Finance as a Service
for e-commerce companies
Optimize your e-commerce business with our tailored financial services.
From optimizing your cash flows to scaling your business processes, we offer you the financial expertise and support you need to be successful in the dynamic e-commerce landscape.
Experience from 350 projects.
Quantifiable successes for
CFO as a Service
Draw on our financial expertise and see how precise analysis and tailored solutions help your e-commerce company achieve demonstrable success.
Our experts work closely with you to optimize your financial processes and secure sustainable results.
Situation for Finance as a Service
Our Know How
Our experience spans 350 projects, including interim mandates and consulting projects such as digitalising a finance department. This includes working with common finance tools, from accounting and controlling to reporting.
Up to 80% of your consulting costs as a grant – we handle the application
Depending on where your business is based, the grant is 80 percent (up to €2,800) or 50 percent (up to €1,750) of the eligible consulting costs. It is calculated on the assessment basis of at most €3,500, not on the total project cost. We check which rate applies to your location in advance – and we take care of the application.
- We check whether you are eligible
- We take care of your application
Here is an example
Where is it hurting in finance right now?
Our Partners & Collaborations
Carefully selected to create synergies that provide real added value to our customers. We work hand in hand with leading experts and organizations to ensure innovative solutions and exceptional service.
Marketplaces and platforms
As soon as you sell more than your own goods, the finance logic changes fundamentally. Three points decide whether the numbers hold up.
Separating third-party money cleanly
Sellers' money and your own revenue run through the same accounts. Without a clean separation you have neither a reliable revenue figure nor a dependable view of liquidity.
Commission or basket value
Whether you act as the merchant or as the intermediary determines how revenue is reported. That decision shapes VAT, your metrics and every later valuation.
Payouts to sellers
Payout cycles, withheld amounts and open receivables belong in working capital – not in a side calculation next to the books.
CFO as a Service process
Initial consultation and needs assessment
The process starts with an initial consultation, in which we understand and analyze the specific needs and goals of your e-commerce company. Based on this information, we develop an individual financial service plan that is tailored exactly to the requirements and challenges of your company.
Implementation of financial systems and processes
After defining the scope of services, we implement the necessary financial systems and processes. This includes implementing accounting software, setting up accounting frameworks, and integrating financial management tools specifically designed to help young companies grow.
Ongoing support and optimization
We offer continuous support and regular financial reviews to ensure the financial health of your business. Through ongoing advice and adaptive financial strategies, we help you to respond effectively to changes in the market and in your company development and always make optimal financial decisions.
What is different about finance in an e-commerce company
Contribution margin instead of revenue
In retail, revenue says very little. What matters is what is left after cost of goods, shipping, returns, payment fees and marketing – and specifically per product and per channel. Companies that do not run this calculation at item level regularly scale exactly the products that cost them money. Building a multi-level contribution margin calculation is therefore almost always the first step.
Returns, inventory and working capital
Return rates do not just belong in the marketing dashboard, they belong on the balance sheet as a provision. At the same time, inventory ties up capital that is scarce during a growth phase. How much stock has to be pre-financed at what rate of growth is a liquidity question, not a purchasing question – and it decides survival more often than margin does.
Payment service providers and VAT
Statements from payment providers and marketplaces are bulk postings with fees, chargebacks and payout delays. Reconciling them cleanly against the books is legwork that can and must be automated. Add cross-border shipping within the EU under the One-Stop-Shop scheme, which settles VAT in the destination country and has to be reflected in the chart of accounts.
Typical starting points in retail
The margin adds up in the shop, but not in the accounts
The shop calculates with list prices, while the accounts show credit notes, returns, discount campaigns and payment fees. The gap between the two views is often in the double digits – and it decides whether a channel is profitable.
Inventory grows faster than revenue
Building out the assortment ties up capital in items with low turnover. An analysis by turnover rate and contribution margin per item shows within days where liquidity is locked up.
Marketplace statements remain unreconciled
Payouts from marketplaces and payment providers are booked as aggregate items and never broken down to individual receipts. That removes the basis for any reliable channel calculation.
FAQ
Why is revenue not enough as a steering metric?
In retail, revenue says little about whether money is being made. What matters is what remains after cost of goods, shipping, returns, payment fees and marketing – per product and per channel. Companies that do not run this calculation at SKU level regularly scale exactly the products that cost money.
Why does the margin in the shop differ from the one in the accounts?
The shop calculates with list prices. The accounts see credit notes, returns, promotions and payment fees. The gap between the two views is often in double digits – and it decides whether a channel is profitable or not.
Where do returns belong on the balance sheet?
The return rate is not just a marketing metric; it belongs on the balance sheet as a provision. If it is not recognised there, the result shows a profit that flows out again in the following months.
How much stock do I need to pre-finance at a given growth rate?
That is a liquidity question, not a purchasing question. Inventory ties up capital that is scarce in the growth phase. An analysis by turnover rate and contribution margin per SKU shows within days where cash is locked up – and where range breadth costs more than it earns.
How do you reconcile payment providers and marketplaces cleanly?
Settlements from payment providers and marketplaces are batch postings with fees, chargebacks and payout delays. As long as they are never broken down to individual transactions, there is no basis for any reliable channel P&L. The reconciliation is laborious – and exactly for that reason a case for automation.
When does Finance as a Service pay off in retail?
When the range grows faster than the overview: several channels, rising inventory, settlements from different systems. Or ahead of a funding round, when contribution margin and working capital have to be documented convincingly. In the first call we clarify the data situation and the next decision.