Bookkeeping for importers and exporters
Import economics hide in the chain between the supplier invoice and your warehouse: ocean freight, duties, customs bonds, drayage and currency movement all attach to individual shipments. If those costs land in a general bucket, no product's true cost is real. Mispar keeps each shipment's costs assembled and reconciled. Plans start at $229/mo.
Best for: Small importers bringing in containers or regular air freight, and exporters shipping US goods abroad, who need landed cost per shipment without enterprise software.
Costed
Shipments
Tracked
Duties
Per lane
Freight
Recorded
FX differences
Where importer and exporter books usually go wrong
- Landed cost not including freight, duty and fees.
- Foreign currency payments recorded at different rates.
- Inventory in transit not tracked.
How Mispar keeps your trade books clean
Industry-specific accounts and categorization, with the reporting scope agreed before work starts.
Landed cost per shipment
Assemble supplier cost, freight, duty and drayage per shipment under the method agreed with your CPA, so inventory cost reflects reality.
Customs duties and fees
Record duties, bonds, broker fees and exam charges on their own lines per entry, keeping compliance costs visible and reviewable.
Freight forwarder and broker invoices
Match each forwarder and customs broker invoice to its shipment, so blended invoices do not blur per-shipment cost.
Foreign currency payments
Record foreign-currency supplier payments and the exchange differences under an agreed method, keeping gains and losses visible instead of buried.
Supplier terms and deposits
Track deposits paid on purchase orders against final invoices, so supplier balances agree and deposits are never double-counted.
Customer invoices and terms
Record export sales with their terms and reconcile receipts, keeping international receivables aging visible.
Reports an importer or exporter can use
- Landed cost by shipment.
- Inventory in transit.
- Foreign currency gains and losses.
A simple, predictable process
From kickoff to your first clean close, here is exactly what happens.
Review your current records
We start from supplier invoices, forwarder and broker statements, entry documents and bank feeds.
Map the chart of accounts
Inventory cost components, duties, freight and FX are mapped to an agreed chart of accounts.
Reconcile shipments monthly
Each shipment's costs are assembled and matched to its documents, and supplier balances are reconciled.
Close the month
Monthly statements with an exceptions list and the per-shipment cost reporting agreed for your business.
Illustrative example
An importer receives two containers a month and pays the supplier in stages. Each shipment's duty, freight and broker fees are assembled against it, and the deposit already wired is credited to the final invoice. The per-unit cost the owner quotes from is finally the real one. This is an illustration of the method, not a customer case or a guarantee.
Importers and Exporters bookkeeping — your questions
How do you calculate landed cost?
We assemble each shipment's supplier cost, freight, duty and related fees under the allocation method agreed with your CPA. The result is a defensible per-shipment cost, reviewed with you.
Can you track duties and customs broker fees separately?
Yes. They are recorded on their own lines per entry, which keeps compliance spend visible and per-shipment cost complete.
How are foreign currency payments handled?
Payments in foreign currency are recorded with the exchange difference captured under an agreed method, so currency movement shows as its own line instead of distorting product cost.
What about deposits paid before shipment?
Deposits are tracked against their purchase order and applied to the final invoice, so supplier balances stay exact.
Can you track landed cost?
Yes. Freight, duty and fees are added to product cost by shipment.
Does the $229 starting plan cover my business?
The final plan and scope depend on shipment volume, currencies and accounts. We agree that scope before starting; catch-up work is discussed separately.
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