Virtual CFO
Pricing and unit economics
A clear read on what each customer, order or shipment actually costs and earns in the UAE, so pricing decisions are based on landed cost and platform fees rather than a guess, whether you sell through Amazon.ae, Noon, your own site or a trading desk.
13-week cash forecast
Illustrative client · August 2026
AED
- Cash today
- AED 244,220
- Lowest week ahead
- 239,800
- Largest outflow
- Payroll, 46,300
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Margin hides in the detail
A headline gross margin can look healthy while individual products or customer segments quietly lose money. Unit economics breaks that number apart by product, SKU, customer segment or shipment, so pricing decisions are made on what a specific order actually earns rather than an average that masks the losers.
What a UAE seller's costs actually include
For an ecommerce or trading business, that usually means landed cost (freight, customs duty and insurance), marketplace or platform fees from Amazon.ae, Noon or a payment processor, and VAT at 5% flowing through the margin on VAT-registered sales. For a services business, it means utilisation and delivery cost by client or project rather than by SKU.
A pricing decision, not a pricing rule
We show the margin at different price points and different volumes so you can decide what to charge; setting the final price is a business call that stays with you. The same model flags whether a fee change from a marketplace or payment processor is worth absorbing or worth passing on.
Feeds straight into the numbers that matter next
Unit economics work connects directly to KPI design, since contribution margin by segment is usually one of the first metrics worth tracking on an ongoing dashboard, and to FP&A once margin trends need explaining month to month rather than analysing once.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Pricing and unit economics
What data do you need to calculate unit economics?
Sales detail by product, customer or shipment, your landed cost or cost of goods, and any marketplace, processor or logistics fees taken out of each sale.
How does VAT factor into unit economics for a UAE seller?
Where a sale is subject to VAT at the standard 5% rate, we build that into the margin calculation so the unit economics reflect what actually reaches the business after tax, not the gross sale price.
Can this work for a subscription or SaaS pricing model instead of physical goods?
Yes. For subscription businesses we build the model around customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and churn rather than per-unit landed cost.
Will you tell us what to charge?
We show you the margin at different price points so you can decide. Setting the final price is a business call that stays with you.
Can this work for a subscription or SaaS pricing model?
Yes. For subscription businesses we build the model around customer acquisition cost, lifetime value and churn rather than per-unit product cost.
What is included in pricing and unit economics?
Pricing and unit economics covers unit economics broken out by product, plan, SKU or customer segment and customer acquisition cost and payback period, where the data supports it. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
Related services
- Virtual CFOKPI designA short list of the numbers that actually run your business, defined once and tracked consistently, instead of a dashboard nobody opens.
- Virtual CFOFP&AOngoing financial planning and analysis: budget-to-actual tracking, margin and cost analysis, and the monthly pack that explains why the numbers moved.
- Virtual CFOFractional CFOA senior finance lead who works your numbers on a part-time basis: monthly reviews, board and investor prep, and a second opinion before a big decision.
Industries
- Ecommerce (Amazon and Shopify)Bookkeeping for online sellers on Amazon, Shopify, Etsy and their own storefronts, built around clean payout and sales tax data.
- SaaSBookkeeping and reporting for subscription software businesses tracking recurring revenue, deferred revenue and burn.
- Restaurants and multi-entity franchise groupsBookkeeping for restaurant groups and franchise operators running several locations or legal entities at once.
- HospitalityBookkeeping for hotels, short-term rentals and hospitality operators reconciling booking platform payouts and occupancy-driven revenue.
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.