BFCM (Black Friday & Cyber Monday) is no longer just a big weekend for a lot of Shopify brands, it’s the few days that decide how the entire year looks.
In 2025, Black Friday falls on November 28 and Cyber Monday on December 1. That’s when traffic spikes, ad costs jump, and every weak spot in your systems gets exposed especially in ops, inventory, and accounting.
Most posts focus on discounts and campaigns. This one’s about something slightly different:
How to boost BFCM sales and keep your backend from melting down.
1. Start with profit-first, not discount-first
Instead of starting with “How big should my discount be?”, start with:
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What profit margin do I need to protect?
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Which products can handle deeper promos, and which can’t?
Use a simple version of the SMART approach:
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Specific: +30% vs last year’s BFCM
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Measurable: Target net margin of 15%+ after fees, shipping, discounts
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Time-bound: Hit X revenue between Nov 25–Dec 2
Once you know your target margin, it’s a lot easier to decide:
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How high your discounts can go
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How much you can push ads without losing money
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Which SKUs to feature vs avoid
2. Fix the foundations: Data, SKUs, and channels
BFCM chaos often comes from data fragmentation, not from Shopify itself.
Before the rush:
- Clean up SKUs
Make sure the same product has the same SKU in Shopify, your warehouse/3PL, and your accounting tool.
This alone prevents a ton of inventory and COGS headaches.
- Decide your “source of truth”
Where do product, price, and stock “live”
Don’t let people edit inventory in 3 different systems.
- Connect your sales channels to your accounting
Orders, fees, refunds, taxes, and payouts should flow automatically into your books (QuickBooks, Xero, NetSuite, etc.).
Manual imports + spreadsheets + peak BFCM volume = pain.
Tools in the ecommerce accounting automation space can act as that “hub” that keeps Shopify, marketplaces, and accounting aligned in real time.
3. Inventory & order ops: Don’t let overselling kill your reviews
Selling on multiple channels? Your BFCM plan needs an inventory sync strategy, not just a “we’ll watch it manually” approach.
Pre-BFCM:
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Forecast demand from last year’s data (and any big campaigns you’re planning).
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Tag high-risk SKUs (long lead times, limited supply, or likely to go viral).
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Run a small “stress test” promo to make sure inventory updates correctly across channels.
During BFCM:
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Use real-time inventory sync so when something sells on Shopify, it instantly updates on other channels (and vice versa).
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Keep a simple dashboard handy:
Low-stock alerts
Bestsellers
Backorder risk
Post-BFCM:
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Compare forecast vs actuals.
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Check SKU-level profitability after returns, fees, and shipping.
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Decide which SKUs to double down on for Q1 and which to quietly retire.
4. Store & checkout: Remove friction where it hurts most
You already know the basics, but they matter even more at BFCM volume:
- Site speed:
Test with tools like PageSpeed Insights.
Compress images, remove dead apps/scripts, and prioritize mobile.
- Checkout:
Offer the payment methods your customers actually use (Shop Pay, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal).
Reduce unnecessary fields and steps.
- CX & Returns:
Make your return policy easy to find and easy to understand.
Prepare templates/macros for “Where is my order?”, “Wrong size”, “Gift return” etc.
A smooth return/refund experience during BFCM pays off in Q1 loyalty.
5. Make accounting automation your silent superpower
When orders are 3–5x in a weekend, manual bookkeeping doesn’t scale.
If you can, automate the flow:
Order → Fees → Taxes → Payouts → Accounting
That means:
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Orders from Shopify (and other channels) are posted automatically to your books
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Fees (Shopify, payment processors, marketplaces) are categorized correctly
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Discounts and gift cards are treated properly, not just lumped into “misc”
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Bank deposits match your accounting without detective work in January
This is where ecommerce accounting automation tools (Webgility-style platforms) earn their keep: they sit between Shopify + channels + accounting and keep everything in sync while you’re busy selling.
6. Quick BFCM ops + accounting checklist
Before BFCM, ask yourself:
☐ Do I know which SKUs are profitable after fees, shipping, and returns?
☐ Are my SKUs consistent across Shopify, warehouse/3PL, and accounting?
☐ Is inventory syncing automatically across all sales channels?
☐ Are orders, fees, refunds, and taxes flowing automatically into my books?
☐ Can I reconcile payouts without manual spreadsheets?
☐ Do I have a clear plan for returns and customer support volume?
If most of these are “no” or “I’m not sure yet,” you still have time to tighten things up today! Hope this detailed checklist will help.