The summer buy
Production balances and freight fall due while trading is soft. Draw against the buy and repay out of the peak.
- Fund the buyRepay at peak
- Stage the freightSpread the outflow
- Arrange it earlyBefore deposits leave
Industriesonline sellers
Business Funding for E-Commerce & Online Retail
Your money is stuck between two invoices.
One place for online sellers to measure the cash cycle, prove what an order really leaves, and see which financing structure fits the next move, from a bigger production run to the peak season buy.
No hard credit pull to start. No applicant fees. Independent business capital advisors.
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Start with the move
What online sellers use business funding for
Pick one and the calculator below changes to the question that move actually asks.
Run the numbers first
Cash conversion cycle calculator
The days between your money leaving for a supplier and coming back from a customer, every one of them funded by someone. This works out how many days you are carrying, what they tie up in cash, and what carrying them costs over a year.
$110,000
Net of returns and discounts. Use an ordinary month, not your peak.
85
110
Production, freight and shelf time, less any supplier credit you truly get.
7
Your measured payout delay. A platform reserve makes it longer again.
65
After landed product cost, before platform fees and fulfilment.
24
All-in annual cost of the facility you would actually use, fees included.
Projection
Working capital
At these figures, working capital comes out at $125,879.
Working capital
$125,879
Base, example figures- Cash cycle
- 117 days
- Sitting in payouts
- $21,518
Full breakdown
- Annual carry cost
- $30,211
- Monthly carry cost
- $2,518
Key insights
- Working capital runs from $66,705 to $185,053 as days funding stock moves from 55 days to 165 days.
- Working capital rises as days funding stock rises.
Nothing you type here leaves your browser
Every figure is worked out on this page. No input is sent anywhere, stored, or attached to you.
Every figure here is yours to check
It runs on the numbers you entered and nothing else, so you can rebuild any line of it by hand.
Talk to a funding specialist
A real conversation about what these numbers mean before you apply to anything.
What this model leaves out An estimate from your own inputs, not an offer.Read the full note
On supplier credit, net it off the days figure: if you get 30 days to pay, take 30 off, but a deposit at order with the balance before shipping is no credit at all, so take nothing off. The cost of capital is your figure to enter, not a rate quoted to you here. There is no trade receivable in direct to consumer either, only the wait for the platform to pay you, and marketplace payouts run longer than card settlement. This prices the cash you laid out to buy and land the goods, not their retail value, which is why the working capital figure is smaller than your inventory at retail. Growth makes it worse rather than better: the next order is larger than the last one and it is placed before the last one has been paid for.
Typical ecommerce funding requests
- $15K-$500KTypical request range
What we actually structure for this industry. Your amount depends on the file.
- 8Structures we place
Equipment, line of credit, term, SBA, asset-based, receivables, revenue-based, and a business HELOC.
- $0Cost to ask
No applicant fees and no hard credit pull to start. Funding partners set final terms.
The numbers
What this industry runs on.
Unless noted: US Census Bureau, Quarterly E-Commerce Report ·
- $340.2BUS e-commerce retail sales
- 17.1%E-commerce share of total US retail
- 12.2%Year-on-year e-commerce growthUS Census Bureau, Quarterly E-Commerce Report and Monthly Retail Trade Survey ·
- 0.73% + $0.34Debit card interchange, all transactionsFederal Reserve, Regulation II average debit card interchange fees ·
- 1.21% + $0.51Debit card interchange, exempt issuersFederal Reserve, Regulation II average debit card interchange fees ·
- No official countNumber of US e-commerce businessesAbsence confirmed against US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns ·
The cash year
Ecommerce seasonality and cash-flow gaps
E-commerce Seasonality Timeline
The cash calendar runs ahead of the revenue calendar, so fund the buy rather than the sales chart.
