How to Manage Cash Flow on Your Verification Number Store

This is the part new store owners often miss. Customers pay you through your own payment methods, but every number they buy is paid at wholesale from your telly.cat balance. If that balance hits zero, your customers can't buy. Simple, but important.

How the money moves

1. A customer tops up $20 on your store. The money lands in your payment gateway account.
2. They buy a number for $0.50. Your store buys it from telly.cat for, say, $0.35 from your telly.cat balance.
3. You earned $0.15, as long as your telly.cat balance had the $0.35.

Keep a buffer

Look at what your store spends at wholesale on a busy day and keep at least a few days of that on your telly.cat balance. If sales grow, grow the buffer too.

Move customer money regularly

Customer deposits are future purchases. When you withdraw from your payment gateway, move part of it to your telly.cat balance. Don't spend deposits as if they were profit.

Profit is only the margin

Money customers still hold as balance isn't yours yet. They'll spend it on numbers you pay wholesale for. Your real profit is the markup on numbers that were delivered, minus payment fees, the monthly fee and commission.

Refunds even out

When a number fails and your customer is refunded, your wholesale cost goes back to you as well. Daily numbers can look uneven because of this. Look at weekly totals.

Don't forget the monthly fee

Your store's monthly fee is also paid from your telly.cat balance. Make sure it's there on renewal day so your store stays open.

A five minute weekly check

• telly.cat balance above your buffer?
• Deposits, wholesale costs, fees and profit for the week.
• Which services earned the most.

Do this every week and you'll always know whether the store is really making money. Start your store on the reseller page.

FAQ

What happens if my telly.cat balance runs out?

Your customers can't buy numbers until you top it up, because each number is paid at wholesale from that balance.

Is customer balance my profit?

No. Only the margin on delivered numbers is profit. Unspent balance will be used on future numbers.