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Revenue is vanity. Contribution is sanity.

E-commerce Profitability Analysis - Know Your True Profit on Every SKU, Every Order

Computed by Chartered Accountants. Not by dashboards guessing.

SKU-level true contribution after marketplace fees, RTO, shipping, payment fees, allocated ads, packaging and storage, with break-even ROAS built into decisions.

  • True contribution per SKU and marketplace
  • Nine hidden variable costs allocated to product level
  • Break-even ROAS calculated from contribution margin
  • RTO, storage and slow-mover analysis
  • Kill, scale or reprice recommendations reviewed by a CA

Check my SKU profit

Our expert will call you within 2 hours

  • 4.9 star Google
  • 10,000+ Filed
  • CA-led team
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Platforms we work with

  • Amazon logo
  • Flipkart logo
  • Meesho logo
  • Myntra logo
  • Nykaa logo
  • Ajio logo
  • JioMart logo
  • Snapdeal logo
  • ONDC logo
  • Shopify logo

Fee structures we decode, platform by platform.

9

Hidden costs allocated to every SKU

Fees, shipping, RTO, ads, packaging and storage

1 / CM%

Break-even ROAS formula

Contribution margin sets the ad ceiling

4

Ageing buckets for slow movers

0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+ days

SKU

The level real profit lives at

Not blended marketplace dashboards

Quick ROAS check

Is your ROAS actually profitable?

Three quick inputs show whether your ad number deserves a SKU-level contribution review.

Question 1 of 3

What is your usual selling price band?

SKU-level profit math

E-commerce Profitability Analysis for Indian Online Sellers

Our ecommerce profitability analysis computes product-wise profitability from settlement, ad, shipping, payment and inventory data. The output is true contribution per SKU, not a platform dashboard that stops at sales and headline ROAS.

The model connects with e-commerce accounting and bookkeeping and monthly MIS and KPI reporting, so the profit math is reconciled to books, tax credits and marketplace settlements before you scale, kill or reprice SKUs.

Check SKU profitability

What is true contribution per SKU?

E-commerce profitability analysis is the SKU-level computation of true contribution: selling price minus marketplace commission, shipping, RTO losses, payment fees, allocated ad spend, packaging and storage, so you know which products fund your growth and which quietly burn it.

For a Rs.1,000 sale, the waterfall may remove Rs.150 commission, Rs.80 shipping, Rs.45 RTO allocation, Rs.20 payment fees, Rs.200 allocated ads and Rs.60 packaging or storage. That leaves Rs.445 before product cost and fixed overheads. If the product cost is Rs.430, the SKU is barely alive even though the dashboard shows a sale.

True Contribution per SKU is the canonical number this page owns. It works because settlement reports carry the fee data most sellers ignore: commission slabs, fixed fees, weight handling, storage, ad recovery and return costs mapped back to the product.

True profit is a waterfall, not a headline sales number.

Profit waterfall

The profit waterfall shows what the dashboard hides

A platform P&L may stop at revenue and fees. We keep walking the order down through shipping, RTO, payment costs, ad allocation, packaging, storage and GST-on-fees ITC so contribution is not inflated.

  • Rs.1,000 sale can shrink to Rs.445 before product cost
  • RTO and return shipping are allocated to the SKU
  • GST on fees and ads is netted where eligible
Build my waterfall

Break-even ROAS = 1 / contribution margin percentage.

Break-even ROAS

Break-even ROAS is the number your ad dashboard will not protect

Break-even ROAS equals 1 divided by contribution margin percentage. At 20% contribution, ROAS must be 5.0. At 25%, it must be 4.0. At 33%, it can fall near 3.0 before ads start losing money.

  • CM 20% -> break-even ROAS 5.0
  • CM 25% -> break-even ROAS 4.0
  • CM 33% -> break-even ROAS about 3.0
Calculate break-even ROAS
Decision table

Platform P&L vs CA-built profitability

FactorPlatform dashboardRecommendedCA-built profitability
Fee verificationShows charged feesChecks fee logic against settlements
RTO allocationOften blendedAllocated by order or SKU
Ad spend by SKUCampaign-level viewAllocated to product contribution
GST-on-fees ITC nettingUsually ignored in marginNetted where eligible
Returns timingDashboard timing variesMatched to accounting period
Storage accrualNot always visible by SKUAdded to slow-mover analysis

← Scroll →

Use platform dashboards for operations. Use CA-built contribution statements for product decisions.

Review my SKU margin
Profit workflow

How we compute true contribution

  1. 1

    Settlement, ads and courier data ingestion

    Step 1

    Marketplace fees, ad exports, courier/RTO data and payment reports are collected.

    • Settlements
    • Ads
    • Courier
  2. 2

    Cost mapping rules per SKU

    Step 2

    Costs are mapped exactly where possible and allocated by documented rules where needed.

    • Fee rules
    • Allocation logic
  3. 3

    Monthly contribution statement

    Step 3

    SKU, marketplace and channel-level contribution is computed after variable costs.

    • SKU report
    • Channel report
  4. 4

    Slow-mover ageing review

    Step 4

    Inventory ageing buckets are matched with storage fees and sell-through.

    • 0-30
    • 31-60
    • 61-90
    • 90+
  5. 5

    Kill, scale or reprice recommendations

    Step 5

    Your CA reviews the numbers with you so decisions are grounded in contribution, not vanity revenue.

