterprise whose main activity is international electronic commerce, recommendations on the functions and technical capabilities of ERP systems, their suitability for data exchange with CMS, CRM, and external services, the order of interaction between ERP and other online store software, as well as available ERP solutions for small businesses in the Ukrainian market, are relevant and in demand. The article presents facts regarding the importance of e-commerce development for Ukraine and its entry into global markets. It explains that complex tax and accounting legislative requirements for small enterprises are a key reason for domestic businesses choosing the form of private entrepreneur for legalizing online trade. The article justifies the appropriateness of organizing an international online store as a legal entity. It systematizes the legislative requirements for e-commerce operations by small enterprises and demonstrates that accounting organized as an ERP solution is identified as digital. Furthermore, only digital accounting provides sufficient and complete accounting-analytical support for managing online trade businesses. The article develops a model of interaction between the website, CMS, CRM, and ERP systems of an export-oriented online store, both among themselves and with external services and programs. It proposes a list of necessary functions and characteristics for the website of an online store, CMS, CRM, and ERP systems as components of digitized management of international e-commerce for small enterprises. The advantages of deploying a cloud-based ERP system for conducting digital accounting of an online store are explained. Cloud ERP systems are a universal software solution for automating accounting-analytical support for small enterprises engaged in export e-commerce. If ERP fully digitizes all business processes and is synchronized and integrated with other essential business software, then accounting reaches a digital level and becomes the informational core of the online store. The article provides up-to-date options for cloud ERP systems suitable for small enterprises conducting electronic commerce in external markets through online stores, as of 2024. Conclusions and directions for further research. The scientific outcome of the conducted research is the practically demanded methodological recommendations for the digital transformation of accounting-analytical support for commercial e-business through the use of cloud ERP systems. It is anticipated that further research will continue to explore accounting-analytical support for managing e-commerce in the context of ongoing IT advancements and the implementation of innovations in the field of online trade, such as artificial intelligence for omnichannel marketing and augmented reality technologies for 3D visualization of interactive products on websites, among others.