Personal Finance & Cashflow Preparation
In early-stage e-commerce, cashflow risk can kill growth faster than traffic issues. This guide helps you build a financial setup that survives until your model stabilizes.
Map your startup cost realistically
Build a 3-month budget, not a one-time launch estimate. Include setup, marketing, logistics, tools, and emergency reserves.
Fixed costs
Shopify plan, domain, business email, core apps, analytics tooling.
Variable costs
Ad spend, shipping, payment fees, refunds, inventory fluctuations.
Hidden costs
FX losses, account opening fees, sample iterations, creative testing.
Emergency buffer
Keep at least 1-1.5 months of operating expenses as reserve.
Safer account structure
Recommended 3-account model
- Operating account: ads, tools, routine business expenses.
- Payout account: receives platform payouts, avoids high-frequency spending.
- Reserve account: emergency cash and tax provision.
High-risk practices
- Running all money through one account and getting blocked by risk checks.
- Mixing personal and business expenses, making profitability analysis unreliable.
- Ignoring refund/chargeback reserves and facing sudden cashflow stress.
Card setup and payment continuity
Use at least one primary card and one backup card to reduce payment failure risk.
Credit card checklist
- International online payment support (Visa/MasterCard)
- Monthly limit covers at least 2-4 weeks of ad spend
- Enable overseas transaction alerts and whitelist trusted vendors
- Weekly statement review with clear business/personal separation
Practical operating rhythm
- Maintain a weekly cashflow sheet: available cash, expected payouts, upcoming liabilities.
- Release ad budgets in stages: validate first, scale only after stable conversion economics.
- Reserve taxes monthly to avoid end-of-quarter cash pressure.