How to use finance to grow your WooCommerce store

If you are selling through WooCommerce, and you want to grow quickly, then you need finance.

That’s why WooCommerce have created a merchant financing category on their marketplace, and added merchant finance options to their ‘Grow your business’ collection. Using these, you can now get the funding you need to accelerate your growth.‍

If you want to see what funding is available to grow your business, check out WooCommerce's merchant finance providers.

The main type of funding available to WooCommerce stores is called Revenue-Based Financing. Revenue-Based Financing is designed specifically for eCommerce businesses and it’s a simple, fast way to get the funds you need to grow. It's unsecured and non-dilutive, giving you access to large amounts of funding, without giving up ownership or collateral.

In this post, we’ll explain;

Why funding is so important for your online store
How Revenue-Based Financing works
The benefits of using Revenue -Based Financing to grow

Why is funding so important for your online store?

eCommerce businesses have a cash flow problem. As an eCommerce business, you always need more funds than you have available. This isn’t driven by bad cash flow management, or slow paying customers, it’s driven by your suppliers!

Let me explain.

One of the biggest costs for any eCommerce business is purchasing inventory. Most eCommerce businesses source their inventory from the Far East and the reason for this is obvious - prices are much lower and sourcing products from China gives you a higher gross margin.

But there’s a catch.

You will almost always get terrible payment terms. These terrible payment terms are the reason eCommerce stores need funding. Most eCommerce stores have to stomach the classic 30/70 split - 30% payment on order and 70% payment on shipment. It is these terms that create the cash flow problem.

Let's look at an example to understand why this is a problem (or skip to the solution if you’re already familiar with the problem);

Day 0: you decide you need to make an order for new inventory, let’s say it’s $100,000.
Day 1: you contact your supplier to place the order. They demand payment of 30% ($30,000) immediately. You send them the money.
Day 28: your goods are ready to be shipped. Your supplier demands you pay the remaining balance of 70% ($70,000) before they ship the goods. You send the money.
Day 60: After 4 weeks at sea, your goods arrive. Now, you need to get them to your warehouse and start selling them. You spend another $20,000 on marketing to make sure you sell the stock you ordered.
Day 70: You are now $120,000 in the red. You’ve had to pay for EVERYTHING, but you still haven’t made a sale.
Day 100: Your marketing campaigns were successful and you’ve sold all your stock. You mark up your goods by 4x so you made $400,000 in sales. A gross profit of $280,000!

The return on investment of purchasing inventory is clearly HUGE. This is thanks to the high gross margins of the product you sell.

But you have to pay A LOT of money up front before you can get this return. Getting the money to make these inventory orders is very, very hard.

‍No money, means no stock, means no growth.

If you run an eCommerce business, you are very familiar with this problem.‍

What is the solution to this cash flow problem?

You have a few options to get funding for your business. These include selling equity, using bank loans or using savings. None of these solve your cash flow problem however, and they all have drawbacks - like giving up ownership and having to put up collateral.

There is now another option for you; Revenue-Based Financing.

Revenue-Based Financing is specifically designed to solve the cash flow problem of eCommerce businesses. It provides the funding you need to purchase inventory and spend on marketing, allowing you to grow faster without giving up equity or taking on expensive debt.

How does Revenue-Based Financing work?

Companies who provide Revenue Based Financing assess your business based on your online store performance. They provide funding into your bank account and then you repay the finance provider using a percentage of your daily revenue.

Here’s the step by step process for using Revenue-Based Financing to grow your WooCommerce store;

Check out the Merchant Finance offerings in the 'WooCommerce Grow your business' collection
Click on one of the trusted funding providers
Connect your WooCommerce store and marketing channels to the trusted funding provider
You’ll get a range of funding offers generated for you and can chat to someone about which option is best for you
Once you’re happy with a funding option, the funds are sent directly to your bank account
You can start making inventory purchases or other investments to grow your company
You repay the funding using a percentage of daily sales

The only cost is a flat % fee of the funding, typically ranging from 2% - 8% depending on your size and performance.

What are the benefits of Revenue-Based Financing?

Revenue-Based Financing is perfect for your eCommerce business. It solves your cash flow issues and allows you to grow faster without the drawbacks of traditional funding options. Here are the full list of benefits from using Revenue Based Financing

You get access to large amounts of funding which you can use to solve your cash flow challenges and grow your business.
It’s fast. You can apply in minutes, get offers in hours and receive funds into your bank account in days.
You keep 100% ownership of your business.
You don’t need collateral or guarantees
It’s scalable. You can use it multiple times a year as you grow.‍
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What’s the impact of using Revenue-Based Financing?

eCommerce businesses using Revenue-Based Financing grow at a faster rate than those who don’t. It’s that simple. They don’t have to worry about their cash flow and are able to make bigger inventory orders and spend more on marketing. This leads to more sales and faster growth. Attractive outcomes for any business.

To see what funding you could get to grow your business, check out the ‘Grow your business’ collection today and get in touch with one of WooCommerce’s trusted finance providers.