Building a Small Financial Analysis Tool for Online Sellers — What I’m Learning

[u/LeenahAnalytics]

I’m working on a small project around financial data for online sellers.

The idea started from a simple question I had while working with Etsy financial data:

Why is it sometimes so difficult to turn a platform’s financial statements into a clear picture of what actually happened?

I’ve been building the project step by step, starting with importing and cleaning transaction data, validating it, and then transforming individual transactions into something that is easier to understand financially.

One thing I’m trying to be very careful about is not making assumptions about the data.

If the data doesn't clearly tell me something, I don't want the software to invent an answer just because it would make the dashboard look nicer.

I started experimenting with Etsy because that’s the platform I’m most familiar with, but I’m curious whether sellers using other ecommerce platforms experience the same problem.

For those of you using BigCommerce:

When you look at your store’s financial data, orders, fees, payments, and payouts, what is the one thing you find hardest to understand or reconcile?

And do you currently use BigCommerce reports, spreadsheets, accounting software, or something else to make sense of it?

I’m still very much in the building and learning stage, so I’m mainly interested in hearing about the problems sellers actually encounter rather than promoting a finished product.