You open your store's dashboard and find new orders coming in and sales moving. Then you check your account to settle a supplier’s invoice or fund an ad campaign, only to be surprised that the available balance is less than what you need. How does that happen when the store is generating sales?

The answer becomes clear when you trace the journey of your money: When did it come in? Where did it go? How much of it turned into goods sitting on shelves? And what obligations are waiting to be paid? You might have inventory you expect to sell at a profit, but that doesn't help you pay a bill that is due today.

In a Salla interview with Mohammed Al-Amri, a business development and financial performance analysis specialist, a question frequently asked by merchants was raised: "I'm selling, but I have no money." Starting from this observation, we can understand the relationship between sales, inventory, and liquidity, and how to review your decisions before your store's operational leeway shrinks.

Watch Mohammed Al-Amri's explanation of the relationship between expenses, inventory, and liquidity, starting from minute 29:42.

The Big Picture | Sales, Profit, and Liquidity Answer Different Questions

Sales tell you the value of what you sold, profit clarifies what revenue achieves after accounting for costs and expenses, and liquidity is about the cash available to meet your obligations when they fall due. Sales can improve without the balance in your account improving to the same degree.

Suppose you bought goods and then sold part of them. The sales proceeds you received will need to cover other payments, while a portion of what you paid to the supplier remains tied up in the unsold inventory. If you reuse all the sales proceeds to purchase new inventory, you may continue selling and expanding your catalog, but struggle to pay your operational expenses.

For this reason, you need to look at sales and profitability alongside the timing of cash inflows and outflows. Each metric sheds light on one aspect of the store's health, and the full picture emerges when you read them together.

Inventory | Where Did the Money in Your Account Go?

One key concept Al-Amri emphasized in the interview is that purchasing inventory converts available cash into merchandise that needs to be sold before its value returns to the store. Inventory has value, but it takes time to convert back into money you can reuse.

Let’s follow a simplified example: You have SAR 20,000 available, and you decide to buy goods for SAR 16,000. You now have new inventory, leaving SAR 4,000 in your account. If the payments due before the next collections arrive total SAR 6,000, you will be short SAR 2,000 to settle them on time.

You had SAR 20,000 ← You purchased inventory for SAR 16,000 ← You have SAR 4,000 left, while your upcoming obligations are SAR 6,000

The goods may be sold later at the price you planned, but your nearest obligation is due before that. The issue here lies in the timing of cash availability, even if the purchasing decision looked promising in terms of profit margins.

Before you increase a supplier order, ask: What will be left after paying for it? And what payments must be covered before expecting to recover that capital through sales?

Timing | When Does the Money Arrive, and When Must You Pay It?

Recording the expected amount and its due date helps you make clearer decisions. You may know that incoming collections are on the way, but their ability to cover a specific obligation depends on arriving before the payment deadline.

Suppose you have SAR 4,000 in your account today, and you expect collections worth SAR 5,000 next week, but you must pay a supplier SAR 6,000 tomorrow. The total of current and expected funds is SAR 9,000, but that cannot cover tomorrow's need alone.

Therefore, when reviewing liquidity, write the date next to every amount: the expected collection date, supplier payment dates, subscription renewal dates, and any other operating expenses. Base your projections on actual payout schedules and real payment terms, keeping confirmed inflows separate from sales you merely hope to achieve.

This review uncovers gaps early, allowing you to adjust a purchase or spending decision before committing to it.

Expenses | What Is Awaiting Your Sales Proceeds?

When sales proceeds hit your account, the balance may seem available to spend. However, some of it is practically earmarked for obligations not yet settled, such as supplier dues, salaries, shipping, or subscriptions.

Monitoring the situation becomes even harder when store payments are mixed with personal withdrawals, or when subscriptions and services you no longer use continue running. In that case, you might know your sales volume, but struggle to explain what left the account and how it impacts operations.

