Revenue growth can hide an order-level loss
Discounts, product costs, fulfillment charges, shipping, returns and transaction fees can offset an increase in order volume. A revenue dashboard does not by itself establish the profitability of individual orders.
A transparent, illustrative calculation
Imagine an order with $100 net customer revenue, $52 in verified product costs, $12 in shipping, $5 in payment fees and $35 in other verified order costs. Its illustrative order contribution is −$4. These are fictional numbers, not results produced by ProfitLeak. Avoid subtracting any discount twice if revenue is already net of discounts.
Check which numbers can be trusted
Identify the revenue basis, check the product cost associated with the ordered item, and reconcile order-level charges. If cost evidence is missing, label the finding as incomplete rather than declaring a confirmed loss.
Investigate repeated causes—not just one bad order
When the same loss pattern recurs, examine pricing, promotions, cost changes and fulfillment conditions. Monitoring gives you an opportunity to recognize repeat problems rather than relying on occasional manual reviews.
Frequently asked questions
Can a shop increase sales but lose money?
Yes. Cost increases, discounts or transaction-level charges can outweigh added revenue.
Does a missing product cost mean the order was profitable?
No. Missing evidence should remain unverified rather than being treated as zero cost.
Go from assumptions to verified findings
ProfitLeak checks order evidence to identify verified profit losses, with ongoing monitoring and approved checkout protection on eligible plans. It does not treat missing evidence as a confirmed loss.
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