When the Books Record Cash, Not Sales
Channel reporting and a bank-based cash model for a multichannel boutique
Women’s boutique selling through live shows, a social marketplace, a website and a retail store | Fractional CFO | September 2026 to present
At a glance
About 10%, not 29.7%
the retail store’s real share of sales
About 33%, not 16.9%
what the social marketplace keeps of each sales dollar, on a cash basis
70% apart
the two weekly cash-in figures in use, replaced by one built from bank statements
Within $433 a week
the cash model’s net cash flow against the bank’s
The situation
The brief was to clean up the financials by channel, find what each channel really earns, and forecast cash. At the start:
- the books were labeled accrual but kept from bank feeds, with no receivables or payables recorded
- the books’ store-sales line carried website payouts
- the two weekly cash-in figures in use were 70% apart
What we did
- Rebuilt weekly cash from bank statements rather than the books (September 16, 2026)
- Built a 13-week cash model with a base case and 3 scenarios (September 22), run as a tracker updated every week from September 29
- Compared the books with the platforms’ own records (September 22 and 23), and set out an 8-step plan to bring them in line (September 24)
- Measured what the social marketplace keeps of each sales dollar on a cash basis (September 30), and reviewed the retail store’s results (October 6)
What we found
- The store was smaller than the books showed. The books’ store-sales line came to 29.7% of revenue, but it carried website payouts. The store itself was about 10% of sales.
- What the marketplace keeps. On a cash basis, the social marketplace kept about 33% of each sales dollar, not the 16.9% the books showed.
- One cash number.
- Weekly cash in, rebuilt from bank statements, replaced two figures that were 70% apart.
- Checked against the bank, the model’s weekly net cash flow came within $433.
- As agreed on October 6, the tracker will report sales net of discounts, with one source per line that an owner can check.
How we measured this: the figures come from the company’s bank statements and the platforms’ own records, compared with its books; the engagement is ongoing.
What it means
Books kept from bank feeds record cash as it lands, not what each channel sold or what it cost to sell there. Until each line ties to its own source, nobody can say which channel deserves more time, stock or ad money.