Profit
Profit reporting for WooCommerce
Ask for gross profit and margin for any dates, in total or per product. Askshelf uses the costs you've entered in WooCommerce, and it doesn't know about shipping costs or payment fees.
What it calculates
Askshelf reports gross profit: net sales minus the cost of goods, with the margin, for any date range, in total or per product. You can compare it with the previous period or the same period last year.
It reads the costs from WooCommerce's own Cost of Goods Sold feature (WooCommerce › Settings › Advanced › Features), so that needs to be turned on, with a cost entered on each product. It uses the cost recorded on each order when it was placed. Orders from before you entered costs have no profit figure, so profit answers only cover orders placed since.
What was our gross profit and margin in October, and which products made the most?
What it leaves out
Gross profit is not what you take home. Askshelf doesn't know shipping costs, payment-processor fees, ad spend or packaging, because WooCommerce doesn't record them per order. It won't guess at them either.
The revenue side too
The figures every profit report starts from are also one question away, counted the way WooCommerce Analytics counts them:
| Figure | Why it matters for profit |
|---|---|
| Net sales | Revenue after refunds and coupons, before tax and shipping: the top line of a margin calculation |
| Refunds | Money returned, which comes off revenue |
| Coupon discounts | What promotions gave away |
| Shipping charged | To compare with what shipping actually costs you |
| Top products by net revenue | Where to check margins first |
What were net sales, refunds, coupon discounts and shipping charged in October?
From gross profit to what's left
Put the numbers into a sheet next to the costs Askshelf can't see:
- Gross profit from Askshelf (net sales minus cost of goods sold).
- Shipping result = shipping charged − what carriers billed you.
- After fees = subtract payment processing fees, then ad spend.
The profit reporting guide walks through each step, including WooCommerce's own cost of goods field, and the gross margin by product guide shows how to rank products by margin rather than revenue.
Questions you can ask
- “What was our gross profit and margin last month?”
- “Which 10 products made the most gross profit this quarter?”
- “How did gross profit compare with the month before?”
- “What were net sales, refunds and coupon discounts last month?”
- “How much shipping did we charge customers in October?”
Common questions
Will Askshelf calculate profit?
It calculates gross profit: net sales minus the cost of goods recorded on each order, with the margin, in total or per product. It needs WooCommerce's Cost of Goods Sold feature turned on and a cost on each product. It doesn't know shipping costs, payment fees, ad spend or packaging.
Does WooCommerce calculate profit?
WooCommerce 10.3 added a core Cost of Goods Sold field for products, turned off by default. The profit reporting guide covers what it does and doesn't do, and how to get to margins.
What's the quickest way to a profit number?
Ask Askshelf for last month's gross profit, then subtract what carriers billed you for shipping and your payment fees in a spreadsheet. The profit guides show the layout.
The free way, step by step: WooCommerce profit reporting: what you need and how to do it