Seasonal pattern
- Lower
- Building
- Stronger
Post-peak resetReturns land, holiday bills settle
The peak buyStock paid for months before it sells
Peak revenueSales land, payouts trail by weeks
- JAN
- FEB
- MAR
- APR
- MAY
- JUN
- JUL
- AUG
- SEP
- OCT
- NOV
- DEC
Growth eats cash
Each order is larger than the last and is placed before the last one is paid for. Capital is needed before growth shows.
- Size aheadNot the last
- Reset the limitEvery quarter
- Track cash daysNot revenue
Daily debit trap
A share of gross daily sales is taken before your supplier deposit and your ad budget. Model the cycle first.
- Model the troughBefore signing
- Protect ad budgetAcquisition feeds peak
- Read FebruaryNot January
This is the typical cash shape for a stocked brand. Your lead times, terms and returns rate move every month of it.
Funding products
What actually gets placed for online sellers.
Monthly
The E-commerce Capital Brief
Once a month: what the freight index is doing, what structures are being written for online sellers, and the compliance changes worth knowing about. No pitch, unsubscribe in one click.
Reading
Ecommerce funding guides and comparisons
Everything we have published for online sellers, newest first. 6 pieces in total. Narrow it to the shelf you need, or read straight down the list.
- Wholesale Inventory Financing for DistributorsCompare wholesale inventory financing for distributors, including asset-based lines, receivables financing, and funding for confirmed purchase orders.Updated Sep 2, 2026
- What Is a Factor Rate? An Honest ExplainerFactor rates explained: how they differ from interest rates, how to calculate your true repayment cost, and what to watch for in an offer.Updated Jul 31, 2026
- Business Line of Credit: How It WorksHow a business line of credit works, what it costs, who qualifies, and when a revolving line beats a term loan or an advance.Jul 1, 2026
- Factor Rate vs. APR: How to Compare OffersFactor rate vs APR: what each measures, why they're not directly comparable, and the formula for estimating APR from a factor rate. With worked examples.Jun 16, 2026
- MCA vs. Invoice Factoring, Which Is Right for B2B?Merchant cash advance vs invoice factoring: cost, speed, qualification. For B2B businesses with invoiced customers, factoring may cost less.Jun 9, 2026
- Revenue-Based Funding vs. Traditional LoansAn honest side-by-side of revenue-based funding and term loans: cost, speed, qualification, and when each option makes sense for your business.Apr 1, 2026
Disclosure
Figures on this page are illustrative estimates only and are not an offer of financing. All amounts, rates, factor rates, terms, payment amounts, timelines, and qualification criteria vary by lender, depend on funder underwriting and your business's bank statement history, and are subject to change without notice. Nothing here is guaranteed until a funder issues terms and you sign them. Factor rates do not represent APR. Commera is a broker, not a lender, and does not set rates.
Local market guides
online sellers funding by location
Compare local demand, operating costs, cash timing, and funding considerations in the markets where we have dedicated guidance.
Common questions
Ecommerce funding questions, answered straight.
The questions owners ask before they apply, answered for online sellers.
Yes. Revenue-based funding underwrites processor and bank deposits rather than hard assets, which suits DTC brands with no warehouse or equipment to pledge. Purchase-order financing is the alternative when a confirmed order is the thing being funded.
Funders read platform and processor data alongside bank statements: Shopify, Amazon, or Stripe volume, refund and chargeback rates, and repeat-purchase behaviour. A high chargeback rate hurts more here than in most industries.
Yes, and it is one of the most common uses. Paid acquisition burns cash weeks before the revenue lands, so a line of credit or revenue-based funding bridges the gap. The discipline is knowing your payback window before you scale spend.
Concentration on a single channel is a risk funders price for, not usually a decline. Amazon-heavy sellers can still fund, though account health and any suspension history will be examined closely.
Commonly $25K-$500K against deposit volume, with larger facilities available to brands carrying meaningful inventory or receivables. Time in business and refund rate move the number more than category does.
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