Services / Fractional CFO
Fractional CFO for ecommerce brands
Ben was Controller at JoyJolt, a DTC brand selling on Amazon, Shopify, and 15+ channels with GoFlow as the OMS — which means the forecast conversations here start where the money actually moves: inventory commitments, freight timing, payout schedules, and reserves. Not a generic three-statement template.
Why ecommerce CFO work is different
Profitable on paper, tight on cash, both at once.
In an inventory business, cash and profit run on separate clocks. You pay a supplier deposit months before the units sell. Freight and duty land on their own schedule. Marketplaces hold a reserve and pay on a cycle that ignores your month-end. Ads bill immediately; the revenue they created settles later. A brand can post a strong margin month and still not be able to fund the next purchase order.
The job is to make that timing visible far enough ahead that you have choices — which order to place, which channel to lean into, whether the credit line is the answer or the problem.
What we work on together
13-week cash forecast
Built around the timing that actually governs an inventory business: supplier deposits and balances, freight and duty, marketplace payout schedules and held reserves, ad spend, payroll, debt service, and sales tax remittances.
Inventory and working capital planning
How much to buy, when to commit, and what it does to cash three months out. This is where most ecommerce cash crunches are created — a good buying decision made at the wrong moment.
Unit economics and pricing
Contribution margin by SKU and channel after landed cost, fees, shipping, and ads. Then the pricing and promo questions: what a discount really costs, and which SKUs earn their shelf space.
Channel and product mix
Marketplace revenue and DTC revenue behave differently on margin, cash timing, and control. We model the mix so growth in the wrong channel doesn't quietly compress profit.
Budget and rolling re-forecast
An annual plan you can actually hold against, re-forecast as reality moves. Variance reviewed monthly with a short explanation of what drove it.
Lender and investor reporting
The reporting package, the model behind it, and someone on the call who can answer the finance questions without deferring to the founder.
How it starts
Numbers first, advice second.
We don't open with a model. We open with your books — because a forecast is only as good as the COGS and inventory data underneath it. If those need work, we say so and fix them, usually alongside the monthly ecommerce close.
From there it's a working relationship, not a deliverable drop: the close, the rolling forecast, and the two or three decisions that matter this quarter. Warm, direct, no jargon — and if we think you're about to make an expensive mistake, you'll hear it.
Want to see the shape of it first? The free resources include the forecast quiz and templates we use in real engagements.
FAQ
Fractional CFO questions we get asked
- When does a brand actually need a fractional CFO?
- Usually when the decisions get expensive: a large inventory buy, a new channel, a credit line, a price change, or a hiring plan. If you're choosing between two commitments and the books can't tell you which one you can afford, that's the moment.
- Do we need clean books first?
- Yes, and we'll be direct about it. A forecast built on unreliable COGS is just a well-formatted opinion. If the base isn't there, we fix bookkeeping first — often as one engagement, so the forecast inherits accurate cost data.
- What does the cash forecast actually cover?
- A 13-week rolling view driven by the things that move cash in an inventory business: purchase orders and deposits, freight and duty timing, marketplace payout schedules and reserves, ad spend, payroll, debt service, and sales tax.
- How often do we meet?
- Most engagements settle into a monthly working session on the close plus the forecast, with more contact around a decision or a raise. It's scoped to the work in front of you, not a fixed package.
- Can you help with lenders and investors?
- Yes — preparing the reporting package, building the model behind it, and being on the call to answer the finance questions. Having someone who can defend the numbers line by line changes those conversations.
- Is this ongoing or project-based?
- Either. Some clients want a standing finance partner; others want a defined project — a budget build, a pricing and margin review, a lender package — and then a lighter cadence afterward.
Related: All services·Ecommerce bookkeeping services·Amazon seller bookkeeping·Shopify bookkeeping·Free templates & calculators·Bottom Line — cash and margin insights
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