    • Kill
    • Scale
    • Reprice
Hidden loss

Your best-selling SKU might be your biggest loss

High-velocity, high-RTO, ad-heavy SKUs can run negative contribution while volume hides the damage. SKU-level math exposes whether growth is funding profit or burning cash.

High sales, low contribution

Fast-moving products are reviewed after every variable cost.

RTO destroys COD margin

Forward and reverse shipping are allocated to the product.

Ageing reveals storage drag

Slow movers are tied to stock age and storage fees.

Plans

Profitability plans by SKU count

Final pricing depends on SKU count, platforms, ad channels and historical cleanup.

Focused SKU Review

For sellers who want key products reviewed first.

Custom/mo

  • Up to 50 SKUs
  • Contribution waterfall
  • Break-even ROAS
  • Inventory ageing deep dive
Ask for quote
Popular

Full Catalogue Profit

For sellers managing large catalogues and ad spend.

Custom/mo

  • SKU-level contribution model
  • Ad and RTO allocation
  • Slow-mover analysis
  • CA review recommendations
Start profit review
Problems solved

The profit leaks hidden behind top-line sales

The risk

Profitable on dashboard, broke in the bank

Dashboard sales do not include all deductions, timing and tax-credit effects.

How we handle it

We reconcile contribution to settlements, books and bank outcomes.

The risk

RTO eating margin invisibly

Returned COD orders carry forward and reverse logistics costs.

How we handle it

RTO cost is allocated to the SKU instead of dumped into courier expense.

The risk

Ad spend not allocated to products

A blended ROAS can hide SKU-level losses.

How we handle it

Ad cost is mapped by campaign, attributed sales or agreed allocation rule.

The risk

Dead stock accruing storage fees

Slow movers quietly absorb storage and working capital.

How we handle it

Ageing buckets reveal stock that needs repricing, bundling or exit.

Dashboard vs CA statement

Analytics tools estimate. Reconciled contribution proves.

Filing it yourself

  • Tool dashboards depend on platform-side assumptions.
  • RTO, storage and payment fees may stay blended.
  • GST-on-fees credit is often ignored in costing.
  • Ad ROAS is read without contribution margin.

Filing with ComplyLocal

  • Fees are reconciled to settlement data.
  • RTO, shipping, ads and storage are allocated to SKUs.
  • Eligible ITC is netted into the cost model.
  • Break-even ROAS is calculated before scale decisions.
Get CA-verified contribution
FAQ

E-commerce profitability FAQs

Answers for sellers who want to know which products actually fund growth.

Fast answersExpert support

  • E-commerce profitability analysis computes true profit at SKU, order and channel level after marketplace fees, shipping, RTO, payment fees, ad spend, packaging, storage and tax-credit effects. It is different from a platform dashboard because it reconciles the cost base to settlements and books.

  • Contribution margin is selling price minus variable costs, divided by selling price. For online sellers, variable costs include marketplace commission, closing fees, shipping, RTO allocation, payment fees, ad spend, packaging and storage where applicable. It shows how much is left before fixed overheads.

  • Break-even ROAS is calculated as 1 divided by contribution margin percentage. If a SKU has 25% contribution margin, break-even ROAS is 4.0. Any ad ROAS below that level means the SKU loses money before fixed overheads.

  • RTO reduces profit because the seller usually pays forward shipping and reverse shipping, and the product may return damaged, delayed or unsellable. Even when the inventory comes back, the logistics cost and lost sale must be allocated to the SKU.

  • Product-wise expense bifurcation maps settlement fees, courier costs, payment fees, advertising spend, packaging, storage and return costs back to SKU or order data. Where exact allocation is unavailable, we use documented rules such as order count, revenue share, weight or campaign mapping.

  • GST on marketplace fees, payment-gateway MDR and advertising spend is generally claimable as ITC if the seller is eligible and the invoice appears correctly in GST records. Profitability analysis should net the credit properly so costs are not overstated or understated.

  • Slow-moving and non-moving products are identified through inventory ageing buckets such as 0-30, 31-60, 61-90 and 90+ days, combined with sell-through, storage fees and return rates. The analysis shows which SKUs need discounting, bundling, repricing or discontinuation.

  • We need SKU master data, order reports, settlement reports, marketplace fee reports, ad spend exports, courier/RTO data, payment-gateway reports, inventory ageing, GST invoices for fees and existing books. The better the SKU mapping, the sharper the contribution report.

  • Ad spend can be allocated by campaign-to-SKU mapping, attributed sales, revenue share, clicks, order count or a documented rule agreed with the seller. The goal is consistency and decision usefulness, not guessing a blended ad cost that hides loss-making SKUs.

  • Yes. COD-heavy sellers often need profitability analysis more urgently because RTO, courier deductions, cash remittance delays and reverse shipping can destroy contribution. COD and RTO costs are allocated by order or SKU so the loss is visible.

  • A monthly contribution statement is ideal for active sellers, with a deeper quarterly review for slow movers, ad spend, pricing and SKU decisions. Fast-moving campaigns or high-RTO categories may need weekly checks on selected SKUs.

  • Pricing depends on SKU count, order volume, platforms, ad channels, inventory complexity and whether historical cleanup is needed. A 50-SKU seller needs a different model than a multi-marketplace seller with thousands of SKUs and ad campaigns.
Related services

Connect profit math to accounting and reporting

Find the SKUs that fund growth and the ones burning cash

We compute true contribution, break-even ROAS and slow-mover risk from reconciled seller data.

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