CFO services for marketplace sellers.
Selling through a marketplace means the platform sits between every sale and your bank account, taking referral, fulfillment, storage, advertising, and payment fees before the settlement lands. We bring finance leadership that starts from the transaction data, not the deposit, so margin by product and by marketplace is known and defended.
The finance problems that define this segment.
The deposit is not revenue.
Settlements arrive net of fees, refunds, reserves, and adjustments, covering periods that straddle month-end; booking the deposit understates sales, hides fees, and cannot be reconciled to the platform's reports.
Fees are many, variable, and by stock-keeping unit (SKU).
Referral percentages by category, fulfillment fees by size tier, monthly and long-term storage, removal, returns processing, and advertising — each must be captured and allocated to the product that caused it.
Inventory placement decides storage cost.
Inbound placement, aged inventory surcharges, and capacity limits turn overstock into penalties; a slow SKU costs money every month it sits.
Advertising is inside the margin, not beside it.
Sponsored-product and display spend attributed to SKUs is a variable cost of the sale; blended advertising cost of sales hides the SKUs that only sell when advertised.
Account health is a financial risk.
Suspensions, listing removals, and reserve increases can stop cash overnight; the finance function must model the exposure and hold reserves.
Reimbursements and chargebacks leak.
Lost and damaged inventory, fee overcharges, and return discrepancies are recoverable only if claimed; most sellers under-claim.
Multi-marketplace reporting is inconsistent.
Each platform reports differently; a consolidated view by SKU and marketplace requires a common data model.
How we run finance here.
- Transaction-level revenue recognition — gross sales, fees, refunds, reserves, and adjustments from settlement reports, reconciled to deposits monthly.
- Contribution margin by SKU and marketplace — after referral, fulfillment, storage, advertising, returns, and landed cost.
- Inventory and placement economics — days of supply by SKU, aged-inventory exposure, placement and removal decisions on a cost basis.
- Advertising payback by SKU — advertising cost of sales, organic vs. advertised sales, total advertising cost of sales trend.
- Account-risk reserve and cash policy — reserves modeled, cash floor held, contingency plan.
- Reimbursement recovery program — claims tracked and recovered as a revenue line.
- 13-week cash forecast modeled on settlement cycles and inbound purchase commitments.
- Consolidated multi-marketplace management pack.
Key metrics we build and report.
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Contribution margin by SKU and marketplace | Where the business earns |
| Effective fee rate by marketplace | Platform cost |
| Advertising cost of sales and total advertising cost of sales | Dependence on paid placement |
| Days of supply and aged-inventory exposure | Storage penalty risk |
| Storage and removal fees as percent of sales | Placement discipline |
| Return rate and unsellable return share | Returns cost |
| Reimbursements claimed vs. recovered | Leak recovery |
| Reserve balance and settlement cycle | Cash timing |
| Account health indicators with revenue at risk | Platform risk |
| Landed cost per unit | True inventory cost |
Worked example.
A marketplace-first consumer brand, $14M GMV across two marketplaces, 380 SKUs, fulfillment by marketplace.
The plan: transaction-level accounting; SKU rationalization and placement rules; advertising guardrails by SKU payback; reimbursement program; account-risk cash reserve.
Where we’ve done this.
Marketplace-first brands scaling from a single platform to several; resellers with large catalogs; brands with integrated fulfillment and logistics; sponsor-backed marketplace aggregators. Pattern-level only.
We only see the deposit. Is that really a problem?
Yes — it hides fees, overstates margin on slow SKUs, and makes reconciliation impossible; the fix starts with settlement-report accounting.
How do we decide which SKUs to cut?
Contribution after advertising, storage, and returns, by marketplace; we build the ranking and the removal economics.
Can you help with account suspension risk?
We model exposure, hold reserves, and build the cash contingency; the appeal process is operational.
Do you handle sales tax for marketplace sales?
Marketplace facilitator rules shift most collection to the platform; we track the exceptions and the direct-sales exposure.
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 → InsightThe 13-Week Cash Forecast for a Behavioral Health Group
How to build and run a rolling 13-week cash forecast in a behavioral health practice — collections by payer, payroll timing, a worked example, and the decisions it makes possible.
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 →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.