In accounting how do I put in transactions I pay for, and then mark up for a client?

I am trying to set up an accounting system.

I buy domain names, and then resell them to my clients at a higher rate. How do I put this in an accounting ledger?

I know I have to put in the domain registrar as the Vendor and then pay them for my bank. But how do I show a loss in my client鈥檚 account until they pay for it?

We also want so that when we enter what the client paid 鈥?there is now a profit for that client. Seeing as how say we get the domain name for $10 and charge the client $15.

The key question is whether you buy domains and then sell to customers from the group of domains you own, or if customers ask you to buy a domain to meet their needs, and you purchase specific domains wtih that customer in mind.

If you buy domains and sell to the customer from your inventory: when you buys domains, you should increase (or "debit") an asset called Inventory for the amount you paid, and decrease cash accordingly. If you can delay payment, you recognize a liability in Accounts Payable until you pay for it. When a customer buys a domain, you reduce the balance in inventory and move the cost of that domain to an expense called Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). You also recognize revenue for the amount of the sale immediately, even though you are not paid immediately, because you have earned it. Balance this with Accounts Receivable, which is a list by customer of amounts owed. This makes it easy to see who has paid you and who hasn't, and how long it has been. You can also divide your COGS and revenue into sub-accounts by customer, but that can be a lot of work and make your accounting complicated if you have a lot of customers. Most good accounting systems will allow you to create a customer history report that shows sales, cost and payments for a specific customer without going through all of that.