Revenue Metrics

Overview

Revenue metrics show how much money your TikTok Shop is bringing in. These are the top-line numbers that represent your sales activity before any costs or expenses are deducted. Understanding the difference between Gross Sales, Net Sales, and GMV is key to interpreting your Dashboardly reports accurately.

Metrics

Product Sales (Gross Sales)

• What it shows: The total value of all products sold at their original listed price, before any discounts are applied.
• Formula: Sum of (Original Price x Quantity) for each item sold
• Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
• Example: You sell 10 units of a product listed at $25 each, with a $5-per-unit discount. Product Sales shows $250 (10 x $25), not $200. The $50 in discounts is tracked separately.
• Important notes: This is the "sticker price" total. It does not reflect what the customer actually paid -- discounts are subtracted separately. This matches TikTok's "subtotal before discount amount" field. Cancelled orders are excluded from this number. In some places, this metric may be labeled "Revenue" or "Gross Sales" -- they refer to the same value.

Discount Applied

• What it shows: The total value of seller-created discounts applied to orders.
• Formula: Sum of (Seller Discount x Quantity) for each item
• Where you see it: Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
• Example: If you run a "Buy One Get One 50% Off" promotion on a $20 item and sell 4 units (2 at full price, 2 at $10), Discount Applied shows $20.
• Important notes: This only includes discounts you (the seller) created. Platform discounts funded by TikTok are not included here -- those appear under Platform Subsidy. If you are running a co-funded promotion, your share shows up as Co-funded Promotion Fee (an expense), while TikTok's share shows up as Platform Subsidy (income for you).

Net Sales

• What it shows: Your actual product revenue after seller discounts, plus what customers paid for shipping.
• Formula: Product Sales + Shipping Revenue - Discount Applied
• Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
• Example: $5,000 Product Sales + $300 Shipping Revenue - $500 Discounts = $4,800 Net Sales
• Important notes: Net Sales is the basis for calculating Gross Profit and Margin. If Net Sales looks lower than expected, check whether large discounts were applied during the period. Only seller-created discounts reduce Net Sales; TikTok platform discounts are handled separately through the Platform Subsidy system.

Shipping Revenue

• What it shows: The amount customers paid for shipping on their orders.
• Where you see it: Profit & Loss, Sales & Profit
• Important notes: This is what the customer was charged for shipping -- not what it actually cost you to ship. The difference between what the customer paid and your actual shipping cost is the net shipping impact, which appears in the Shipping Cost expense. If your shipping revenue exceeds your shipping cost, you are making money on shipping. If your shipping cost exceeds shipping revenue (e.g., free shipping promotions), shipping is a net cost.

GMV (Gross Merchandise Value)

• What it shows: The total checkout value of all orders, including those that were later cancelled.
• Formula: Sub Total + Shipping Fee (where Sub Total is the post-discount product price)
• Where you see it: Dashboard, Profit & Loss
• Example: A customer buys a $25 item with a $5 discount and pays $4.99 shipping. The GMV for this order is $20 + $4.99 = $24.99. Product Sales for the same order would be $25.
• Important notes:
  • GMV includes cancelled orders. This matches how TikTok Seller Center calculates GMV -- even if a customer cancels, the order still counts as gross merchandise activity. Because of this, GMV will typically be higher than your actual revenue.
  • GMV uses the post-discount sub-total (what the customer actually paid for the product), which is different from Product Sales (which uses the pre-discount original price).
  • The full GMV figure shown on the P&L also includes Platform Subsidy: GMV = GMV Base + Platform Subsidy.

Platform Subsidy

• What it shows: The amount TikTok contributed to promotions and discounts on your behalf. This is income for you.
• Where you see it: Profit & Loss (in the Net Profit calculation section)
• Example: You run a co-funded promotion where TikTok covers $3 of a $5 discount on each order. If you sell 100 orders, your Platform Subsidy is $300. You can also receive shipping fee subsidies from TikTok, which are included here.
• Important notes: Platform Subsidy is added to your Net Profit. If your Net Profit seems higher than expected, Platform Subsidy is often the reason -- and this is correct. Do not confuse this with Co-funded Promotion Fee, which is the expense you pay to participate in co-funded campaigns. Platform Subsidy is TikTok's money coming to you; Co-funded Promotion Fee is your money going out.

How These Metrics Connect

Revenue metrics flow from top to bottom:

1. Product Sales is your starting point (gross, before discounts)
2. Subtract Discount Applied and add Shipping Revenue to get Net Sales
3. Net Sales feeds directly into profit calculations -- it is the revenue baseline from which COGS and expenses are subtracted
4. GMV is a separate, broader measure that uses post-discount values and includes cancelled orders

Here is a visual summary:

Product Sales (pre-discount)
  + Shipping Revenue
  - Discounts
  = Net Sales  -----> feeds into Gross Profit, Margin

GMV (separate calculation)
  = Post-discount Sub Total + Shipping Fee
  GMV includes cancelled orders
  GMV on P&L = GMV Base + Platform Subsidy

Common Questions

Why is my GMV higher than my Revenue?

GMV includes cancelled orders and uses the post-discount sub-total plus shipping. Revenue (Product Sales) only counts completed orders at the pre-discount product price. These are intentionally different metrics with different purposes. GMV is useful for understanding total marketplace activity; Revenue is useful for understanding your actual earnings.

Why does Product Sales not match what I see in TikTok Seller Center?

Product Sales in Dashboardly uses the original listed price before discounts. TikTok Seller Center may display different figures depending on which report you are viewing. Our Product Sales matches TikTok's "Gross Sales" definition (subtotal before discount amount).

What is the difference between Net Sales and Revenue (Sales)?

Net Sales = Product Sales + Shipping Revenue - Discounts. This accounts for seller discounts. In some places, "Revenue" or "Sales" is used to refer to Product Sales (before discounts). The key difference: Net Sales reflects what you actually earned after accounting for discounts you offered.

Why do my numbers for recent days look slightly different than last week's?

Dashboardly upgrades order data through three stages -- Just Placed (estimated fees based on your shop's average), Processing (real fee data from TikTok's transaction record), and Settled (final settlement amounts). Revenue figures like Product Sales and Shipping Revenue are accurate from the start -- it is primarily fee and cost data that refines over time. See Understanding Your Data Quality for the full breakdown.

Where does Platform Subsidy show up?

Platform Subsidy appears in the Net Profit section on the Profit & Loss page. It is added after Operating Profit because it represents external funding from TikTok, not your own sales revenue. The formula is: Net Profit = Operating Profit + Platform Subsidy - Ad Spend.

Can Platform Subsidy make my Net Profit higher than my Operating Profit?

Yes, and this is correct behavior. If TikTok is contributing $200 in subsidies and you spent $0 on ads, your Net Profit will be $200 higher than your Operating Profit. This represents real money that TikTok is paying into your promotions.