E-commerce guides for orders, inventory and contribution
Cost an order, compare a sales channel or check whether your fulfillment plan can fund the business. Choose the guide for the decision, then work with your own prices, costs and available hours.
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Run your own numbers
A return-cost estimate informs one order cost. ROAS uses the entered margin boundary; it does not prove that monthly overhead is covered. Bring consistent net order revenue, costs and acquisition assumptions into the whole-store plan.
Launch funding and store profit
Separate opening cash from ongoing business performance; distinguish an online store from a physical retail model.
- Ecommerce Startup Costs: New Store or Online Extension?
Budget ecommerce startup costs for setup, inventory and a slower sales ramp. Compare a new store with an online extension and check fulfillment capacity.
- Ecommerce Profit Margins After All Fees: A US Owner-Operator Guide
Calculate ecommerce contribution and operating profit from net sales, fees, returns and overhead. Reconcile a monthly example before judging your margin.
- Retail Store Break-Even: Receipts, Stock and Staffing
Calculate retail break-even from receipts, stock cost, fees and owner pay. Compare discounts, customer traffic, staffing capacity and inventory cash.
Products, bundles and shipping offers
Price the complete order and test whether a discount or shipping promise leaves enough contribution.
- How to Price Products for Your Online Store
Price ecommerce products from order costs, fees and a contribution target. Compare a direct-cost floor with a sustainable price and fulfilment capacity.
- Ecommerce Bundle Pricing: Does the Discount Leave Enough?
Price ecommerce bundles from products, shipping, packing and fees. Compare replaced orders, stacked discounts, monthly profit goals and fulfillment time.
- Free Shipping Threshold: Does the Bigger Basket Pay?
Calculate a free shipping threshold from product margin, fees and order costs. Compare basket mix, heavier parcels, return costs and fulfillment capacity.
- E-commerce Shipping Costs: Price the Full Order
Calculate e-commerce shipping costs with parcel rates, packaging, handling and shipping charged to buyers. Compare free, flat-rate and paid shipping.
Returns and payment disputes
Track recovered stock, refunds and dispute costs without treating every lost dollar as the same cost.
- Ecommerce Return Cost per Order: Price Refunds Into Your Margin
Calculate return cost per order from refund losses, shipping, processing, inspection and resale value, with worked examples and a break-even check.
- Ecommerce Chargeback Cost per Order: What a Dispute Does to Margin
Translate lost payment disputes, unrecovered merchandise and processor fees into a defensible cost per order and a revised break-even target.
Acquisition, marketplaces and subscriptions
Compare channel contribution and active orders before forecasting growth.
- Break-Even ROAS Formula for an Ecommerce Store
Find the ROAS an order needs to cover ad spend after product cost, shipping, fees and returns. Includes a checked $100-order example and scenarios.
- Amazon vs Your Own Store: Compare Contribution per Order
Compare marketplace and own-store contribution after product, fulfillment, fees and acquisition. Test channel volume and fixed costs with clear examples.
- Subscription Box Churn and Break-Even: Count Active Orders
Calculate subscription box break-even from paid shipments, costs and churn. Test replacement spending, growth acquisition and the contribution needed.
Stock holding and replenishment cash
Keep inventory position, carrying cost and payment timing visible.
- Inventory Holding Cost per SKU: Price the Stock You Keep
Calculate inventory holding cost per SKU from storage, handling and losses. Separate cash costs from assumptions and test order size and clearance.
- Inventory Reorder Point: Protect Stock and Cash Together
Calculate a reorder point from demand, lead time and safety stock. Check inventory position, supplier minimums and the cash required for replenishment.
Break-even and daily orders
Convert net order contribution into whole orders and practical fulfillment capacity.
- Ecommerce Break-Even: Net Orders, Costs and Capacity
Calculate ecommerce break-even orders after product, shipping, returns and ad costs. Compare discounts, acquisition, owner pay and packing capacity.
- How Many Orders Per Day to Make Your Store Profitable?
Calculate ecommerce orders per day to be profitable from income goals, contribution margin, fixed costs, fulfillment capacity, and realistic scenarios.
Keep receipts, contribution and inventory cash separate
An order, an item and a paying subscriber are different units. Use the same unit for revenue, costs and capacity. Returns can reduce retained revenue and recover stock; a chargeback can leave different fees and inventory outcomes.
Include product cost, fulfillment, shipping subsidy, platform and payment fees, expected losses and acquisition once. Keep the cash spent buying inventory visible alongside the cost attributed to sold orders. A profitable order mix can still require more cash before the stock sells.
These are hypothetical planning examples, not forecasts or current platform fee schedules. Replace assumptions with your own records. Physical retail staffing and receipts require their own operating model.
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