Decision · Margin

Will your shop still be profitable next month?

Revenue minus what it actually cost to earn — goods, shipping, fees and ad spend. Worked out day by day instead of estimated at month end, and carried forward through the months still to come.

Day by day

not month end

Per unit

and in total

After ads

not before

Margin

5 Sep6 Sep7 Sep8 Sep9 Sep10 Sep11 Sep12 Sep13 Sep14 Sep15 Sep
Revenue
Revenue
Online store sales
€3,536€3,536
€3,264€3,264
€3,468€3,468
€3,400€3,400
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
Average sales price
Shopify
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
Ordered units / day
Shopify
73
67
71
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
Return rate
Shopify
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
AssetsBalances at period end
Cash€85,944€87,653€89,538€91,364€93,190€50,608€52,434€54,260€56,086€57,912€59,738
Inventory€56,779€55,144€53,412€51,704€49,996€92,696€90,988€89,280€87,572€85,864€84,156
AnalysisUnit economics
Margin€1,755€1,629€1,736€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692
Margin per unit€24.04€24.31€24.45€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17

Status quo

The margin in your head is from last year

A percentage in your head, worked out once and never revisited. What shipping, fees and ad spend actually take off the top only shows up when the accounts close — and then for a month that's already over.

Today

  • A percentage from memory
  • Margin before ads
  • Monthly, looking backwards
  • One number for everything

With Foreqast

  • Computed from every booked cost line
  • Margin after ads, shipping and fees
  • Day by day, and forwards too
  • Total and per unit sold

How it works

Up the P&L until the margin is what's left

Four steps — every cost lands where it belongs, and the margin falls out at the end.

1

Connect accounting and your shop

Accounting brings the booked costs, the shop brings orders and product costs. Both arrive already assigned to an account, so nothing needs categorizing.

Connect Shopify

Not connected

Shopify

Units sold, refunds, purchase costs · daily sync

Your Shopify store domain

your-store.myshopify.com
Connect Shopify
2

Revenue from drivers

Orders, average order value and refund rate build the revenue line. That's the numerator of every margin calculation — and it isn't a typed-in number.

Revenue

5 Sep6 Sep7 Sep8 Sep9 Sep10 Sep11 Sep12 Sep13 Sep14 Sep15 Sep
Revenue
Revenue
Online store sales
€3,536€3,536
€3,264€3,264
€3,468€3,468
€3,400€3,400
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
Average sales price
Shopify
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
Ordered units / day
Shopify
73
67
71
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
Return rate
Shopify
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
3

Every cost in its own place

COGS, shipping and payment fees sit in cost of revenue; ad spend and payroll sit in operating expenses. Kept apart, because margin after goods and margin after ads are two different questions.

What it cost to earn

5 Sep6 Sep7 Sep8 Sep9 Sep10 Sep11 Sep12 Sep13 Sep14 Sep15 Sep
Cost of revenue
Cost of revenue
Restock & purchasing
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
−€44,408€0
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
€0€0
Restock cycleManual
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
26 days
Shipping & fulfilment
−€364−€364
−€336−€336
−€357−€357
−€350−€350
−€350€0
−€350€0
−€350€0
−€350€0
−€350€0
−€350€0
−€350€0
Operating expenses
Operating expenses
Advertising
−€510−€510
−€510−€510
−€510−€510
−€510−€510
−€510€0
−€510€0
−€510€0
−€510€0
−€510€0
−€510€0
−€510€0
Payroll & contracts
−€600−€600
−€600−€600
−€600−€600
−€600−€600
−€600€0
−€600€0
−€600€0
−€600€0
−€600€0
−€600€0
−€600€0
4

Read the margin — total and per unit

The analysis block under the table shows both for every day: what's left in total, and what one unit sold actually earns. Change a driver and the margin moves with it.

Margin & unit economics

5 Sep6 Sep7 Sep8 Sep9 Sep10 Sep11 Sep12 Sep13 Sep14 Sep15 Sep
Revenue
Revenue
Online store sales
€3,536€3,536
€3,264€3,264
€3,468€3,468
€3,400€3,400
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
Average sales price
Shopify
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
Ordered units / day
Shopify
73
67
71
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
Return rate
Shopify
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
AssetsBalances at period end
Cash€85,944€87,653€89,538€91,364€93,190€50,608€52,434€54,260€56,086€57,912€59,738
Inventory€56,779€55,144€53,412€51,704€49,996€92,696€90,988€89,280€87,572€85,864€84,156
AnalysisUnit economics
Margin€1,755€1,629€1,736€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692
Margin per unit€24.04€24.31€24.45€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17

What you get

A margin you can trust while you scale

Total and per unit, day by day — and it moves the moment you touch a budget.

Day by day

not month end

Per unit

and in total

After ads

not before

Margin

5 Sep6 Sep7 Sep8 Sep9 Sep10 Sep11 Sep12 Sep13 Sep14 Sep15 Sep
Revenue
Revenue
Online store sales
€3,536€3,536
€3,264€3,264
€3,468€3,468
€3,400€3,400
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
€3,400€0
Average sales price
Shopify
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
€68.00
Ordered units / day
Shopify
73
67
71
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
70
Return rate
Shopify
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
2.1 %
AssetsBalances at period end
Cash€85,944€87,653€89,538€91,364€93,190€50,608€52,434€54,260€56,086€57,912€59,738
Inventory€56,779€55,144€53,412€51,704€49,996€92,696€90,988€89,280€87,572€85,864€84,156
AnalysisUnit economics
Margin€1,755€1,629€1,736€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692€1,692
Margin per unit€24.04€24.31€24.45€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17€24.17

What you need

Accounting and your shop

Accounting supplies the cost side, the shop supplies orders and product costs. Payments and ad platforms sharpen the fees and ad spend.

See all integrations

Required

DATEV
Shopify

Optional — for fees and ad spend

Stripe
Meta Ads

Related decisions

Keep exploring

Further reading

The thinking behind it, explained

“We always roughly knew what was left. Now we see it per day — and per watch sold.”

Founder, online shop

FAQ

Margin, answered

Which margin does it show?

Revenue minus COGS, shipping and payment fees gives margin after goods. Take operating expenses off as well and the same line reads margin after ads — both views sit on top of each other.

Where do the costs come from?

From your accounting, already assigned to an account. Anything not booked yet comes from drivers, like shipping cost per order.

Why day by day?

Because a restock lands on one day and the orders it serves are spread over weeks. A monthly average hides exactly that.

What is margin per unit?

Total margin divided by the units sold that day — the number you check your purchase price and your ad budget against.

Do I see margin in the future too?

Yes. It's computed from the same forecast, so it moves as soon as you change a driver or a budget.

See whether the margin still holds next month

Connect accounting and your shop and read the margin day by day, total and per unit. Free to start.

See it on your own data

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