Startups Industry
CFO Services for Ecommerce Businesses
Inventory management, cash flow optimization, and margin analysis for online retailers and DTC brands.
Do you help with inventory financing?
Yes. We help ecommerce businesses structure and optimize inventory financing—including purchase order financing, inventory-based lending, and revenue-based financing. We help you understand the options, select appropriate financing, and manage the relationship effectively.
Financial Leadership Built for Ecommerce
Ecommerce and DTC brands face unique financial challenges that require specialized expertise. Working capital gets tied up in inventory months before you see revenue. Platform fees, shipping costs, and advertising spend erode margins in ways that are hard to track. And seasonal demand swings can make or break your year—requiring careful planning and adequate financing.
At 1CFO, we've worked with ecommerce businesses from scrappy DTC startups to scaled omnichannel retailers. We understand the unit economics of ecommerce: how to calculate true customer acquisition cost across channels, how to understand contribution margin when platform fees and fulfillment costs obscure the picture, and how to manage inventory investment without destroying cash flow.
Whether you're a DTC brand figuring out unit economics, an Amazon seller trying to understand true profitability, or an omnichannel retailer managing complexity across platforms, we provide the fractional CFO expertise to help you build a sustainable, profitable business.
Ready to Transform Your Finances?
Get a free consultation with a CFO who specializes in ecommerce.
Serving businesses from $2M to $50M+
How We Help Ecommerce
Our specialized CFO services address the unique financial challenges of your industry.
Inventory & Cash Flow Planning
Manage the cash conversion cycle from inventory purchase to customer payment. We help you optimize inventory levels while maintaining adequate cash.
True Margin Analysis
Product-level and channel-level profitability after all costs—platform fees, fulfillment, shipping, returns, advertising. We help you see which products and channels actually make money.
Seasonal Working Capital
Plan and finance inventory for peak seasons. We help you build the cash reserves and credit facilities needed to execute seasonal strategies.
Platform Economics Clarity
Understand the true cost of selling through different channels—Amazon, Shopify, wholesale. We help you make channel decisions based on actual profitability.
Customer Economics
Calculate CAC, LTV, and payback period across acquisition channels. We help you understand which marketing investments generate profitable customers.
Inventory Financing
Structure and optimize inventory financing—purchase order financing, inventory loans, revenue-based financing. We help you access capital to grow.
The Ecommerce Financial Landscape
Ecommerce has transformed retail, but success requires understanding its unique financial dynamics. Unlike traditional retail, ecommerce businesses must contend with platform fees (Amazon, Shopify, etc.), fulfillment costs (3PL, shipping, returns), and digital advertising spend that can consume significant portions of revenue.
Understanding true unit economics is essential but challenging. A product with strong gross margin can lose money after you account for platform fees, pick-pack-ship costs, customer acquisition cost, and return processing. Many ecommerce businesses don't actually know which products make money and which lose money when all costs are properly allocated.
The inventory model creates additional complexity. You must invest in inventory before you can sell it, tying up working capital. Forecasting demand to optimize inventory levels—avoiding both stockouts and overstock—requires sophistication. And seasonal businesses face the additional challenge of financing peak season inventory.
Why Work with a Ecommerce Financial Specialist?
Ecommerce financial management requires specialized knowledge that traditional retail CFOs often lack. The cost structures are different—platform fees, digital advertising, 3PL costs, return processing. The metrics are different—customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, contribution margin by channel. And the capital requirements—inventory financing, working capital management—have unique characteristics.
Our team has deep experience specifically with ecommerce and DTC businesses. We understand how to allocate costs properly across channels, how to calculate customer lifetime value when purchase patterns vary, and how to manage inventory investment through seasonal cycles. We've helped ecommerce businesses secure financing, optimize unit economics, and build financial infrastructure for scale.
We also understand the ecommerce ecosystem. We know how Amazon fees work, how to analyze Shopify analytics, and how to integrate financial data from the various platforms ecommerce businesses use. This practical knowledge makes our guidance more actionable.
Ecommerce Financial Challenges We Solve
Common pain points we help eliminate for ecommerce businesses.
Working Capital Intensity
Cash tied up in inventory creates constant pressure. Managing the gap between inventory investment and revenue collection is essential.
Seasonal Demand Swings
Peak seasons require significant inventory investment. Planning and financing for seasonality requires discipline and access to capital.
Multi-Channel Complexity
Selling across channels—Amazon, owned ecommerce, wholesale—creates complexity in profitability tracking and cost allocation.
True Cost Visibility
Platform fees, fulfillment costs, shipping, returns, and advertising spend can obscure true profitability. Understanding all-in costs requires sophisticated tracking.
Customer Acquisition Economics
Rising advertising costs pressure margins. Understanding which acquisition channels generate profitable customers is essential but challenging.
Return Processing
Returns erode margins and create operational complexity. Understanding the true cost of returns—and minimizing them—matters for profitability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Recommended Services
Ready to Transform Your Ecommerce Finances?
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your specific challenges and learn how our CFO services can help your ecommerce business thrive.