Short Answer
Zero can be a valid result. A dash, blank value, or preparation notice can mean that a ratio has no valid denominator or that the report data is not ready. First check the selected shop, date range, report settings, and product cost effective dates; a zero value alone does not prove that data is missing.
Why This Happens
Shop Summary Cannot Load
If Sales & Profit > Shop Summary shows that the financial report is unavailable, choose Refresh report to retry the current date range and filters. This refreshes the shared financial report rather than reusing values from an earlier selection. Summary export stays unavailable until that report has loaded successfully. An unavailable report is not a zero-spend result.
If the product list shows Retry products, that button also reloads the Product and Shop Summary reports together for the current selection.
If the notice returns, contact support with the shop, date range and filters.
A Card Shows a Dash While Data Is Preparing
A dash with a preparation notice means that the selected report is not ready to show a complete result. Profit & Loss may show a loading placeholder with a preparing message and check again automatically; Custom P&L may show Preparing this date range. Some views can keep previously validated figures visible while an update finishes. Read the notice before treating a value as final. Give the preparation process time to finish, then use the available refresh or retry control. If the same selection remains unavailable, contact support with the shop, date range, filters, and the notice you see. A preparation state is different from a completed report showing zero.
The Dashboard charts and the Sales & Profit Shop Summary work the same way with a Sales scope filter such as Only sales with a cost set. When a note says that some profit figures for this range are still being calculated, Net Profit, Net Margin and other profit figures for that period show a dash while every other figure is already exact. The page checks again every few seconds for about a minute and fills the figures in on its own, so you do not need to reload. If the note is still there after that minute, refresh the page. If the note says some profit figures can't be calculated exactly for this range and sales scope, those figures stay as a dash for that selection, and all other figures remain exact.
COGS Shows $0
Possible causes: No activity included in COGS for the selected report, an explicitly zero effective cost, or missing product costs for the relevant order dates.
Dashboardly does not guess your product costs. You need to tell it how much each product costs you to purchase or manufacture.
What to do:
- Go to the Inventory page.
- Check the Unit COG for the correct product or SKU and its effective dates. The cost shown today can differ from the cost used for an older order.
- For bulk updates, use Import Costs and review the product or SKU, new cost, and effective date in the preview before confirming.
Cost changes update the affected report dates. Reports may show a preparation state or previously validated figures while the update finishes. Setting costs does not guarantee positive profit.
See Setting Up COGS for a full guide.
In Inventory, a SKU's inventory value is its current total stock multiplied by its effective Unit COG. This is different from COGS for units sold in a report period. Inventory's estimated ROI uses Estimated Profit divided by that inventory value, multiplied by 100, when the inventory value is positive; Average ROI weights the SKU results by inventory value. If stock is present but inventory value is zero, check whether the effective Unit COG is zero. If the cost is missing, the value may be unavailable instead. If the stock and a positive effective cost are present but the value remains zero after a refresh, contact support with the shop and SKU.
Gross Profit Shows $0
Possible causes: Net Sales equals COGS, or both amounts are zero for the selected report.
Gross Profit = Net Sales - Cost of Goods Sold. For example, Net Sales of $100 and COGS of $100 give Gross Profit of $0. With COGS of $0, Gross Profit equals Net Sales; zero or missing costs do not, by themselves, make Gross Profit zero or prevent its calculation. Missing costs can overstate profit. Check the report's preparation notice separately from its numeric result.
What to do: Check Net Sales, the costs effective for the relevant orders, and the selected report settings together. Correct missing cost inputs when needed; do not change real costs just to make a valid zero profit become positive.
ROI Does Not Display or Shows 0%
Cause of an unavailable ROI: The COGS amount used as the denominator is zero or negative. ROI needs a positive COGS denominator.
For Dashboard, Profit & Loss, and Sales & Profit reports, ROI = (Operating Profit / Cost of Goods Sold) x 100. This is a percentage: Operating Profit of $50 and COGS of $100 give ROI of 50%. The standard calculation returns no ROI value when COGS is zero or negative, which can appear as a dash or blank. Some Product/SKU views use 0% as a fallback when the ratio is unavailable, so check COGS before interpreting 0% as a real return. With positive COGS and Operating Profit of $0, ROI is a valid 0%.
