Amazon FBA Setup: 3 Steps Before Product Research

Most Amazon FBA guides will tell you product research is step one. After selling on Amazon since 2018, I can tell you they are wrong. The three things you need to decide before you ever open Helium 10 are boring, non-glamorous, and the most expensive mistakes to fix later: your company structure, your banking setup, and who is going to do your accounting. Skip these and you can lose your accountant mid-year, overpay on taxes for three years running, or discover at exit that you cannot actually sell the brand you built.

This is the Amazon FBA setup work nobody makes a YouTube thumbnail about, and it is the single highest-use hour you will spend in month zero.

Play: Most Amazon Sellers Skip This (It Costs Them Everything)

Key Takeaways

• Company structure first. Sole proprietorship is simpler to start but caps out fast once turnover scales. An LLC (or GmbH/SARL/SL in Europe) is mandatory above certain revenue thresholds and for a future brand sale.
• If you plan to sell the brand later, structure the brand as a separate legal entity from day one. Retrofitting this after two years is painful.
• Open two business bank accounts. Neo banks like Revolut, Bunq, Vivid, and N26 dominate for Amazon sellers in the EU. US sellers pair a local business account with a multi-currency fintech.
• Find an Amazon-literate accountant before you incorporate. Many general-purpose firms refuse FBA clients because the financial reporting is genuinely complicated.
• Get these three decisions right, and product research becomes a tactical question. Get them wrong, and no product recovers a bad foundation.

Step 1: Choose Your Company Structure Deliberately

The first question is not “what should I sell?” It is “under what legal entity am I going to sell it?” I launched my Amazon business in Germany in 2018 as a sole proprietorship, “individual entrepreneur”, because it was the simplest option. Tax handling was cleaner, and I could actually find an accountant willing to take on a sole-prop Amazon seller.

That worked until it did not. Once my turnover crossed the ceiling for sole-proprietor status in Germany, I had to convert to a GmbH, the German equivalent of an LLC. And that is where the first hidden cost hit: my sole-prop accountant dropped me on the spot. GmbH financial reporting is a completely different beast, and she was honest that she did not have the skills or the time for it. I had to find a new firm. In Germany, that is a real problem, and I will come back to it.

Sole Proprietorship vs LLC: The Honest Tradeoff

Sole proprietorship, fast to set up, cheaper taxes at low volumes, simpler bookkeeping. The right choice if you are testing whether Amazon is for you at all and you are under the local revenue threshold. In Germany, that threshold is €22,000 annual turnover for the small-business VAT exemption and around €60,000 before the tax advantage inverts. In the US, it is more nuanced, sole proprietorships are fine legally forever, but the liability exposure and self-employment tax math usually push active sellers to an LLC above $50,000 in net income.

LLC (or GmbH / SARL / SL / Ltd depending on country), higher setup and maintenance cost, more complex reporting, but limited liability, cleaner tax structure at scale, and the form most buyers expect when you eventually sell. If you are serious about building past six figures in turnover, skip the sole-prop phase entirely and open an LLC from day one. The setup cost you save in month one is nothing compared to the conversion cost in year two.

The Exit Question: Structure for the Sale

Here is the question I wish someone had asked me in 2018: do you plan to sell this brand in five years?

If the answer is yes, structure the brand as a separate legal entity from the beginning. Putting three different brands under one holding company is fine for operations, but each brand you intend to sell should have its own entity wrapping the trademarks, the Amazon Seller Central account, the supplier contracts, and the bank account. Buyers want a clean package they can lift and carry. Commingled assets inside a single entity create legal and accounting work at exit that routinely shaves 20–30% off the sale price.

This is also a core launch decision covered in the first-product guide, the entity you launch in becomes a constraint on every downstream choice.

Step 2: Banking, Open Two Accounts, Both With Neo Banks

The second decision is where your money lives. My non-negotiable advice: open two business bank accounts, from different banks, before you list your first product. Not one. Two.

Why two? Because Amazon disbursements are the bloodstream of your business, and any single bank can freeze, delay, or technically break at the wrong moment. The cost of a second account is near zero. The cost of a frozen account with inventory inbound is your business.

The EU Neo Bank Stack

If you operate in the EU and have a valid residence permit, visa or passport, my strongest recommendation is Revolut for business. I am not affiliated and they do not pay me. Revolut is genuinely best-in-class: multi-currency accounts, instant SEPA and SWIFT transfers, clean exports for accounting, and a business dashboard that works on mobile.

Beyond Revolut, the other neo banks worth opening accounts with:

• Bunq, Dutch, strong for EU-wide operations, excellent multi-account sub-account feature for separating marketing budget from operating cash.
• Vivid, German neo bank with good US dollar support and low FX fees.
• N26, I was an N26 customer for years with both personal and business accounts. Rock solid. Good accounting export.

The old recommendation was to open a Deutsche Bank or Commerzbank account. Do not. Traditional German banks are slow, paper-heavy, and often decline Amazon seller accounts outright because they classify e-commerce as high-risk. Every seller I know has moved away from them.

The US Seller Setup

US sellers have a different stack. Your primary account should be a local business checking account, Mercury, Relay, Bluevine, or a traditional business account at Chase if you want branch access. Pair it with a multi-currency fintech like Wise Business or Revolut Business to handle EU marketplace disbursements if you expand internationally.

The two-account rule still applies. Mercury goes down for four hours on a random Tuesday and you need a second account to pay suppliers. Happens more than you think.

Step 3: Find Your Accountant Before You Need Them

This is the most important of the three. I say that as someone who had their accountant quit mid-transition.

