Use this worksheet to connect channel revenue with the costs of serving the orders behind it. Start with one channel, one product family and one defined period.
You will finish with: an operating contribution calculation, a list of provisional costs and an action to investigate. This is a planning worksheet; align its definitions with your finance team’s reporting before using it for business decisions.
What the download contains
The CSV includes one illustrative example and one blank working row. It contains no macros or automatic formulas. Enter your figures and calculate the output columns using the method below. All monetary inputs within a row must use the same currency.
Do not combine currencies or periods without an explicit conversion and timing policy. Add separate rows for different channels and scopes.
Define the inputs
Net sales: sales after discounts and refunds, excluding collected sales taxes. Record whether customer-paid shipping is included and use that definition consistently.
Product cost: the cost associated with the units in scope. State whether landed freight is included so it is not subtracted twice.
Selling and payment fees: the channel and transaction charges attributable to the orders. Separate estimates from settled values.
Fulfillment and packaging: the variable handling and packaging costs for the same scope. Keep storage or shared labor separate unless you deliberately allocate it and record the method.
Outbound shipping: the brand’s carrier expense under your chosen net-sales treatment.
Return handling: incremental return transport, inspection and other handling costs. If refunds already reduce net sales, do not subtract them again here. Explain the treatment of recovered inventory and product cost reversals with finance.
Acquisition spend: spending you can reasonably attribute to the scope, with the attribution method recorded. Omit it only by labeling the result accordingly.
Calculate the result
Operating contribution equals net sales minus product cost, selling and payment fees, fulfillment and packaging, outbound shipping, return handling and attributable acquisition spend.
Contribution percentage equals operating contribution divided by net sales, multiplied by 100. When net sales is zero or negative, leave the percentage blank and investigate the period rather than displaying a misleading ratio.
The illustrative row is $100 − $38 − $15 − $7 − $10 − $4 − $8 = $18, or 18%. These are invented teaching values. They do not represent a client, pricing quote or performance commitment.
Mark what is still provisional
Add the source and measurement date for each cost. Carrier adjustments, fee settlements and returns can arrive after the sale. Revisit the same order cohort after those amounts mature.
A useful comparison uses consistent periods, product mixes and allocation rules. Do not compare a mature channel’s settled costs with a new channel’s incomplete launch data without calling out the difference.
Choose an operational next step
Investigate one source of cost or error: an expensive parcel size, a product with avoidable returns, or a promotion that leaves too little contribution. Assign an owner and compare the result after the change.
Contribution is not net profit. Fixed overhead and any excluded costs still need to be considered in the full business view.
Read the channel contribution article, explore Analytics & Insights, or discuss your cost visibility with 1Commerce.
Further reading
For the general calculation, see Shopify’s explanation of contribution margin. The worksheet above uses a defined operating cost view; its illustrative values are original.