13-week cash flow
A rolling week-by-week view of receipts and payments for the next quarter, refreshed as actuals come in.
Known payment dates- Lowest projected balance flagged
Cash flow & forecasting
Cash Flow Forecasting and a Fractional Finance Director for eCommerce
Profitable eCommerce businesses still run out of cash. A cash flow forecast built from your real platform and stock data shows the squeeze coming months before it reaches your bank account.
Book a discovery call 
- Rolling 13-week cash flow forecast
- Stock purchasing planned against lead times
- Scenario planning and board reporting at FD level
In short
A cash flow forecast predicts when money will come in and go out of your business, week by week, so you can see shortfalls before they happen. eCounts builds cash flow forecasts for UK eCommerce sellers from reconciled platform data, stock plans and supplier terms, from the Growth tier at £700 a month up to a fractional finance director from £4,500 a month.
Works with the platforms and software you already use
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Amazon -
Shopify -
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Etsy -
TikTok Shop -
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Xero -
QuickBooks - A2X
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PayPal -
Stripe -
Klarna
Trademarks belong to their owners. eCounts is independent and not endorsed by these platforms.
The cash trap
Why a profitable eCommerce business can run out of cash
Online sellers rarely fail because they are unprofitable. They fail because they run out of cash while growing. Money leaves for a supplier deposit, the balance goes before shipping, the goods spend weeks in transit and more weeks in a warehouse, and only after they sell does the marketplace pay out, on its own schedule.
That gap between paying for stock and being paid for it is the cash conversion cycle. When sales grow, you have to fund more stock further ahead, so a business that grows needs more cash, not less. A record quarter can be the thing that empties the bank account.
Cash flow forecasting puts that timeline on a page. It starts from the reconciled numbers in your monthly management accounts, so it reflects what is actually happening rather than a hopeful spreadsheet.
What we forecast
What is in an eCommerce cash flow forecast
Each forecast is built from actual data where it exists and clear, written assumptions where it does not.
Settlement timing
Sales converted into cash on each platform's payout cycle, allowing for reserves, refunds and payment processor timings.
- Amazon, Shopify, eBay, Etsy
- Stripe, PayPal and others
Stock purchasing plan
Reorders mapped against sales velocity, supplier lead times, minimum order quantities and payment terms.
- Deposits and balances timed
- Landed costs included
Tax and overheads
VAT, PAYE, corporation tax and fixed costs placed in the weeks they actually leave the account.
- No surprise VAT bills
- Director pay planned in
Stock decisions
Stock purchasing and lead times: the biggest cash decision you make
Stock is usually the largest cash commitment an eCommerce business makes, and it is often decided on instinct. Order too little and you stock out in peak. Order too much and months of working capital sit on a shelf. A bulk discount can look like margin and still be the wrong decision if it ties up cash you need for the next quarter.
We model reorders against sales velocity, seasonality, supplier lead times and how much those lead times vary. Landed cost from our import duty and landed cost work goes in at the right time, including duty and import VAT, so the forecast shows the true cash needed to land each order. If you import, our import duty calculator is a quick way to estimate the duty side before a shipment.
Method
How we build a cash flow forecast worth having
- 01
Start from reconciled actuals
Sales, fees and payouts come from your reconciled platform data, so the opening position is real.
- 02
Model seasonality
We use your own sales history to shape the year, including Q4 peaks and quiet months.
- 03
Add stock and supplier terms
Purchase orders, deposits, lead times and landed costs are placed in the weeks they hit the bank.
- 04
Write down the assumptions
Every estimate is listed so you can see what drives the forecast and challenge it.
- 05
Compare and refresh
Actuals are compared with the forecast and the next 13 weeks are rolled forward.
Scenario planning
Scenario planning before you commit
A forecast answers what happens if nothing changes. Scenario planning answers what happens if you do something. Common questions we model for sellers include adding a new sales channel, doubling ad spend into Q4, a first hire, moving to a 3PL, a supplier price rise, a change in duty rates or a large retail order on long payment terms.
Each scenario shows the effect on profit, cash and the lowest point in your bank balance, so you can see not only whether an idea is profitable but whether you can afford to get there.
Funding readiness
Getting ready for funding
Sooner or later many growing sellers need finance: a bank facility, stock or revenue-based finance, marketplace lending or outside investment. Each has a different cost and different conditions, and the fastest money is not always the cheapest.
Lenders and investors ask the same questions: what is your margin by channel, how is stock valued, what does cash look like over the next year and what are your assumptions. Up-to-date management accounts and a credible forecast make that conversation shorter and put you in a stronger position. The same discipline matters if you are preparing a business for sale, where clean channel profitability, defensible stock values and a settled VAT position all count.
Growth vs Fractional FD
Fractional CFO or forecasting on the Growth tier: which do you need?
Both include cash flow forecasting. The difference is how much senior time and responsibility you need.
