For e-commerce brands
E-commerce margin reporting: one margin per channel, traced to source
DTC, Amazon, Target, Walmart, Costco: the same cost rules on every channel, every week, without the spreadsheet.
A brand that sells on its own site, on Amazon and in national retail has three margin numbers, each computed by a different person with different rules. Neuravoid builds the model that applies one set of cost rules to every order, every return and every retailer deduction, and publishes the weekly margin review from it. On BigQuery, dbt and Looker, remote, in writing, at a fixed scope.
You will recognise this
- You just entered Target, Walmart, Costco or CVS, and the retail margin after deductions is a guess until the check arrives
- Finance rebuilds the weekly margin in Excel from Shopify, Seller Central and retailer portals
- Returns, chargebacks, promo allowances and ad spend are allocated differently by finance, marketing and operations
- Your board or investor asks for contribution margin by channel and the answer takes a week
- You run two or three countries, or a subscription plus one-off sales, and the numbers do not add up to the P&L
The question we answer
Which channels and products actually make money, under our cost rules, and how far is that from what the P&L says?
A worked example
Synthetic figures, built to show the method. Not a client result.
| Month, one brand | Own site | Amazon | Retail (Target) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gross sales | $412,000 | $286,000 | $340,000 |
| Returns and refunds | −$31,000 | −$22,000 | −$4,000 |
| Channel fees and deductions | −$12,000 | −$61,000 | −$58,000 |
| Cost of goods | −$148,000 | −$103,000 | −$139,000 |
| Fulfilment and freight | −$46,000 | −$29,000 | −$21,000 |
| Ad spend attributed | −$71,000 | −$38,000 | −$9,000 |
| Contribution margin | $104,000 (25%) | $33,000 (12%) | $109,000 (32%) |
What the model makes visible: Amazon looked like the second channel by sales and comes last by margin once fees and returns are applied with the same rules everywhere. Retail deductions are booked when the retailer takes them, not when the invoice is raised, so the retail margin stops moving three weeks after month end, and the page says which week it is.
01
Cost rules, written down
Which costs go into contribution margin, how returns are netted, how ad spend is attributed, when retailer deductions hit. Agreed with finance in writing before a line of SQL.
02
One model on BigQuery
Every order, return, fee and deduction loaded into BigQuery and modelled in dbt, with tests that fail when a source goes missing or a total drifts from the P&L.
03
The weekly margin review
Margin by channel, SKU, country and period in Looker or the BI tool you already have, with drill-down to the order and a reconciliation page against the books.
Sources we connect
- Shopify or BigCommerce: orders, refunds, discounts, subscriptions
- Amazon Seller Central: orders, fees, returns, settlement reports
- Retailer portals and deduction files: Target, Walmart, Costco, CVS
- Ad platforms: Meta, Google, Amazon Ads, TikTok
- 3PL and freight invoices
- NetSuite, QuickBooks or your ERP for cost of goods and the P&L
How it runs, and what it costs
01
Reliability diagnostic
$4,500, fixed
5 to 10 business days after access
One channel, one period: we reconcile sales, returns and costs to the P&L, write the cost rules, list every gap with its cause and estimate what automating the rest takes. You keep the document whatever you decide next.
02
Build
$15,000 to $25,000
3 to 5 weeks
The model for all channels, tests, documentation, the weekly review in Looker or your BI tool, a written acceptance on agreed numbers, handover to your team.
03
Upkeep
$3,500 to $6,500 a month
16 to 32 reserved hours a month
New channel, new retailer, new cost rule, a number that moved: a written request queue with agreed response times. Cancel any month.
Prices exclude VAT and are invoiced from France, without VAT for clients outside the EU. The diagnostic is fixed. Build and upkeep are confirmed in writing after the diagnostic, within the ranges shown.
Not the right fit if
- You sell on one channel and Shopify's profit reports already answer the question
- You want a marketing attribution model rather than a margin you can reconcile to the books
- Nobody on your side can confirm the cost rules in writing
- You need the work done in meetings or on site
Questions before you write
We are on Shopify and Amazon, not on BigQuery. Does that matter?
No. Loading Shopify, Seller Central, retailer files and ad platforms into BigQuery is part of the build, with a managed connector or native exports. The diagnostic works from exports, before any pipeline exists.
Shopify and Triple Whale already show a margin. Why this?
They show their margin, with their rules, on their channel. The work here starts where they stop: one set of rules across channels, retailer deductions, returns netted the same way everywhere, and a total that reconciles to the P&L. If a tool already gives you that, say so and the answer will be honest.
How is contribution margin defined?
By you, in writing, during the diagnostic. The usual version nets returns, channel fees, retailer deductions, cost of goods, fulfilment and attributed ad spend. It is not accounting profit, and the page says so.
What do you need from us?
Read access or exports from each source, one person in finance who can confirm the rules in writing, and the P&L for the period we reconcile.
Everything in writing, really?
Yes. Brief, questions, deliverables and follow-up are written, with short video walkthroughs where a screen explains more than text. There are no calls to book, which is what keeps the scope and the price fixed.
Describe your reporting in three lines.
Your systems, the number you do not trust, the deadline. Written answer within one business day with the diagnostic scope and a fixed price.
Write to Neuravoid