We sat down with Steff Anderson of Pinnacle Road, Chain Social's accountant of ten years, and the woman we send our clients to when they need someone realistic in the room. 🤎
This one's for every e-comm founder heading into BFCM on vibes. Steff joins Shelby and Adele to pull apart the numbers behind the biggest sales period of the year. What your margin actually needs to be before you can discount, why in-platform ROAS isn't telling you the truth and the bills that land in your inbox long after the sale ends.
Warning: you may want a spreadsheet open.
In this episode:
💸 Why MER beats in-platform ROAS as a measure of business health
💸 The 80% margin benchmark, why it's near impossible to move once you've set your RRP, and what wholesale really takes
💸 Where shipping actually sits in your numbers (and why minimum spend thresholds are non-negotiable on lower-priced products)
💸 The case for treating ad spend as a fixed cost, not a variable one
💸 Steff's red flag: never let 50% of every dollar go out the door on ads in your first six months
💸 Why 70% margins and 40% off sitewide don't mix and what a discount does to your perceived value forever
💸 If you can't go big at BFCM, don't go. The birthday sale and January alternatives our clients run instead
💸 The post-BFCM bill nobody forecasts: BAS, quarterly GST landing end of Feb, replenishment stock, returns, peak pick-and-pack, packaging
💸 Why Steff would talk you out of a Shopify loan almost every time
💸 Cash flow buckets, 12–16 week forecasting, and why conservative always wins
💸 What Steff's most successful e-comm clients have in common
💸 How to tell if your accountant actually understands e-comm and the first question to ask them
Plus: build awareness in September and October so you're not being discovered for the first time on November 1st, and the very real difference between a healthy P&L and cash in the bank.
Links
🔗 Steff's BFCM profit impact calculator
https://pinnacleroad.com.au/free-bfcm-margin-worksheet/
🔗 Pinnacle Road — pinnacleroad.com.au Steff is Melbourne-based and works with brands Australia-wide. One-off financial health checks available.
Loved this episode? Send it to the founder friend who's about to go 40% off sitewide 🤎
Connect With Us:
Instagram: @chainsocial
Instagram: @chainpod
Web: www.chainsocial.com.au
Training: www.chainacademy.com.au