What to do:
- Check COGS for the selected period and report scope, including the costs effective for the relevant order dates.
- Check Operating Profit and record your actual costs accurately. Adding a manual expense does not make the COGS denominator positive.
- When the report is ready and COGS is positive, ROI is calculated from Operating Profit divided by COGS, multiplied by 100.
Margin Shows 100% or Does Not Display
Possible causes: With positive Net Sales and zero COGS, Gross Margin is 100%. With zero or negative Net Sales, the standard margin calculation has no valid denominator.
- Gross Margin = (Gross Profit / Net Sales) x 100. With positive Net Sales and COGS of $0, Gross Margin is 100%; check whether the zero cost is intentional or product costs are missing. This does not mean Net Margin is 100%, because other costs can reduce profit.
- Operating Margin uses Operating Profit, and Net Margin uses Net Profit, with the same Net Sales denominator. The standard calculations return no margin when Net Sales is zero or negative. Some Product/SKU views show 0% as a fallback, so confirm the inputs before interpreting that value.
What to do: Check the margin type, Net Sales, and the costs effective for the relevant orders. A margin can legitimately be 0% when its profit amount is zero and Net Sales is positive.
Ad Spend Shows $0
Possible causes: There is no ad spend for the selected shop and dates, the ads connection is missing, or the required ad data has not been imported successfully.
TikTok Ads data is separate from TikTok Shop order data. To investigate expected ad spend, check:
- The shop's TikTok Ads connection.
- Whether the connected account and assigned campaigns have spend for the selected shop and dates.
- Whether the report and ad source data are ready. A successful source read with no spend can produce a valid $0.
What to do:
- Open Settings > Shops and check the shop's TikTok Ads connection.
- Confirm that the connected account and the campaigns included in the report have spend during the date range you are viewing.
- If expected spend is still missing, check the shop, date range, campaign assignment, and any preparation or error notice. Contact support with these details if the issue persists.
Affiliate Commission Shows $0
Possible causes: No commission applies to the orders included in the selected period, commission charges and reversals offset each other, or the required commission data is not ready.
TikTok transaction details include different affiliate commission fields. Two examples are:
- Creator commissions -- Paid to content creators who promote your products.
- Partner commissions -- Paid to affiliate partners.
Dashboardly includes creator and partner commission in Affiliate Sales Commission where those amounts are available; they are not always separate report fields. Affiliate Ads Commission is a separate measure. If you expect commission but see $0, check the included orders, report dates, and source readiness before concluding that no affiliate activity occurred.
Quick Reference Table
| Metric | Possible Reason for $0 or Blank | What to Check |
|---|---|---|
| COGS | No included COGS activity, an effective zero cost, or missing costs | Inventory costs and effective dates |
| Gross Profit | Net Sales equals COGS | Net Sales, effective COGS, and report scope |
| Gross Margin | Profit is zero with positive Net Sales; no standard ratio when Net Sales is zero or negative | Margin type and inputs; zero COGS with positive Net Sales gives 100% Gross Margin |
| Net Profit | Operating Profit equals Net Ad Spend | Operating Profit, Net Ad Spend, and report scope |
| ROI | Operating Profit is zero with positive COGS; no standard ratio when COGS is zero or negative | Operating Profit and positive COGS; some Product/SKU views use a 0% fallback |
| Ad Spend | No included spend, a missing ads connection, or incomplete source data | Settings > Shops, campaign assignment, dates, and source readiness |
| Affiliate Commission | No applicable commission, offsetting charges and reversals, or incomplete source data | Included orders, dates, and commission data |
Tips
- Check COGS carefully. Missing product costs can overstate profit, but an explicitly zero effective cost is different from missing cost data.
- You can set COGS at any time. Effective dates and cost precedence determine which orders change; an update does not automatically replace every historical cost. Wait for the affected reports to finish updating.
- Check the report context and readiness. Confirm the shop, dates, filters, cost inputs, and connected ad data before deciding that a zero value is wrong.
When to Contact Support
- If a preparation or unavailable notice persists for the same shop, date range, and filters after retrying, share those details and the notice with support.
- If expected ad spend or commission is still missing after the source data is ready, share the connected account or affected orders and the report dates.
- If costs and source data are ready but a figure still differs from what you expect, share the metric and the inputs you are comparing. A valid zero by itself is not evidence of a defect.