AliExpress is a goldmine for dropshippers and small online shops, but audits and year-end accounting can get messy fast if your invoices are scattered. The easiest way to stay organized is to standardize how you generate, name, store, and back up every invoice. Below is a practical, audit-safe framework you can implement in under an hour, with tools that fit how e-commerce teams actually work.
First, generate compliant, consistent invoices every time
Uniform invoices beat screenshots and order pages when auditors ask for proof. In the EU, accuracy matters because invoices must include specific fields such as supplier and customer details, invoice date, unique invoice number, and applicable VAT information, as explained by the European Commission’s invoicing guidance. For digital records, the EU requires authenticity, integrity, and legibility of invoices, which the VAT Directive 2010/45/EU on EUR-Lex characterizes as essential for both paper and electronic documents.
If you buy on AliExpress, the simplest way to standardize your paperwork is to use a one-click generator. The AliBilling Chrome extension adds a Download Invoice button next to each AliExpress order and lets you customize details like your business name, VAT or tax IDs, supplier info, and date format. You can follow this quick guide on how to download an AliExpress invoice or this step-by-step blog tutorial. Pricing is intentionally lightweight for small sellers, with flexible plans highlighted on the pricing page.
Use a folder structure that mirrors how auditors will search
Auditors generally check by period, supplier, marketplace, or specific order numbers. Build your folder tree to make those lookups trivial. A simple pattern that scales is Year > Month > Channel > Supplier.
Example - 2025/03/Aliexpress/ACME-Supplier/ - 2025/03/Aliexpress/ACME-Supplier/Invoices/ - 2025/03/Aliexpress/ACME-Supplier/Receipts/
Put invoices in the Invoices folder and shipping or payment confirmations in Receipts. If you sell across multiple platforms, add a top-level folder per platform, then mirror the same structure beneath. If you use Shopify, keep exports and reconciliations together with invoices, since order reports help tie payments to documents. Many sellers centralize reports from tools like Shopify, and if you are starting or scaling, you can explore Shopify’s platform for streamlined order management.
Name files so they sort and search perfectly
Great naming conventions reduce audit time from hours to minutes. Use ISO-style dates for chronological sorting, since ISO 8601 date formats like YYYY-MM-DD sort naturally in file systems and spreadsheets. A reliable pattern is:
YYYY-MM-DDOrderIDSupplier_AmountCurrency.pdf
For example: 2025-03-14789456ACME-Supplier_98.45USD.pdf
Keep fields consistent. Avoid spaces where possible and use underscores for readability. If you receive credit notes or refunds, prefix them with CN or REF to group them in lists. Do the same for pro forma invoices if you use them for customs.
AliBilling simplifies this by generating printer-friendly PDFs with the fields you need. You can set your preferred date convention and identifiers in the extension settings so each download follows your system automatically. If you are unsure which fields matter most in your jurisdiction, start with the invoice data points listed in the European Commission’s invoicing page and your local tax authority guidance.
Retention rules you should actually follow
Retention timelines vary by country and tax type. Plan for the strictest rules that apply to your business footprint.
- EU VAT e-commerce: For sales reported through One Stop Shop, sellers must keep records for 10 years from the end of the year of the transaction, according to the European Commission’s page on record keeping and audits in the OSS.
- United Kingdom: HMRC says businesses generally must keep VAT records for at least 6 years, as stated in VAT Notice 700/21.
- United States: The IRS advises keeping records for 3 years for income tax purposes in most cases, with 6 years if you underreported income by more than 25 percent, and at least 4 years for employment tax records, per the IRS pages on how long to keep records and recordkeeping.
On privacy, the storage limitation principle in the GDPR requires that personal data be kept no longer than necessary, which the UK ICO explains in its guidance on principle e storage limitation. Align your retention policy with both tax rules and privacy rules by keeping financial documents for the minimum required by law and securely deleting beyond that period.
Digital audits are also on the rise. Many administrations accept or require standardized electronic audit files such as SAF-T, and the OECD notes that tax administrations increasingly use such digital formats in audit programs, as discussed in the OECD’s references on the changing tax compliance environment. That trend makes structured records and machine-readable invoices even more valuable.
For jurisdiction-specific questions, AliBilling’s FAQs and this primer on tax obligations for dropshippers are good places to start, and you can always reach out to 24/7 support via contact us.
Backups that survive audits and outages
A brilliant folder structure only helps if your files are available when you need them. Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of your data, stored on two different types of media, with one copy off site. This is the precise guidance from the US government’s cybersecurity agency, as summarized by CISA’s backup page. NIST further reinforces the approach for ransomware resilience in its NCCoE guidance on protecting data.
In practice for e-commerce teams - Primary working drive or cloud drive with access controls - Secondary encrypted backup in a separate cloud provider or region - Offline or immutable copy on external storage or object storage with versioning
Enable retention policies and version history, test restores quarterly, and document who has access. If privacy is a concern for vendor data, review your vendor’s data handling standards and your own privacy policy.
Daily and monthly routines that keep everything clean
Combine technology with light process to stay audit-ready without extra work.
- Same-day capture: As soon as you place an AliExpress order, generate and save the invoice using AliBilling’s one-click flow. Save it to the correct Year/Month/Channel/Supplier folder with your naming convention.
- Month-end reconciliation: Match invoices to payouts, shipping proofs, and returns. If you sell on multiple storefronts like Shopify, export orders and payments and save those CSVs alongside that month’s invoices to support your P&L and tax filings.
- Permissions and logs: Restrict write access to your archive and keep an activity log for changes. This strengthens authenticity and integrity, concepts emphasized by the EU invoicing rules in Directive 2010/45/EU.
When you need to formalize policy wording for staff or bookkeepers, document your folder structure, naming convention, retention periods by jurisdiction, and backup schedule. Keep it short and actionable.
Why this works for audits
Everything an auditor asks for can be produced quickly: by period, by supplier, by order ID, or by amount. Your invoices contain the required fields, your filenames and folders make them searchable, and your backups ensure availability. If your business grows or your accountant requests additional detail, simply update your naming template to include a SKU, marketplace order number, or VAT scheme, and configure AliBilling to populate those fields on export.
If you are just getting started, try a few test invoices with AliBilling, confirm your folder pattern, and choose a plan that fits your team on the pricing page. For legal context around dropshipping operations, this guide on running your dropshipping business the legal way is a helpful companion. And if you handle sensitive client books as an accountant, bookmark the blog for ongoing compliance tips.
