Episode Number:

60

February 9, 2026

In this episode of The eCom Growth Show, Danan Coleman is joined by Nachman Lieser, founder of ConnectBooks, for a deep dive into one of the most dangerous illusions in eCommerce: sellers who look profitable on paper but are quietly bleeding cash.

With over a decade of experience inside Amazon businesses, Nachman explains why profit does not equal cash flow and how poor inventory and financial visibility are silently bankrupting sellers.

Meet Nachman Lieser: Turning Accounting Into a Growth Weapon

Nachman Lieser is the founder of ConnectBooks and Bottom Line Management, with a background as an accountant, CFO, and financial strategist for ecommerce brands. What started as a bookkeeping solution built for his own firm evolved into one of the most trusted financial platforms for Amazon sellers.

By integrating directly with Amazon, Shopify, Walmart, TikTok, and QuickBooks, ConnectBooks gives sellers real-time clarity into profit, inventory health, and cash flow, areas where most businesses fail.

Why Sellers Feel Profitable but Still Go Broke

One of the biggest myths in ecommerce is that strong net income means a healthy business.

Nachman shares real-world examples of sellers doing $20M+ in revenue with seven-figure net income, yet struggling to pay vendors.

  • Profit lives on the P&L
  • Cash lives in the bank
  • Inventory quietly absorbs both
Reality Check: You can make money on Amazon and still run out of cash.

The Silent Killer: Inventory That Doesn’t Move

Unsold inventory is one of the most overlooked drains in eCommerce.

  • Inventory that sits longer than 6–12 months is effectively a loss
  • Analytical tools only show sold items, not capital trapped in stock
  • Excess purchasing creates artificial “profits” while draining cash

Nachman explains how sellers often reinvest profits into inventory that never turns, locking up millions without realizing it.

Hard Truth: Inventory is your biggest asset—and your fastest path to cash-flow collapse.

Why Knowing Your Numbers Changes Everything

Profitable sellers do one thing differently: they know their numbers early and act fast.

  • Monthly financials delivered on time, not six months late
  • True landed costs including shipping, duties, and tariffs
  • Clear margin targets based on overhead, not guesses

Nachman shares a case study where a seller went from losses to six-figure profits simply by understanding true margins and adjusting pricing and ads.

Big Shift: Awareness creates leverage. Ignorance creates panic.

Profit Margins Don’t Matter If Cash Is Gone

One of the most important lessons in this episode: profit and cash flow are not the same.

  • A seller can show $1.4M in net income and still have zero cash
  • Buying more inventory than you sell drains liquidity
  • Growth without inventory discipline is dangerous

Nachman recommends a simple benchmark:

  • Never hold more than 90 days of inventory relative to monthly COGS
Key Insight: If your inventory is growing faster than your sales, you’re not scaling, you’re suffocating.

How the Big Players Win at Inventory

Nachman points to giants like Costco and Walmart as models for inventory discipline.

  • Costco turns inventory ~12 times per year
  • Walmart turns inventory ~8 times per year
  • Both aggressively liquidate slow-moving SKUs

Lesson for Sellers: If something isn’t moving, get rid of it, even at a loss. Cash today beats hope tomorrow.

Reality Check: Liquidation is sometimes a strategy, not a failure.

Why ConnectBooks Was Built Differently

Unlike most eCommerce tools, ConnectBooks was built by accountants, not developers.

  • Real-time SKU-level profitability
  • Inventory aging with dollar value visibility
  • Department-level margin tracking

The goal isn’t just reporting, it’s decision-making.

Strategic Takeaway: Data only matters if it changes behavior.

Connect With Nachman Lieser

Final Thoughts

Amazon sellers don’t usually fail because they aren’t working hard. They fail because they’re flying blind.

Understanding cash flow, inventory health, and true margins isn’t optional anymore, it’s the cost of staying in the game.

As Nachman makes clear: if you don’t know where your money is going, Amazon will decide for you.

Stay tuned for more episodes of The eCom Growth Show, where sellers learn how to turn financial clarity, inventory discipline, and real cash flow into growth that actually sticks.