Bookkeeping and fractional CFO for ecommerce brands
Shopify says one number.
The bank says another.
We tie every payout and settlement to the bank, show where each $100 of sales goes, and what a stock order does to cash before it sells.
Exhibit 1
Where $100 of sales goes
Prepared
CF
Reviewed
Line item
Per $100
Gross sales
100.00
Returns and refunds
(6.20)
Marketplace and payment fees
(11.40)
Cost of goods sold
(34.80)
Fulfillment and shipping
(12.60)
Paid acquisition
(14.10)
Contribution margin
20.90
Agreed to payout and bank records
Illustrative month, fictional brand. Not client results
From checkout to the ledger
Where the money starts
Where it is booked
QuickBooks
Xero
Fees and refunds, by channel
Shopify, Amazon and the rest each take fees, refunds and reserves on their own schedule. We keep them apart until they tie out.
Landed cost, not list cost
Freight, duties and 3PL fees added to product cost, so margin reflects what stock actually cost.
Cash before the next order
Supplier deposits, payout dates and reserves on one 13-week view.
A log of open decisions
Each open question with an owner, the assumption behind it and a date to revisit.
Bookkeeping & monthly close
Payouts tied to the sales behind them, fees and refunds on their own lines, and a close that finishes on a set day.
Payouts reconciled to orders, channel by channel
Product costs checked against what stock really cost
Inventory & cash planning
Purchase orders, supplier deposits and payout dates on one 13-week view, so the next order doesn’t drain the account.
A 13-week cash view, rebuilt as orders change
A base case and a what-if for the next big order
Fractional CFO support
A monthly sit-down on margin, cash and the calls ahead: price, stock and hiring.
One definition of contribution margin, used by everyone
What-ifs for stock, hires and big commitments
Close completed by working day, before and after
25 → 8
Exhibit 2
The close, before and after
Measure
Before
After
Close completed by day
25
8
Unreconciled payouts
37
2
Open review questions
14
3
Weeks of cash in view
0
13
Agreed to payout and bank records
Illustrative engagement, fictional brand. Not client results.
In this fictional example, an apparel brand added Amazon and its close slipped to working day 25. A source map, a close checklist with owners and weekly payout reconciliation brought it back to day 8 within a quarter.
1
Trace order to bank
Channels, payment processors, warehouses and entities: we trace how money moves before we touch a number.
2
Quote the work
What’s included, what needs cleanup first and which reports your team sends each month.
3
Every payout reconciled and every exception logged with an owner, on the same checklist each month.
4
Review before you reorder
Thirty minutes on what moved the margin and what needs deciding before the next order.
Monthly close
Bookkeeping, payouts and the close on a fixed calendar.
Payouts reconciled by channel
Close checklist with named owners
Management pack by working day 10
From
$1,450
per month
Inventory & cash planning
Stock commitments and cash timing in one view.
Landed cost reviewed each month
13-week cash view
Reorder plan with payment dates
From
$1,900
per month
Fractional CFO
For lenders, the board and big stock buys.
Monthly review meeting
Margin by channel
Board and lender reporting
From
$3,800
per month
Catch-up
Messy back months, reconciled and ready for review.
Months reconciled to payouts and bank
Opening balances agreed
Open items listed with owners
From
$650
per month of records
Sample fees for a fictional practice. Set your own: fees depend on channels, order volume and the condition of the records.
Illustrative scenario ·
Channel reconciliation
When a Shopify store adds Amazon
The team sees sales in each channel and deposits in the bank, but the month-end handoff does not explain how fees, refunds and timing connect those views. Each person keeps a different spreadsheet of exceptions.
Read the case note
Letter 1
“The close used to end in an argument about which number was right. Now it ends with the questions already answered.”
Maya Lindgren
Founder, North Fold Home
Sample quote · fictional client
Letter 2
“We see the cash gap before we place the order, not after the boxes arrive.”
Owen Achebe
Operations lead, Clearwell Skincare
Sample quote · fictional client
Letter 3
“Amazon settlements finally tie out to the bank, line by line. The board pack takes an afternoon instead of a week.”
Hana Sato
Finance manager, Ridgeway Apparel
Sample quote · fictional client
Elena Marsh
Engagement lead
Owns the scope, the review agenda and your questions.
Sample portrait
Tom Becker
Close owner
Runs the monthly close, the checklist and the open items.
Sample portrait
James Whitlow
Fractional CFO
Leads the monthly review and the decisions on cash and stock.
Sample portrait
Reconciliation
Why your payout is not your sales number
The deposit is the end of a long chain: sales, fees, refunds and reserves. Here is how to trace it back.
4 min
Month-end
Your month-end folder is not a handoff
A folder of exports is not a handoff. Name the source, the date range and the owner of every file, and the close can be reviewed.
4 min
Inventory planning
A reorder has several dates, not one price
Deposit, production, freight, arrival and sell-through: put each date and its cash next to the decision before you argue about order size.
4 min