CFO services
Quoted before work starts
- Profit per order after ads
- Margin by product and channel
- Cash forecast and budget
Industries · Ecommerce · CFO
Ecommerce CFO services that show which sales are worth making.
Excello's ecommerce CFO services give online stores and brands part-time senior finance help: profit per order after ad spend, margin by product and channel, a rolling cash forecast and a budget, all built on books closed monthly.
Sales tell you what customers bought. A CFO tells you which of those sales paid, working from the books inside your own QuickBooks, Xero or Odoo.
- Ecommerce CFO
- Profit per order
- Margin by product
- Cash forecast ahead
- Books closed within five business days
What is an ecommerce CFO?
Looking ahead
Profit per order, after ad spend
Contribution margin
Contribution margin is what an order leaves after the costs that come with it. Measured after ad spend, it is the clearest test of whether growth is paying.
| Line | Per order |
|---|---|
| Average order value | $60.00 |
| Landed cost of the goods | ($21.00) |
| Fulfillment and shipping | ($8.00) |
| Payment and marketplace fees | ($3.00) |
| Contribution before ads | $28.00 |
| Ad spend per order | ($18.00) |
| Contribution after ads | $10.00 |
Break-even ROAS is the return on ad spend at which an order neither makes nor loses money: the price divided by the contribution before ads.
Break-even ROAS = $60 ÷ $28 = 2.14
Here, ads bring back $3.33 in sales for every dollar spent, above the 2.14 break-even, so each order still leaves $10. A campaign running below 2.14 loses money on every order it wins, however good the sales look.
Try your own numbers in the break-even calculator.
Pricing and margin by product
Which products pay
The product that sells most is not always the one that earns most. Once ad spend is shared out by product, the picture often changes.
| Product | Price | Landed cost | Fulfillment and fees | Ads per order | Left per order |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bestseller, most units sold | $45 | ($18) | ($10) | ($15) | $2 |
| Mid-range product | $60 | ($20) | ($11) | ($9) | $20 |
| Low-price add-on | $30 | ($9) | ($8) | ($14) | ($1) |
In this example the bestseller leaves $2 an order, the mid-range product $20, and the add-on loses $1. The decisions follow: a price change, less ad spend on the add-on, or selling it only as part of a bundle. The same view works channel by channel.
Ecommerce cash flow and the financial model
The months ahead
Why ecommerce cash flow is tight
Stock is paid for weeks or months before it sells. Ad platforms charge as you go. Marketplaces hold part of your money before they pay it out. A store can be profitable and still run short of cash.
A rolling cash forecast puts the payouts on the way, the stock orders you have planned and your ad budget in one view, so a short month shows up while there is still time to act.
An ecommerce financial model
The model links price, landed cost, fees, ad spend and payout timing to profit and cash, then tests the cases you are weighing: a price rise, a bigger season, a new channel or a new hire.
Starting on your own? The free cash flow forecast template and financial model template are good first versions.
What Excello's ecommerce CFO services include
Full scope
Take the parts you need. Each is built on books closed monthly, whether Excello keeps them or your current bookkeeper does.
| Work | What you get |
|---|---|
| Profit per order after ad spend | By channel, with the break-even ROAS for each |
| Pricing and margin by product | Which products and channels earn, and where prices should move |
| Rolling cash forecast | Payouts on the way, planned stock orders and ad budgets in one view |
| Financial model and scenarios | A model built on your ledger, with the cases you want to test |
| Budget against actual | Every month, from the closed books |
| Unit economics | What a customer and an order are worth, channel by channel |
| Hiring and capital planning | What the business can afford, and when |
| Working capital | Cash tied up in stock and in marketplace balances |
How the CFO service works for any business, and how to choose a provider, is on the fractional CFO page.
When an online store needs CFO services
The signs
What ecommerce CFO services cost
Pricing
Frequently asked questions
What does an ecommerce CFO do?
An ecommerce CFO plans an online store's numbers forward. That means working out what each order earns after ads, which products and channels make money, where prices should move, and how much cash the coming months need, all from closed, reconciled books.
What is contribution margin in ecommerce?
Contribution margin is what an order leaves after the costs that come with it: the landed cost of the goods, fulfillment, shipping and fees. Measured before and after ad spend, it shows whether growth is making money or only making sales.
How do you work out profit per order?
Start with the order value and take off the landed cost of the goods, fulfillment, shipping and fees, then the ad spend behind the order. In the example on this page, a $60 order leaves $28 before ads and $10 after them.
When does an online store need a fractional CFO?
Usually when sales grow but cash does not, when ad spend rises faster than profit, or when several channels make it unclear which one pays. A fractional CFO for ecommerce answers those questions part-time, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Can I use Excello as my ecommerce CFO and keep my bookkeeper?
Yes. CFO work can be taken on its own. The analysis is only as good as the books under it, so your ledger is reviewed first, and anything behind can be fixed by your bookkeeper or with Excello's catch-up work.
How much do ecommerce CFO services cost?
Excello quotes CFO work before it starts. The quote depends on which parts of the scope you want, how complex the business is and the state of your books. Bookkeeping, if you want it too, starts from the plans on the pricing page.