How it works
Sales ex GST. What the customer pays (products, less discount, plus shipping) includes GST, which goes to Inland Revenue. So we divide by 1.15. Costs are entered ex GST, because you claim that GST back.
Payment fees are charged on the full amount the customer pays, GST included. Card orders use Shopify Payments' online NZ rate for your plan. Orders paid another way use the rate you enter, plus Shopify's third-party fee if it applies to you. All the rates, with sources, are on our NZ fees page.
Before ads is the most you can spend on ads for each order and still break even. Divide the order total by it and you get the break-even return on ad spend (ROAS): the order value your ads must bring in for every $1 they cost.
Profit per order is what's left after ads. It's before your fixed costs like rent, wages and software.
Questions
Why not just use the ROAS my ads platform shows?
Because it doesn't know your product cost, your shipping or your fees, and it can take credit for orders that would have happened anyway. A platform can report a healthy return on orders that lose money. The break-even number here is the one to hold it to.
Where do I find my product cost?
Shopify stores a cost per item if you've entered it (Products, then the variant's "Cost per item"). If you haven't, use your supplier invoices plus freight and duty to get the item to you.
What about overseas cards and Amex?
They cost more than the domestic rate used here. If a lot of your orders are from overseas, the fees page has those rates.
Do you keep what I type?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. We count that someone used it, nothing else.