Fractional CFO Services for Ecommerce & DTC Brands
E-commerce growth is deceptive. Revenue climbs, orders increase, the brand is gaining momentum — and then you realise that most of your cash is sitting in a warehouse, your ad spend is eating more margin than you thought, and your supplier wants payment before your customers have even checked out.
Scaling an e-commerce business without the right financial infrastructure isn't just stressful — it's dangerous. The faster you grow, the faster the cash gap widens. And by the time most founders notice, they're already in trouble.
We provide fractional CFO support for E-commerce businesses across the UK who need clarity, control, and confident decision-making.
The E-Commerce Pain Points We See Every Week
E-commerce finance is fundamentally different from service business finance, and most accountants treat it the same way. They miss landed cost calculations, contribution margin by SKU, the working capital cycle, the relationship between ad spend and gross profit, and the inventory decisions that determine whether you have cash or not.
We've worked with DTC brands navigating inventory cash traps, scaling into new markets, and managing the financial complexity that comes when a business grows faster than its systems. We know where ecommerce businesses quietly destroy margin — and how to stop it.
"We're growing fast but cash is always tight."
Revenue looks healthy but cash is constantly tight. The problem is usually in the gap between delivery and payment — and nobody has modelled it properly.
"I don't know which products are actually making money."
Topline revenue looks great but when you factor in landed costs, returns, ad spend, and fulfilment, some of your best-selling products might be your worst performers.
"Our ad spend is out of control but I can't turn it off."
You're spending heavily on paid social and search but you're not confident the numbers stack up at the unit economics level. Turning it off feels risky. Keeping it on feels expensive.
"We're about to place a big inventory order and I'm not sure we can afford it."
A supplier opportunity or a seasonal peak is coming and the order size is significant. You need to know the cash impact before you commit, not after.
Inventory & Working Capital Planning We model your inventory cycle — order timing, lead times, carrying costs, and the cash impact of different stock levels — so you can make purchasing decisions with full financial visibility. No more tying up cash you can't afford to lose.
Contribution Margin Analysis by SKU We break down your true margin at the product level — factoring in landed costs, fulfilment, returns, and allocated ad spend — so you know exactly which products are worth scaling and which ones are quietly eroding your profitability.
Supplier Payment Terms & Working Capital Optimisation We review your supplier agreements and payment terms, model the working capital impact of different structures, and help you negotiate terms that protect your cash position without damaging supplier relationships.
Ecommerce KPI Dashboard Every Finsight ecommerce client gets a dashboard built around the metrics that drive online retail performance — gross margin by SKU, contribution margin, CAC by channel, LTV, inventory turnover, days of stock on hand, and return rate impact on profitability. Real numbers, updated regularly.
What Finsight Does for E-Commerce Businesses
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The metric most e-commerce founders focus on is revenue. The metric that actually predicts long-term profitability is contribution margin after ad spend — because it tells you whether your customer acquisition model is sustainable at scale.
We track the full ecommerce financial picture: gross margin by SKU, inventory turnover rate, return rate by SKU, and the cash conversion cycle. When the numbers start moving in the wrong direction, we flag it early.
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Alongside CFO support we handle all accounting and compliance for e-commerce businesses — corporation tax, VAT (including the complexities of cross-border selling and OSS returns), payroll, and bookkeeping integrated with Shopify, Stripe, PayPal and other platforms via Xero or QuickBooks.
If you already have an accountant and just need the strategic layer, that works too.
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Finsight e-commerce clients are typically DTC or multi-channel brands turning over between £500k and £10m. You're past the early stage, growing meaningfully, and starting to feel the financial complexity that comes with scale — inventory decisions, ad spend pressure, working capital strain, and the need for proper financial infrastructure.
We work with e-commerce businesses across the UK.
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Usually when inventory decisions start having material cash consequences, when paid acquisition is a significant part of the cost base, or when the founders realise they're making major financial decisions without proper data. Earlier than most people think.
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Yes. We work with Shopify, Ebay, Amazon Seller Central, and most major platforms — connecting sales data directly into Xero or QuickBooks so your financials are always current without manual data entry.
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Fractional CFO support is tailored to your stage and needs — there are no long-term retainers or rigid contracts. Pricing is discussed at your free discovery call.
Frequently Asked Questions
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