Profit Metrics

Overview

Profit metrics tell you how much money you are actually keeping after all costs, fees, and expenses are accounted for. Dashboardly calculates three levels of profit -- Gross, Operating, and Net -- each giving you a progressively more complete picture of your TikTok Shop's financial health.

Metrics

Gross Profit

What it shows: How much you earn after subtracting the cost of the products you sold, but before any other expenses (fees, commissions, shipping costs, etc.).
Formula: Net Sales - COGS
Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit, Product Details
Example: You sell $5,000 worth of products (Net Sales) and those products cost you $2,000 to purchase (COGS). Your Gross Profit is $3,000. This means you have $3,000 to cover all your other expenses (fees, shipping, marketing, etc.).
Important notes:
- If Gross Profit equals Net Sales, you likely have not set your product costs. See Setting Up COGS.
- Net Sales is defined as Product Sales + Shipping Revenue - Discounts (see Revenue Metrics).
- COGS includes the cost of cancelled orders that were shipped but not returned, because the product left your inventory.

Operating Profit

What it shows: Your profit after all day-to-day operating expenses are deducted -- fees, shipping costs, affiliate commissions, refunds, sample costs, and manual adjustments.
Formula: Gross Profit + Manual Income - Shipping Costs - FBT Fees - Platform Fees & Taxes - Co-funded Promotion Fee - Affiliate Sales Commission - Affiliate Ads Commission - Sample/Marketing Costs - Refunds & Returns - Manual Expenses - FBS Manual Shipping
Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
Example: Your Gross Profit is $3,000. You have $200 in shipping costs, $400 in platform fees, $150 in affiliate commissions, $100 in refunds, and $50 in sample costs. Your Operating Profit is $3,000 - $200 - $400 - $150 - $100 - $50 = $2,100.
Important notes:
- All expense items are subtracted from Gross Profit. If Operating Profit is negative, your operating costs exceed your gross margin.
- This is the core measure of whether your shop's operations are profitable before external factors like TikTok subsidies or ad spend.
- The detailed breakdown of every expense is visible on the Profit & Loss page.

Net Profit

What it shows: Your final bottom-line profit after everything -- including TikTok's platform subsidies and your advertising spend.
Formula: Operating Profit + Platform Subsidy - Ad Spend
Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
Example: Your Operating Profit is $2,100, TikTok contributed $300 in Platform Subsidy from co-funded promotions, and you spent $500 on TikTok Ads. Your Net Profit is $2,100 + $300 - $500 = $1,900.
Important notes:
- Net Profit can be higher than Operating Profit if TikTok is co-funding promotions on your behalf (Platform Subsidy). This is correct and reflects real money.
- Ad Spend is pulled from your connected TikTok Ads account. If you have not connected TikTok Ads, Ad Spend will be zero and Net Profit will equal Operating Profit + Platform Subsidy.
- If you want to compare profitability before subsidies and ads, use Operating Profit instead.

Margin

What it shows: What percentage of your net sales you keep as gross profit.
Formula: (Gross Profit / Net Sales) x 100
Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit, Product Details
Example: If your Gross Profit is $3,000 and your Net Sales are $5,000, your Margin is 60%. That means you keep $0.60 of every $1.00 in net sales after product costs.
Important notes:
- Margin will show as blank/empty if Net Sales is zero or negative. A day with no sales will not have a Margin value.
- This metric requires COGS to be set on the Inventory page. Without COGS, Margin will show as 100%, which is misleading -- it means product costs have not been configured, not that you are keeping 100% of revenue.
- A healthy Margin varies by product category. Most TikTok Shop sellers aim for 40-70% Margin before operating expenses.

ROI (Return on Investment)

What it shows: How much operating profit you earn for every dollar spent on inventory.
Formula: (Operating Profit / COGS) x 100
Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
Example: Your Operating Profit is $2,100 and your COGS is $2,000. Your ROI is 105%. That means you earned $1.05 in operating profit for every $1.00 of product cost.
Important notes:
- ROI uses Operating Profit (not Net Profit) because it measures the return on your inventory investment before subsidies and ad spend.
- ROI will show as blank if COGS is zero -- set your product costs on the Inventory page to enable this metric.
- An ROI above 100% means you are more than doubling your investment in inventory. An ROI below 0% means you are losing money on inventory after all operating costs.

How These Metrics Connect

Profit metrics build on each other in a clear hierarchy:

Net Sales
  - COGS
  = Gross Profit  -----> Margin = (Gross Profit / Net Sales) x 100

Gross Profit
  + Manual Income
  - All Operating Expenses
  = Operating Profit  --> ROI = (Operating Profit / COGS) x 100

Operating Profit
  + Platform Subsidy
  - Ad Spend
  = Net Profit

Margin and ROI are percentage views of Gross Profit and Operating Profit respectively. They help you compare performance across different time periods or products regardless of absolute dollar amounts.

Metric	Answers the question	Uses
Margin	"How much do I keep per dollar sold?"	Gross Profit / Net Sales
ROI	"How much do I earn per dollar invested in inventory?"	Operating Profit / COGS

Common Questions

Why is my Net Profit higher than my Operating Profit?

This happens when TikTok is subsidizing promotions for your shop. The Platform Subsidy amount is added between Operating and Net Profit. This is correct and reflects real money TikTok is contributing to your promotions.

Why do Margin and ROI show as blank or N/A?

Both metrics require COGS to be set. Go to the Inventory page and enter your unit costs for each product, or use the bulk CSV import. See Setting Up COGS. Until costs are configured, Margin will show as 100% (misleading) and ROI will be blank.

Why does Operating Profit seem too low?

Check these common causes:

High Platform Fees & Taxes from TikTok marketplace fees
Large Refunds & Returns in the period
Affiliate commissions on creator/partner sales
Sample costs from sending free products to influencers
Missing COGS data causing Gross Profit to be artificially high (check the Inventory page)

Review the Profit & Loss page for a detailed breakdown of every expense category.

Why do numbers differ slightly between the Dashboard and P&L page?

Both pages use the same data source and the same formulas. If you notice a difference, verify that you are comparing the exact same date range and the same shop. Both pages should produce identical results for identical inputs.

What is the difference between Margin and ROI?

Margin measures gross profit as a percentage of revenue -- "how much do I keep per dollar sold." ROI measures operating profit as a percentage of inventory cost -- "how much do I earn per dollar invested in products." They answer different questions and are both useful. A product can have high Margin but low ROI if operating expenses are very high.

Why is my Margin 100%?

A Margin of 100% almost always means that COGS has not been set for your products. When COGS is $0, Gross Profit equals Net Sales, and Margin calculates as 100%. This is not accurate -- set your product costs in Inventory or via Setting Up COGS to see your real margin.