Seller and business calculators: guides

216 guides in this section. Pick the question closest to yours, or browse by tool.

• Profit margin vs markup: the difference that costs sellers moneyProfit margin and markup are not the same, and mixing them up makes you sell for less than you think. Explained with worked numbers.
• How to price a product when shipping and fees eat your profitThe right way to price a product so you keep the margin you want after shipping, payment fees and commissions, with a worked example step by step.
• How to add VAT to a price, or take it outHow to add VAT to a price, how to take it out of a price that already includes it, and why subtracting 15% from the final price gives the wrong number.
• Why 20% off plus 10% off does not make 30% offHow to work out the price after two discounts in a row, why the total discount is less than the two rates added up, and when one discount is better.
• How many units do you need to sell to break even?How to work out the number of units you must sell to cover your fixed costs, the revenue that takes, and when breaking even is impossible.
• Volumetric weight: why a light box costs more than it weighsWhy do you pay for more than your box weighs? Volumetric and chargeable weight explained with worked examples, plus how to cut shipping costs.
• Return on ad spend: work out your break-even number before judging a campaignWhat return on ad spend (ROAS) means, why revenue is not profit, and how to work out the break-even ROAS for your own margin, with numbers.
• How to calculate CTR, CPC and CPA for your campaignWhat click-through rate, cost per click and cost per acquisition mean, how to work them out from your ad report, and when the cheapest click is really the most expensive.
• How to calculate your reorder pointHow to work out the stock level at which to order from your supplier, from average daily sales, lead time and safety stock, with a worked example.
• Which pack is really cheaper?How to compare packs of different sizes by working out the price per kilo, litre or piece, to see which is truly cheaper and by what percentage the others cost more.
• How do I work out my margin on stock I import from China once freight and customs are added?The supplier price is not your cost. Work out the landed cost per unit after freight, customs and clearance, and see how it changes your real margin.
• Why does the calculator show a negative margin, and what does it mean for my product?A negative margin means you are selling below cost. What the loss, the negative margin and the negative markup each tell you, with worked numbers.
• What is the biggest discount I can give before I start losing money?Your current margin is exactly the largest discount you can take off the selling price before profit hits zero. Worked numbers, and why markup is the wrong limit.
• I sell at double my cost, so why is my margin 50% and not 100%?Doubling your cost is a 100% markup and only a 50% margin. Why margin can never reach 100%, and what price a real 60% or 70% margin needs.
• How do I calculate my margin on a client project when I pay a subcontractor to do part of it?How to see what you really keep from a client project when someone else does part of the work: what counts as cost, and what unpaid revisions do to your margin.
• Why does the calculator say markup is undefined for my digital product?A zero-cost e-book or template makes markup undefined because it divides by zero. What that means, why margin still works, and what cost to enter instead.
• Do I make more selling two products as a bundle or each one on its own?Compare the margin of a two-product bundle at one price with each product sold alone, and see when a bundle truly pays and when it hands out an unneeded discount.
• I add a free gift to every order; why won't the calculator give me a margin for it?A selling price of zero makes margin undefined, because it divides by zero. The right way to see what a free gift does to the profit of the product it ships with.
• My courier charges a cash-on-delivery fee per order; how do I see what it does to my margin?A fixed COD fee per order eats far more of the margin on cheap products than on expensive ones. How to measure it with your own numbers, and when to push prepaid.
• How do I find my real margin on Noon using the commission shown on my statement?Skip generic fee tables. Take the commission and fees deducted on one order from your Noon statement, add them to cost, and see the margin you actually keep.
• How do I work out my Amazon.sa margin from the fees in my settlement report?Turn referral, fulfilment and storage fees from your settlement report into a per-unit cost, find each product's real margin, and see why slow sellers earn less.
• Is a 60% margin product better than a 25% margin one that earns more money per sale?A cheap product with a high margin can earn you less than a pricey one with a modest margin. How to weigh percentage against profit in money, and what really decides it.
• What is my margin selling the same product wholesale to shops versus retail in my own store?One product, two prices: wholesale to shops and retail online. Compare both margins after each order's own costs, and see when the thinner wholesale margin pays.
• My margin looks higher than reality; is it because I enter the price with VAT included?Entering a VAT-inclusive selling price inflates profit and margin, because the tax is not yours. How to extract the net price first and see your true margin.