Start recording payments as they happen, and categorize them in a way you can review: inventory purchases, order fulfillment, marketing, operational expenses, and personal withdrawals. The goal is to be able to answer one clear question: Where did the money go over the past period, and what recurring outflows will occur in the next period?

When looking for room to ease pressure, review the actual utility of each expense. The right decision might be canceling an unused subscription, adjusting the timing of a purchase, or recalibrating campaign spend. At the same time, safeguard whatever is essential to service quality and customer experience.

Adapted from his remarks during the Salla interview.

Purchasing | Is the Supplier Discount Worth Locking Up This Cash?

A supplier offers you a lower price for buying a larger quantity, making the deal seem attractive because the unit cost drops. However, evaluating it also requires knowing how fast the additional quantity will sell, and how much money will remain to operate the store post-purchase.

If the surplus stays in inventory for a long time, you may need cash during that period for marketing, fulfillment, or settling obligations. Weigh the purchase savings against holding time, storage costs (if any), and the risk of needing to discount the items later.

If you are considering running a promotion to move this inventory faster, also factor in what profit remains after the discount, and how many units you must sell to hit your goal. Read also: How to Calculate the Impact of Discounts on Your Profit Margin?

Before accepting a supplier’s offer, review the product’s past sales, your current stock levels, and typical lead times. Then estimate an order size that serves your needs while leaving adequate breathing room for upcoming obligations.

The same logic applies when expanding your product catalog. Adding new products requires cash, and may also require photography, marketing, and time before demand becomes clear. You can start with a test quantity to gauge interest, then use the results to estimate your next purchase.

The Review | Turn Your Projections into a Simple Schedule

You can start with a weekly review covering the upcoming four weeks, then extend the timeframe based on your store's sales and supply cycle. Write down your opening available balance, add expected receipts during the week, and subtract payments due within it.

Projected Ending Balance = Beginning Balance + Expected Receipts − Expected Payments

In simpler terms: If you start the week with SAR 5,000, receive SAR 8,000 during it, and pay SAR 9,000, you will end the week with SAR 4,000 in your account.

This is a calculation for tracking cash flow, not net profit. To apply it effectively, assign a date and a confidence level to each amount, then update the table with actual results.

Focus your review on five questions:

What is available right now? Record the amount you can freely spend, bearing in mind any obligations already tied to it.

What is coming in, and when? Separate confirmed collections from new sales projections.

What must be paid? Total your obligations for suppliers, operations, marketing, and any other payments, arranging them by date.

Where does the shortfall appear? Identify the week where available funds may fall short of covering required payments, and review what you can adjust in advance.

What changed from your previous forecast? Compare actual amounts and dates against what was planned, so your next estimates align more closely with your store's reality.

To understand the relationship between your store costs, break-even point, and cash flow, learn e-commerce financial fundamentals with Mohammed Al-Amri on Salla Academy.

Getting Started | Review Your Next Inventory Order

Select your next upcoming purchasing decision, note its cost, the remaining balance after payment, and the obligations due before the next collections arrive. Then review whether covering those obligations relies on guaranteed funds or on sales you merely anticipate.

If a gap emerges, reconsider the order volume, timing, available payment terms, and any expenses that can be deferred without harming operations. This step gives you a clearer foundation for decision-making and helps you spot cash crunches before they happen.

The inventory you want to buy may indeed be a solid opportunity, but capitalizing on it requires having both the capital and the time needed to sell it. By tracking sales alongside what enters and leaves the account, planning for growth aligns much better with your store’s real capacity.

Watch the Interview | Deepen Your Understanding of How Discounts Impact Store Profitability

In this Salla session, Mohammed Al-Amri discussed the relationship between pricing, costs, discounts, ads, and liquidity, answering merchants' questions about their financial decisions. The discussion on the impact of discounts on margins starts at minute 19:31 of the recording.

Planning to start your e-commerce business? Create your store on Salla, and start preparing your products and planning your costs from day one.