1. Average Order Value (AOV) & Product COGS
Cart EconomicsTotal checkout amount paid by customer
Unit wholesale cost from AliExpress / CJ / Factory
2. Paid Ad Spend (CPA) & Shipping
Marketing & CourierAverage ad spend per purchase (Meta/TikTok/Google)
Postage fee paid by merchant
3. Shopify Payments & Monthly App Overhead
Fees & Subscriptions2.9% Basic, 2.6% Shopify
Standard $0.30 per order
Loox, Klaviyo, PageFly, etc.
Monthly Store Volume:
Orders completed per month
🎯 Ad Scaling Guardrails
Meta / TikTok targetsMinimum ad ROAS before losing money
Ceiling bid for customer acquisition
📊 Shopify Revenue Breakdown
How to Calculate True Shopify Profit Margins (The Hidden Fees)
Running a Shopify store looks straightforward on paper: Selling Price minus Product Cost = Profit. In reality, multiple transaction percentages and software overhead silently erode your gross margins.
Shopify Payments vs 3rd Party Gateways
If you use Shopify Payments, you only pay credit card processing (2.9% + 30¢ on Basic). If you use external gateways, Shopify adds up to 2.0% extra transaction fees.
App Overhead Amortization
Monthly app subscriptions ($50 to $200/mo) must be divided across your total monthly orders. At 100 orders/mo, $100 in apps adds $1.00 of hidden cost to every unit shipped.
Free E-Com & Ads Performance Tracker (Excel)
Automated formulas for Meta, TikTok & Google ROAS, COGS, and daily net profit.