A CFO reviewing a budget request for a platform migration or development project doesn't want a 15-page proposal about Shopify features. They want a clear answer to a simple question: is this investment worth making?
If you're an ecommerce manager trying to get budget approved, you need to communicate in your CFO's language. That language is built on numbers, risk and return. Here's the structure we've seen work across projects ranging from $20,000 development sprints to $200,000+ platform migrations.
Why one page?
Senior finance leaders read a lot of documents. The ones that get approved are the ones that respect the reader's time.
A one-page summary forces you to identify what actually matters and present it without padding. It also makes it easy to circulate, so your CFO can forward it to the CEO or board without additional context. If you can't make the case in one page, the thinking probably isn't clear enough yet.
What structure to go for?
Line 1: What you're proposing
One sentence in plain language - No jargon.
"We propose migrating our ecommerce platform from WooCommerce to Shopify Plus, targeting completion by Q3 2026."
Section 1: The business case (-5 lines)
Connect the investment to business outcomes, not technical features. Include the specific problems it solves, quantified where possible, and the cost of not doing it.
"Our current platform is causing three measurable problems. Site speed is below benchmarks, which correlates with our mobile conversion rate being 35% lower than desktop. Our ERP integration fails approximately twice per month during peak trading, causing an average of 4 hours of fulfillment delays. Our subscription management requires 12 hours per week of manual workarounds that could be automated. Combined, we estimate these issues cost approximately $15,000-20,000 per month in lost revenue and operational inefficiency."
This framing matters, as its important to show the migration isn't spending money. It's stopping a problem that's already happening.
Section 2: The investment
A simple list or table. Be transparent about what's included and what isn't including internal team time. A project that requires 120 hours of your team's time isn't free, and a CFO will think about it even if you don't include it.
Section 3: Expected return
Use ranges, not single figures. Separate what you can measure from what you're estimating. "Our current manual subscription management costs $30,000 per year" is a fact. "The migration will improve conversion by 2%" is an estimate based on benchmarks. Present both, but make sure to be clear which is which.
The most powerful number in the document is the cost of doing nothing. The question isn't "should we spend $87,000?" it's "should we continue losing $15,000-20,000 per month, or invest $87,000 to stop it?"
Section 4: Key risks
Two or three is enough. For each one, state the mitigation in a single sentence.
"SEO traffic may dip temporarily during migration. Mitigation: comprehensive redirect plan and 8-week monitoring protocol."
Section 5: Timeline and next steps
State the timeline and the specific decision you need. "We're requesting approval to proceed with the selected development partner and commit the budget outlined above. We'll provide a progress update at the end of month one."
What to leave out?
The technical detail, the CFO doesn't need to know which Shopify features you'll use. They need to know what the business gains.
A vendor comparison, if you've already selected a development partner, the CFO doesn't need to see the evaluation process. They need to know you've done one and are confident in the recommendation.
Inflated projections, CFOs see through them. A conservative, credible business case is more persuasive than an optimistic one, use ranges and distinguish between measured costs and estimated returns.
The common mistakes
- Burying the ask: remember the CFO wants to know what you need and how much it costs within the first 30 seconds.
- Using jargon as a substitute for clarity: "We need to migrate to a headless architecture with composable microservices" is not a business case. "We need to move to a faster, more reliable platform that reduces operational costs" is.
- Not having a recommendation: Don't present options and ask the CFO to choose - present your recommendation and explain why.
- Forgetting ongoing costs: A migration has a one-time project cost and ongoing costs: platform fees, support retainer, app subscriptions, make this clear.
Planning a Shopify migration or development investment, our Shopify Migration Services page covers what we offer and how we work.
