Fractional CFO for D2C ecommerce brands
Know what you keep from every order.
Revenue is easy to see in Shopify. What's left after product, shipping, fees, returns and ad spend is not. Margin Theory gives D2C brands a senior finance lead who finds that number for every SKU and channel, then plans cash, inventory and growth around it.
Where a $100 order goes
Illustrative- Order revenue$100
- Discounts−8
- Product cost−30
- Shipping & 3PL−12
- Payment fees−4
- Returns−6
- Paid acquisition−26
- What you keep$14
The numbers usually break before the brand does
Revenue is up. Cash is down.
Inventory paid for months before it sells, a big purchase order on the way, and no forecast that shows when the bank balance bottoms out.
ROAS looks fine. Profit doesn't.
Ad platforms report revenue, not margin. Once discounts, shipping and returns come out, some of your best-looking campaigns lose money.
Nothing reconciles.
Shopify, Amazon settlements, your 3PL's invoices and the bookkeeper's P&L each tell a different story, and month-end takes weeks.
Investors and lenders want numbers you can't produce.
Contribution margin by channel, cohort payback, a 13-week cash forecast. Pulling it together for every request costs you days.
What a Margin Theory CFO does
One senior finance lead, part time, working across six areas. Most brands start with the first and add the rest as they need them.
Fractional CFO
A finance lead in your weekly rhythm: decisions on spend, pricing, hiring and inventory, and a monthly review with the founders.
Contribution margin by SKU and channel
Profit after every variable cost, for each product and each place you sell: your site, Amazon, wholesale and retail.
Cash and inventory forecasting
A rolling 13-week cash forecast tied to purchase orders, ad budgets and payment terms, so stock and cash never surprise you.
Monthly reporting and close
Accrual accounts with proper inventory and COGS, and a short board-ready pack. We work alongside your bookkeeper.
Unit economics and growth planning
CAC, payback and repeat-purchase economics by cohort, used to set ad budgets and annual targets you can actually hit.
Fundraising and lender readiness
Financial models, data rooms and inventory or revenue-based financing conversations, with numbers that hold up to diligence.
How we start
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Margin diagnostic
We take your store, marketplace, ad and 3PL data and build profit per order, SKU and channel. You see what you actually keep.
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Fix the foundations
Clean accrual books, a cash forecast and a monthly dashboard your whole team can read.
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Run it every month
Ongoing CFO support: monthly reviews, spend and inventory decisions, and preparation for raises, loans or an exit.
Built from the data you already have
No new software to buy. We work from exports and read-only access to the systems you run today.
- Store orders and refunds
- Marketplace settlement reports
- Ad account spend
- 3PL and freight invoices
- Payment processor payouts
- Purchase orders and landed costs
- Your accounting ledger
- Subscription and retention data
Who we work with
Founder-led D2C brands that have outgrown spreadsheets and a bookkeeper, but don't yet need a full-time CFO.
Start with one question about your numbers.
Send us the decision you're facing: a big inventory order, an ad budget, a raise. We'll reply within two working days with whether and how we can help.
or email [email protected]