When I was a sole proprietor in Germany, there was a reasonable selection of accounting firms willing to take on Amazon sellers. The reporting was manageable, the entity was simple, and FBA revenue looked normal enough on paper. The moment I transitioned to a GmbH, my options collapsed. Firm after firm turned me away. “Too complicated.” “No Amazon experience.” “We don’t handle cross-border VAT.” I eventually found one firm that agreed to take me on at a fair price, and I was quietly unhappy with their service for three years.

Lesson: find your Amazon-literate accountant before you incorporate, not after.

What to Actually Ask an Accountant Before Hiring

When you interview accounting firms, these questions separate the ones who can do FBA work from the ones who will cost you six months of pain:

1. How many Amazon sellers do you currently have as clients? If the answer is “we don’t specialize” or “you would be our first,” keep looking. FBA has real quirks, cross-border VAT, inventory valuation across warehouses, disbursement timing, reimbursements, the Amazon fee stack, and none of them are in a standard accounting textbook.
2. How do you handle VAT / sales tax across multiple marketplaces? In the EU, Pan-European FBA means you can owe VAT in seven countries simultaneously. In the US, state sales tax nexus kicks in as soon as Amazon stores inventory in a state. A firm that cannot answer this crisply is not your firm.
3. What accounting software do you integrate with? A2X, Link My Books, or a direct Xero/QuickBooks integration are the table stakes. Manual CSV uploads are a red flag.
4. What is your monthly fee for an FBA seller at my projected revenue? Get a number, not a range. Plan for €200–€500/month in Europe or $300–$700/month in the US at a small-seller volume, scaling with complexity.
5. Have you ever filed the exit accounting for a brand sale? If you are serious about the exit path, this matters.

The Tax Decision Drives Profit

Your profit on Amazon depends on your margin stack, covered in the $0.50 mistake article, but after the margin stack, your realized profit depends heavily on how your accountant structures the tax. The difference between a good FBA accountant and a generalist is often two to four percentage points of net margin, every year, forever. On a €300,000 turnover, that is €6,000 to €12,000 straight to your bottom line.

The 30-Day Pre-Launch Checklist

Before you open Helium 10, walk through this list. Each item takes an afternoon. All three together take less than a week.

1. Decide entity type. Sole prop if you are explicitly testing the market; LLC/GmbH if you are committing. File the paperwork. Expect 2–4 weeks for registration.
2. Decide exit strategy. If you plan to sell one or more brands separately, wrap each in its own entity from day one.
3. Open business bank account #1. Revolut Business or your regional neo bank equivalent. Activate the multi-currency feature.
4. Open business bank account #2. A different bank. Even with a zero balance to start, having the account live means you can pivot in an hour if #1 freezes.
5. Interview three accountants. Use the five questions above. Hire one.
6. Register for VAT / sales tax where required. Your accountant drives this; you confirm the filings exist.
7. Trademark your brand name. Start the filing now. Approval takes 6–12 months in the US, similar in the EU. This is the clock that sets your Brand Registry timeline and determines when you can access A+ Content and the brand toolkit.
8. Document your operating cost baseline. Entity fees, accountant fees, bank fees, software subscriptions. Anything recurring before your first sale. This number is your break-even floor.

Only after items 1–8 are done do you open your product research tool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do before starting an Amazon FBA business?

Three things, in order: decide your company structure (sole proprietorship vs LLC), open at least two business bank accounts from different banks, and hire an accountant who has current Amazon seller clients. Product research comes after these three decisions, not before.

Do I need an LLC to sell on Amazon FBA?

Legally, no, you can sell as a sole proprietor in most countries. Practically, once your turnover crosses the local sole-prop ceiling (roughly €60,000 in Germany, $50,000 net income in the US), the tax and liability math pushes you to an LLC or GmbH. If you are serious about building to six figures, incorporate from day one.

Which bank is best for Amazon FBA sellers in Europe?

Revolut Business is my primary recommendation for EU sellers with a valid residence permit. Bunq, Vivid, and N26 are strong secondary options. Avoid traditional German and French banks, they are slow, paper-heavy, and often decline Amazon seller accounts.

Why is it hard to find an accountant for Amazon FBA?

Amazon FBA bookkeeping involves cross-border VAT, multi-warehouse inventory valuation, Amazon fee reconciliation, reimbursement tracking, and marketplace-specific reporting. Most general accounting firms do not have this expertise and turn FBA clients away. Find a specialist before you incorporate, not after.

Can I change my company structure later?

Yes, but it is expensive and disruptive. Converting a sole proprietorship to an LLC mid-business often forces you to change accountants, re-file VAT registrations, migrate bank accounts, and update Amazon Seller Central, all while the business is running. Decide up front.

What is the most common pre-launch mistake new Amazon FBA sellers make?

Skipping straight to product research. The 10 FBA mistakes beginners make covers the downstream versions, but the root of most of them is incorporating hastily (or not at all) and discovering six months in that the structure no longer fits the business.

The Bottom Line

Product research is the fun part of Amazon FBA. Browsing Black Box filters, hunting for opportunities, building supplier shortlists, that is the dopamine phase. It is also the phase that matters least in the first 90 days.

The three boring questions, entity, bank, accountant, are what determine whether your business is clean, taxable, saleable, and defensible two years in. Spend the week up front. It is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.

For the next step, turning a clean setup into a real product launch, see how to launch your first Amazon product and the tools I actually use. And for the PPC automation layer once you are live, my Daniks. AI review covers the AI agent I use for bid management.