UnitNorthGross margin
Looks healthy at 65%. Leaves out shipping, packaging, payment fees and the ads that brought the order.
FP&A for direct-to-consumer brands
Know where your cash goes before it’s gone.
UnitNorth Advisory gives Shopify brands the financial view their dashboards leave out: cash weeks ahead, margin after every cost, and inventory orders your bank account can carry.
Financial clarity. Better decisions.
13-week cash outlookExample brand · $2.4M annual revenue
Sample
Cash today$184K
Lowest point$22K
Minimum to hold$60K
Decision for this week
Split the holiday order in two. Cash stays above the minimum, and the second half is paid by October sales.
Sound familiar?
Sales are growing. The bank balance doesn’t feel like it.
“We had a record month and still had to wait to pay a supplier.”
Revenue arrives over weeks. Inventory, ads and payroll are paid now. The gap is where growing brands run short.
“Meta says we’re profitable. Our accountant says otherwise.”
Ad platforms count the same sale more than once and ignore shipping, fees and returns.
“We reorder when we’re about to run out.”
Purchase orders get placed on instinct, often months before the cash to pay for them comes in.
What we look at
The numbers on your dashboard aren’t the ones that keep a brand alive.
What the dashboard shows
What UnitNorth tracks
Contribution after marketing
What each order really leaves once every variable cost is paid, by product and by channel.
Return on ad spend
Each platform claims the same sale. Added together, they report more revenue than your store recorded.
Cost of a new customer
All marketing spend divided by first-time buyers, counted from your store’s own orders.
Revenue growth
Sales rise while cash sits in inventory for four to six months before it sells.
Days of cash tied up
How long a dollar spent on stock takes to come back to your bank account.
Customer lifetime value
One blended number, built on revenue and a guess about how long customers stay.
Months to pay back a customer
The margin each group of new customers earns, month by month, until their acquisition cost is recovered.
What you get
One question answered every month: what happens to your cash, and what should you do now?
13-week cash forecast
A rolling week-by-week view of cash in and out, with the minimum balance your business needs to hold.
Answers: can we afford this?
Inventory and cash plan
Reorder timing and quantities tied to the cash you will actually have, so stock never starves the business.
Answers: how much do we order, and when?
Scenarios before you commit
Base, downside and growth cases for a big order, a price change or a new channel, side by side.
Answers: what if sales slow down?
One-page decision summary
What changed, why it matters, and the two or three decisions to make this month, in plain language.
Answers: what do we do next?
The models produce the information. You make the decision.
How we work
From your Shopify and accounting data to a decision.
Step 1
Intro call
We learn how your business runs, where cash feels tight and which decisions are coming up.
Step 2
Diagnostic
We rebuild your margins and cash cycle from your store and accounting data and show you where money gets stuck.
Step 3
Monthly rhythm
The forecast stays current, and each month you get a short review with the decisions that matter.
About UnitNorth
Built to be part of your growth.
We started UnitNorth Advisory because we wanted to work alongside founders and have a hand in what they build. We take pride in helping you make the decisions that turn a good business into a stronger one.
We’re a small financial advisory firm focused on e-commerce. Our team brings hands-on experience in accounting and financial analysis, with an eye for how decisions about inventory, pricing, and marketing affect the cash you have on hand. Being small also means every brand we work with gets our full attention.
We don’t stop at telling you what the numbers say. Our work is built around the decisions you have to make this week, like whether you can place that inventory order and still cover next month’s bills. We help you weigh the trade-offs and choose a next step you can explain and act on.
Working with us means peace of mind, and more time for what you do best.
UnitNorth. Financial clarity. Better decisions.
Who we work with
Founder-led brands that have outgrown the spreadsheet.
You have real revenue and real decisions about stock and spend, but no finance team to model them.
- Business modelDirect-to-consumer
- PlatformShopify
- Annual revenue$500K and up
- Finance teamNone, or a bookkeeper
- MarketUnited States and Canada
Talk to us
See your next 13 weeks clearly.
Tell us a little about your brand and what decision is on your mind. We reply within two business days.
Email us
info@unitnorthadvisory.com