I run a small Shopify store in the UK and I have a data and finance background. One problem keeps coming up for me: sales look fine, but it's hard to know how much cash I'll actually have in a few weeks once ad spend, supplier orders, payout delays, fees and VAT come out.

I'm researching whether this is a common problem before building anything. If you run a store yourself, or you build or maintain Shopify stores for clients, I'd really value your view.

How to reply:

copy the questions below into a comment and write your answer after each "Answer:". Skip any that don't apply to you.

  1. Do you run your own store, build stores for clients, or both?**
    Answer:

  2. How do you (or your clients) track cash flow today? Spreadsheet, accounting software, an app, or not really?**
    Answer:

  3. Have you seen a store that was profitable on paper but still ran short of cash? What caused it?**
    Answer:

  4. What's the hardest part: payout delays, ad spend, paying for stock upfront, VAT, refunds, or something else?**
    Answer:

  5. How much manual work goes into pulling numbers together from Shopify, ad platforms and the bank?**
    Answer:

  6. Have you or your clients used a cash flow or profit app? What was good or missing?**
    Answer:

  7. From a dev point of view, what's the trickiest part of getting reliable data out of Shopify Payments, payouts or ad platforms?**
    Answer:

  8. If a simple tool showed cash for the next 7, 30 and 90 days and warned before a shortfall, would you or your clients use it? What must it do?**
    Answer:

Anything else I should know:

I'm not selling anything, just trying to understand the problem properly. Thanks to anyone who takes the time to answer!