Online stores · Ecommerce brands
Fractional CFO for ecommerce stores
An online store can show a strong gross margin and keep little from each order once advertising, payment fees, packing and shipping are counted. We help you see what each order really earns, where the advertising pays back and how much cash the next stock order needs.
What online store owners are deciding
Rules and rates are stated in general terms. Your legal adviser or tax adviser can confirm how they apply to your business.
What each order really earns
Advertising, payment fees, packing, shipping and returns all come out of the gross margin before any profit is left.
How much to spend winning a customer
A first order can pay for little more than the advertising that won it, so repeat orders decide the return.
What the sales season really adds
Black Friday and Christmas volume can arrive with deep discounts and returns, so the margin is clear only once the returns are in.
What changes for prices and subscriptions on 1 July 2027
The new unfair trading practices law requires most extra charges payable with the price to be shown clearly and close to the base price, and sets rules for subscriptions.
Illustrative example · Online store · Queensland
A 57.8 per cent gross margin, and what an order keeps
An online store sells an average order of $90 before GST, with $38 of product cost, so the gross margin is 57.8 per cent. Payment fees take 2 per cent, or $1.80, packing and packaging $4.50, and shipping costs $13 while the customer pays $9.
Winning a new customer costs $28 of advertising, so a first order keeps $13.70, or 15.2 per cent. A repeat order, reached by email for about $3, keeps $38.70, or 43.0 per cent.
57.8%
Gross margin on the order
$13.70
Kept from a first order
$38.70
Kept from a repeat order
$28
Advertising to win the first order
Returns, discounts and stock that does not sell come off these figures too, so the margin per order is best read by channel each month, beside how often customers come back.
Illustrative, modelled on an online store of this kind. Not a client engagement.
Method: what an order keeps as the order value less product cost, payment fees, packing, shipping not recovered and advertising. Worked in code on 22 October 2026.
How an engagement runs
Every engagement starts with discovery and a diagnostic in the first two weeks. We get under your numbers, from orders, returns and discounts by month to advertising by channel, payment and shipping costs and stock on hand, and surface the issues and opportunities that matter most to an online store.
In weeks three and four we set up clean reporting, a cash flow forecast and the rhythm of reviews. The first decisions land in the second month, in pricing, cash or cost, and from the third month we are part of how the business runs, alongside your accountant and bookkeeper. The fractional CFO service page sets out the full scope.
Tools to start with
Free tools on the ProfitPulse tools site for the questions online store owners ask most, each with its result on screen straight away.
Reading for online store owners
- The discount stack: why a record Black Friday rarely means a more profitable Christmas for online retailers
- Black Friday volume looks like profit until you count the returns
- After the sales rush, online retailers should read the real numbers
- Same revenue, different price: the revenue quality test buyers run before they talk multiple
Common questions
Do you replace our accountant?
No. Your accountant keeps the tax returns, BAS and year end accounts, and your bookkeeper keeps the books. We add the forward looking work: cash forecasts, margin per order and the payback on advertising, and the numbers behind decisions on prices, rosters, stock and selling the business. We share what we find with your accountant, so everyone works from the same figures.
What does it cost?
The fractional CFO partnership starts from $3,750 a month, billed month to month with no long term lock in. When you need a figure for the business, before a sale or a handover, an indicative valuation starts from $4,500 and a comprehensive valuation from $13,500. Each of these is a starting price.
How is the fee sized?
Engagements usually stay at the starting price. Some need closer oversight or a deeper assessment, and the scope and fee rise to match. Find your fit confirms your price based on the characteristics of your business, and the pricing page explains how everything is sized.
Do you work with online stores outside Brisbane?
Yes. We work with online stores across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and further afield across Australia. Most of the monthly work happens over video calls and shared reports, with visits to you as each engagement needs, so distance changes little. The locations we serve page has the detail.
What do you need from us to start?
Read only access to your accounting software and your store platform reports, the last two years of financial statements, orders, returns and discounts by month, advertising spend by channel, payment and shipping costs, and stock on hand. A first meeting with you covers how customers find you, buy and come back. Nothing needs to change in your systems before we start.
Talk it through with us
A 45 minute discovery call is complimentary. Bring a year of orders and advertising spend by month.