eCommerce is more than just selling and shipping things. You need to manage money behind the scenes, just like any other business, or your online shop may just have to close its virtual doors. Because eCommerce can be unpredictable, your business’s financial health fluctuates.

So, how do you balance all of the money that comes in and goes out to ensure that you always have enough cash to propel your business forwards? These cash flow management tips might help.

1. Automate your payments and receivables tracking system.

Invoices, bills, expenses, and receipts – every monthly payment your business makes or receives should be automated. Automatic receipts and automated costs not only provide you peace of mind that your money is moving correctly at the right time, but they also help in digital bookkeeping for you, your suppliers, and your customers.

2. Make sure your customers pay on time.

You may have little control over this, but if late payments are a problem for your company, think creatively about how to shore up outstanding invoices. You can try automating payment reminders in the same way that you send your customers an email when they miss a deadline. If you’re an online retail company, you can also arrange your payment system where your customers pay first before you ship their items.

3. Take advantage of balance sheets and cash flow projections.

Having financial reports is essential for your business, and visuals can be very helpful. Track sales and expenses with accounting software, then produce balance sheets and other reports about your finances. Make smarter decisions by looking at historical patterns, identifying weak seasons or products, and identifying weak products.

4. Consolidate all of your data sources into a single location.

If you have many sales channels, you’re probably also using multiple payment processors, so you’ll need to find a means to organize payments. Each platform like Amazon or Etsy has its own billing scheme and a varying proportion for money transfers. Manually entering this data into an Excel table can take a long time, time that you could be spending on growing your business. Look for digital solutions that consolidate data and provide information that will be useful in the future.

5. Hire eCommerce accounting experts for improved cash flow.

Accountants can play an important role in recognizing cash flow issues early and devising solutions to aid them as soon as possible. As a result, accountants can help eCommerce businesses in preparing for uncertainty and find solutions before the effects of a negative cash flow become apparent. Your company can be more financially stable and have better cash flow management to support your business as it moves on to a higher level.

Cash flow management in traditional businesses is already challenging as it is but eCommerce businesses can be more complex in nature. With the tips above, you can work towards improving your cash flow management systems but they prove to be inadequate, it may be time for you to work with experts like eCommerce Accountant for groundbreaking accounting solutions you need to pull your business out of a financial pitfall and propel you towards a thriving online business.