Project monthly cash flow from sales, costs, ad spend, and payment-processor payout lag. Find the gap before it finds you.
All calculations run in your browser. Nothing is sent to a server. Last updated: 2026-07-19 · Formula verified against published sources (see below).
Projects monthly cash flow from sales, costs, and processor payout lag. The most overlooked number on this page is "cash tied up in payout lag" — when Stripe holds your money for 2 days, that's 2 days of revenue you can't use to pay suppliers or ads.
Monthly revenue = orders × AOV
Monthly contribution = revenue × (1 − variable cost %)
Net profit = contribution − fixed costs
Cash tied up = (revenue ÷ 30) × payout lag days
If you do $4,000/month in revenue with a 2-day Stripe payout lag, $267 of your money is always tied up in Stripe's clearing window. With PayPal (instant payout), that money is yours same-day. For high-growth dropshippers, the working-capital difference between processors can be material.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Orders per month | 100 |
| AOV | $40.00 |
| Variable cost % | 74% |
| Fixed costs | $500.00 |
| Payout lag | 2 days |
| Monthly revenue | $4,000.00 |
| Monthly contribution | $1,040.00 |
| Monthly net profit | $540.00 |
| Cash tied up in payout lag | $266.67 |
$540/month in profit looks healthy. But $266.67 is always locked in Stripe's clearing window, so the cash you can actually use is $273.33/month net of working capital. This is why fast-growing dropshipping stores often need a working capital loan even when they're profitable.
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