Growth, £700/mo
Cash flow forecasting built from your platform data- KPI dashboards and SKU-level COGS
- Quarterly reviews
- Suits multi-platform sellers planning stock and cash
Fractional FD, from £4,500/mo
- Everything in Scale, plus scenario planning
- Board-level reporting
- Weekly meetings and board attendance
- Strategic financial leadership on funding, growth and exit
Fractional finance director
What a fractional finance director does
A fractional finance director, also called a fractional CFO or virtual finance director, gives you senior finance leadership for part of the week instead of a full-time hire. You get the thinking and accountability of a finance director at a fraction of the commitment.
In practice that means weekly meetings on cash, stock and performance, board-level reporting, attending board meetings, owning the forecast and scenario models, and leading conversations with lenders or investors. You keep the commercial decisions. We make sure they are made on numbers you can trust. See how it compares with other tiers on our pricing page.
Example dashboards
A cash forecast you can plan stock against
Thirteen weeks ahead, week by week, with stock deposits, VAT and peak season built in, so the low point is never a surprise.
eCounts client dashboard Sample data
Channel P&L
1 to 31 August 2026 · margin after landed COGS
Revenue
£97,500
▲ 5.9% on July
Landed COGS
£60,110
incl. freight & duty
Gross margin
38.3%
£37,390 gross profit
Channels
5
reconciled to payouts
- Shopify
- Amazon FBA
- eBay
- Etsy
- TikTok Shop
| Channel | Revenue | Gross profit | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | £38,420 | £17,290 | 45.0% |
| Amazon FBA | £28,140 | £8,720 | 31.0% |
| eBay | £15,610 | £5,310 | 34.0% |
| Etsy | £9,170 | £3,760 | 41.0% |
| TikTok Shop | £6,160 | £2,310 | 37.5% |
13-week cash flow forecast
From w/c 7 September 2026
Cash today
£32,200
Lowest point
£18,400
w/c 5 Oct
Cash buffer
£15,000
£3,400 headroom at the low
End of forecast
£89,100
after Q4 stock is paid
Example figures for illustration. Your dashboards are built from your own reconciled data. See it with your numbers.
Top tips
Four cash flow tips for online sellers
- 01
Forecast weekly, not monthly
Stock deposits, VAT and payroll land in specific weeks. A monthly forecast can hide a week where cash runs short.
- 02
Set a minimum cash buffer
Decide the lowest balance you are comfortable with and check every forecast against it.
- 03
Put stock orders in when you pay, not when goods arrive
Deposits and balance payments often go out months before the stock sells. That gap is where cash gets squeezed.
- 04
Update the forecast with actuals
Compare each week with the forecast and adjust. A forecast that is never checked soon stops being useful.
From the accountant
“A profitable seller can still run out of cash in the weeks between paying for Q4 stock and selling it. A weekly forecast shows that gap months before it arrives.”
Pricing
Forecasting and fractional FD pricing
Cash flow forecasting starts at Growth. Scenario planning, board reporting and board attendance come with the Fractional FD tier.
Compliance
£250/mo
Sole trader. £590/mo ltd company.
Basic
£350/mo
Single platform, up to 500 orders.
Growth
£700/mo
Multi-platform.
Scale
£2,500+/mo
Seven-figure operations.
- Usual fit
Fractional FD
£4,500+/mo
Everything included.
See the cash squeeze before it reaches your bank account
Talk to us about your growth plans, stock and funding. Led by an ICAEW chartered accountant.
Why is my profitable business short of cash? 
Usually because cash is tied up in stock and marketplace balances before profit turns into money in the bank. You pay suppliers weeks or months before you sell, and growth means funding more stock further ahead. A cash flow forecast shows exactly where the gap sits.
How do I forecast cash flow for an eCommerce business?
Start from actual sales and payout data, then map every payment to the week it leaves your account. The key inputs are platform settlement timing, stock orders with deposits and lead times, seasonality, VAT and tax payments and fixed costs. A rolling 13-week forecast refreshed against actuals is a practical starting point.
What does a fractional CFO do?
A fractional CFO provides part-time senior finance leadership: forecasting, scenario planning, board reporting and funding conversations. For an eCommerce business that usually centres on cash, stock and margin by channel. It suits founders who need finance director thinking but not a full-time hire.
Is a fractional finance director the same as a virtual finance director?
Yes, broadly. Fractional finance director, fractional CFO and virtual finance director all describe part-time, senior finance leadership. We use finance director as the UK term.
Can I not just forecast in a spreadsheet?
You can, and a spreadsheet is fine as a tool. The problem is usually the inputs: a forecast that does not start from reconciled actuals, real settlement timing and landed stock costs is guessing. Ours start from the same data as your management accounts.
How often is the forecast updated?
The 13-week cash flow is rolled forward regularly and compared with actuals so it stays useful. How often you review it with us depends on your tier, from quarterly reviews on Growth to weekly meetings on Scale and Fractional FD.
Who is the Fractional FD tier right for?
It suits established sellers where stock, funding or growth decisions carry real risk and the founder wants a senior finance partner at the table. If you are earlier on, the Growth tier's forecasting and quarterly reviews are often the right first step.
