How to see your real Shopify profit, month by month
Short answer
To see real profit by month, put each month's numbers in one row: net sales, minus product costs, payment fees, shipping labels, ad spend, and your plan and apps. Shopify's reports give you the first two (sales and product cost);1 the rest comes from your payout export, your label app, your ad accounts and your billing. A 12-row sheet with those columns answers “did I make money this month?” better than any single report.
The monthly profit formula
- Net sales = gross sales − discounts − sales reversals (Shopify's definition).2
- Gross profit = net sales − product cost.2
- Net profit = gross profit − payment fees − shipping labels − ad spend − plan and apps.
- Net margin = net profit ÷ net sales.
Leave taxes out of sales: tax you collect isn't income. Shopify's “total sales” figure includes taxes, duties and shipping charges, so don't use it as your revenue line.2
Where each number comes from
| Column | Where to get it |
|---|---|
| Net sales and product cost | Shopify's sales and profit reports, filtered to the month, or your orders export plus your products export (which has a “Cost per item” column).3 |
| Payment fees | Your Shopify Payments payout transactions export: each line has Amount, Fee and Net.4 |
| Shipping labels | Shopify Shipping charges on your bill, or your label app's export. |
| Ad spend | Each ad account's billing or spend report for the month. |
| Plan and apps | Your Shopify bill and any app or software charges. |
Example: three months of a fictional store
These are the numbers from the sample report's fictional store. Look at September: the best sales month was the worst profit month.
| Month | Net sales | Gross profit | Fees, shipping, ads, apps | Net profit | Net margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul | $4,027 | $1,951 | $1,598 | $353 | 8.8% |
| Aug | $4,510 | $2,182 | $1,780 | $402 | 8.9% |
| Sep | $5,200 | $2,379 | $2,100 | $279 | 5.4% |
Fictional store and numbers, the same data as the sample report. Amounts are rounded to the dollar from cent-level data.
Net sales rose about 15% from August to September while net profit fell from $402 to $279, because ad spend rose $150 and shipping labels rose $145. A sales chart would have called September the best month.
Common mistakes
- Using payouts as profit. A payout is sales minus fees, refunds and chargebacks, not minus product costs, ads or apps.5
- Missing costs on older orders. Shopify reports profit only for products that “had cost recorded at the time they were sold.”1 Fill gaps in your own sheet with the right cost.
- Counting refunds in the wrong month. Pick one rule (the month of the original order, or the month of the refund) and use it every month.
- Forgetting card fees on refunds. The original card fee isn't returned when you refund an order.6
Make it a habit
Once the sheet exists, updating it takes a few minutes a month: paste in the new exports and the formulas recalculate. The Monthly Profit Kit includes a reusable template like this, set up with your own products and costs, plus a short guide for refreshing it.
Questions
Can Shopify show profit by month?
Shopify's profit reports can be filtered by date, but they show gross profit (sales minus product cost). They don't include payment fees, shipping labels, ad spend or app costs, so for real monthly profit you need to add those.
Should I count refunds in the month of the order or the refund?
Either works if you're consistent. Counting them in the month of the original order shows how good each month's sales really were; counting them when they happen matches your cash.
Is a payout the same as profit?
No. A Shopify Payments payout is your sales minus processing fees, refunds, chargebacks and adjustments. Product costs, ads, shipping labels and apps still come out of it.
What's a good monthly net margin?
There isn't one right number; it depends on your products and how you sell. Track your own margin month by month and look for the months and products that pull it down.
Do I include taxes in sales?
No. Sales tax you collect isn't income. Use net sales without tax.
Sources
- Shopify Help Center: Profit reports
- Shopify Help Center: Sales reports (common sales report terms)
- Shopify Help Center: Using CSV files to import and export products
- Shopify Help Center: Viewing payout details
- Shopify Help Center: Lower or missing payouts
- Shopify Help Center: Refunds and Shopify Payments payouts
Checked October 18, 2026. If something has changed, email hello@groundworkmetrics.com and I'll fix it.