CFO services for health and wellness product brands.
Wellness brands sell products that platforms restrict, processors scrutinize, and regulators watch — while customers expect subscription convenience. We bring finance leadership that models acquisition under constrained channels, manages processor reserves on the balance sheet, and builds reporting that satisfies investors and compliance reviewers alike.
The finance problems that define this segment.
Advertising channels are restricted.
Major platforms limit or ban ads for many wellness categories; acquisition relies on content, affiliates, email, and alternative channels with different cost and attribution.
Payment processors treat the category as high risk.
Rolling reserves, higher fees, chargeback thresholds, and account terminations are financial risks that must be modeled and held against.
Chargebacks and refunds are elevated.
Subscription confusion, efficacy disputes, and friendly fraud drive chargeback rates that threaten processor relationships.
Claims and labeling regulation.
Substantiation requirements and enforcement risk carry compliance cost and potential product withdrawal.
Subscription economics with high churn.
Replenishment subscriptions in wellness churn fast; involuntary churn and dunning matter.
Affiliate and influencer economics.
Commission structures, tracking, and fraud control shape acquisition cost.
Investor skepticism.
Diligence focuses on regulatory exposure, processor stability, and acquisition sustainability.
How we run finance here.
- Acquisition economics under constraint — customer acquisition cost (CAC) by channel including affiliates, content, and email; payback by cohort.
- Processor reserve and risk management — reserves as restricted cash, fee negotiation with data, backup processing, chargeback-rate monitoring against thresholds.
- Chargeback and refund control — root-cause tracking, subscription disclosure, dispute management as a finance process.
- Compliance cost budgeting and regulatory-risk register with revenue exposure by product.
- Subscription cohort economics — churn split, dunning recovery, lifetime value (LTV) on contribution.
- Affiliate program economics — commission cost, fraud rate, net contribution by affiliate tier.
- Investor pack — contribution after acquisition, cohort curves, processor and regulatory risk, cash and reserves.
- 13-week cash forecast with reserve holdbacks modeled.
Key metrics we build and report.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| CAC by channel (affiliate, content, email, paid where allowed) | Constrained acquisition efficiency |
| Chargeback rate vs. processor threshold | Processor relationship risk |
| Reserve balance and release schedule | Restricted cash |
| Effective payment-processing rate | Cost of high-risk processing |
| Subscription churn (voluntary / involuntary) and dunning recovery | Retention |
| Cohort LTV on contribution | Payback |
| Affiliate commission cost and fraud rate | Channel integrity |
| Refund rate and reasons | Product and disclosure signals |
| Regulatory exposure by product line | Risk |
| Contribution after acquisition and processing | Real margin |
Worked example.
A supplement brand with subscription, $12.4M revenue, two processors.
The plan: reserves reclassified as restricted; chargeback reduction program and dispute process; backup processor and fee negotiation; affiliate fraud controls; dunning program; investor pack with risk register.
Where we’ve done this.
Supplement and wellness consumable brands; device and recovery-product companies; regulated-category sellers; venture- and sponsor-backed wellness brands. Pattern-level only.
Our processor is holding a huge reserve. Is that normal?
Common in the category; it is restricted cash and must be reported that way, and the release terms and fee structure can often be negotiated with data.
Chargebacks are rising. What can finance do?
Track root causes, fix subscription disclosures and refund paths, manage disputes, and monitor against the threshold monthly.
We cannot run paid ads. How do we grow?
Affiliates, content, email, and partnerships with CAC and payback measured per channel; we build the economics.
How do investors view regulatory risk?
As a discount unless it is quantified and managed; we build the exposure register and the mitigation plan.
Further reading.
Cost Per New Client: Measuring Intake and Marketing Like a Business
How behavioral health practices should calculate cost to acquire a new client, client lifetime value, and payback — by referral channel and payer — with a worked channel comparison.
Read article → InsightInternal Controls in a Growing Behavioral Health Practice: Where the Money Leaks and How to Stop It
The control weaknesses common in behavioral health groups — cash handling, billing adjustments, payroll, vendor payments, and refunds — with a worked example of what a single gap can cost and a practical control framework for a practice with a small office team.
Read article → InsightPreparing a Behavioral Health Group for a Sale or Private Equity Investment
What buyers and investors examine in a behavioral health practice — quality of earnings, clinician retention, compliance, and receivables — and how to prepare 12 to 24 months ahead.
Read article →Insights for this vertical.
E-commerce-specific insights are being published.
Tell us about the business.
One conversation about where the numbers stand and what the next stage needs from finance. We will tell you where we can help, where you need someone else, and what it would cost.
The information on this page is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute accounting, tax, legal, or investment advice. Sales tax, indirect tax, customs, and cross-border compliance obligations depend on the specific facts of the business and change frequently. Figures in examples are illustrative. See our full Legal Disclaimer.