You didn’t start your brand to chase down ecommerce cash flow mysteries. But here you are, burning brain cycles on spreadsheets, fighting to gain financial visibility across Shopify, Amazon, and NetSuite, and wondering if your inventory is making you money or just taking up warehouse space.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone.
In fact, BILL reports that 57% of finance leaders say that managing cash flow is their biggest priority amongst economic turbulence. That’s why we built the ecomm Cash Flow Fix Kit—packed with the same tools we use to help $5M–$100M ecommerce brands finally take control of their finances.
Does this sound familiar?
If you’re holding ops, finance, and tech together with duct tape and caffeine, this cash flow kit is for you.
What’s Inside the Kit?
Here’s what you’ll get in the Cash Flow Fix Kit—no fluff, no filler:
- 13-Week Cash Flow Forecaster (for ecomm Brands)
A spreadsheet you’ll actually use. Built for fast-growing brands with multiple sales channels. Forecast weekly inflows/outflows; especially inventory turns, supplier payments, and marketing spend. - NetSuite-to-Shopify Bridge Template
Real-world sample mapping for syncing key data (like COGS, SKUs, inventory aging) between NetSuite and Shopify. No more “who’s right?” debates between platforms. - High-Impact KPI Cheat Sheet for ecomm CFOs
Know what to track. Margin by channel, inventory to sales ratio, cash conversion cycle, and more, in an easy-to-follow cheat sheet. - Weekly Finance Meeting Template
A structure for fast, high-clarity check-ins with your exec team. What matters, what’s off, and what to watch next week. - Burn & Runway Calculator (Inventory-Inclusive)
Built for brands that hold physical product. Understand how long you can run based on sales velocity, cash burn, and replenishment needs.
13-Week Cash Flow Forecast Template
Purpose: Forecast weekly inflows/outflows across all major drivers: sales, COGS, marketing, payroll, inventory, etc.
A 13-week cash flow forecast comes standard for all of our clients. That’s how much we believe in it’s value. We use Amalgam’s template to map it to NetSuite for the fastest, most reliable forecast week over week.
NetSuite-to-Shopify Data Mapping Template
Purpose: Ensure consistency between operational (Shopify) and accounting (NetSuite) systems. And ultimately ensure your cash flow is accurate.
Without a good NetSuite implementation, owners can underestimate how much working capital is trapped in inventory. Without clear visibility into sell-through rates, reorder timing, and dead stock, you’re flying blind.
This helps you avoid forecasts that are just fancy guesswork.
Plus, cash flow forecasts without real-time data often miss big timing issues like: Payment processor delays (Shopify, Stripe) and timing gaps between inventory delivery and revenue recognition.
Client Case Example: As one of our client shifts to using more ecommerce channels, they noticed that the bulk of their expenses were not allocated between those channels. Especially with different pricing structure between channels. We helped them identify that they need SKU rationalization to better track profitability. This comes down to accurate mapping between Shopify and NetSuite.
| Shopify Field | NetSuite Field Equivalent | expandCFO Tip |
|---|---|---|
| SKU | Item Name/Number | Must match 1:1 |
| Product Title | Item Description | Optional for internal reporting |
| Price | Sales Price | Check for promo overrides |
| Inventory on Hand | Quantity Available | Sync frequency matters |
| COGS | Cost of Goods Sold (per item) | Pull from NetSuite GL |
| Orders (daily/weekly) | Sales Orders (NetSuite) | Use integration tool / Celigo |
| Returns | Return Authorizations | NetSuite config varies |
Get all your integrations running smoothly with NetSuite for Retail and eComm.
Ecommerce KPI Cheat Sheet
No CFO goes too long before dishing out their fav KPIs. And we’re no different. Here are are some of the go-to ecommerce cash flow KPIs you might come across in an easy cheat sheet:
| KPI | Formula | Target Range (Typical) |
|---|---|---|
| Gross Margin % | (Revenue – COGS) / Revenue | 50–65% (DTC) |
| Inventory Turnover Ratio | COGS / Average Inventory | 4–8x annually |
| Days Inventory Outstanding (DIO) | 365 / Inventory Turnover | <90 Days |
| GMROI | Gross Profit Margin / Average Inventory Cost | 3.0 or higher = strong |
| CAC Payback Period | CAC / Monthly Gross Profit Per Customer | <6 months |
| Cash Conversion Cycle | DSO + DIO – DPO | <90 Days preferred |
| Contribution Margin by SKU | (Revenue – COGS – Variable Costs) / Revenue | SKU-level optimization |
| Net Burn Rate | Monthly Expenses – Monthly Revenue | <10% of cash runway |
Now remember that industry targets can vary so don’t get too hung up on these if yours seems way off. Or, if you need help setting up these KPIs in NetSuite consider NetSuite accounting services.
CFO tip: A reminder that some KPIs like Inventory Turnover and DIO can become vanity metrics if you’re not looking at them by SKU or product line. Ultimately, pick a few KPIs that really make a difference to your profitability like GMROI and you’ll see your bottom line grow.
Weekly Finance Meeting Agenda Template
Are you feeling overextended? Don’t know where to start in orderto gain value from your finance team? Use this finance meeting agenda to help gain a better ndertanding of your eCommerce cash flow:
Cash Position (Today vs. Last Week)
- Ending cash
- Runway
- Variance from forecast
Sales Performance
- Weekly sales vs. plan
- Channel breakout (DTC, wholesale, Amazon)
Inventory
- On-hand vs. forward demand
- In-transit or delayed POs
Spend Highlights
- Marketing spend & ROAS
- Unexpected costs
Risks & Opportunities
- Returns spike? Supplier issues?
- Promo campaign starting?
Action Items
- Finance prep for board deck
- Revise ad spend plan
- Hold or accelerate inventory order?
Some of these are plugged in as examples, pick and choose the agenda items that matter most to your eCommerce model and which ones truly need to be reported on each week and which ones are better reviewed in your monthly financial reports instead.
Burn Rate & Cash Runway Calculator
Purpose: Calculate operational runway while factoring in inventory cash needs.
Pro tip: Include cash tied in inventory for realistic runway. For example: If you have $1M in cash but $500K of it is committed to POs, your usable cash runway is half what you think.
Key Takeaways
There are many ecommerce cash flow management tools you can put to work for you in order to know your runway is clear for growth:
- Use pre-built templates to save you time but know where your cash flow stands
- Clean up margin leaks to know the profitability at the SKU level by properly mapping NetSuite to Shopify
- Stay on track in weekly meetings to cover the most relevant cash flow metrics that matter to you
- Get a handle on the most important cash flow KPIs
- Use our cash runway calculator to know where you’re at today
Want to stress-test your cash flow? Book a quick review with our ecommerce CFO team.
