How to Add Rule-Based Expenses (Automatic Order Costs)

A rule-based expense adds a cost to every order automatically, calculated from a formula instead of typed in order by order. Use it for costs that grow with your order volume, such as a fulfillment fee per order, a marketplace commission, or a packaging charge.

Where

In the sidebar, open Expenses, then Rule-Based.

Who

Stores that pay a cost per order, per line of an order, or as a share of the order value.

Time

About 3 minutes per rule.

Updates

Saving a rule books it on every existing order it covers, right away. New orders are booked as they come in.

Is a Rule the Right Tool?#

The Rule-Based Page#

Create a Rule#

Click Add Rule. The dialog has two pages, Details and Preview. Nothing is saved before the last click in the preview.

1. 1

   Step 1 of 4

   Fill in the details#

   

   1. 1Name the ruleType what the cost is into Rule Name, for example Packaging.
   2. 2Pick a categoryOptional. The category is shown next to the rule on every order. Without one, the rule is listed as Uncategorized.
   3. 3Choose the calculationPick one of the four entries in Calculation Type (see the table below).
   4. 4Enter the amountFixed Amount for the fixed types. The percentage types ask for a Percentage Rate and a Percentage Basis as well.

   Calculation types. The example order has a total of $166.00 and contains three products, one of them twice: 3 lines, 4 units.

   Calculation Type	How it is calculated	Example on the $166.00 order
   Fixed per order	The same amount on every order	$3.50 per order adds $3.50
   Fixed per item	Amount × number of lines in the order	$0.75 per item adds 3 × $0.75 = $2.25
   Percentage of order	Rate × the order value	2.9% adds $166.00 × 0.029 = $4.81
   Percentage + fixed fee	Rate × the order value, plus a fixed amount	2.9% + $0.30 adds $4.81 + $0.30 = $5.11

   Fixed per item counts the lines of an order, not the units. A line is one product variant in the order, whatever its quantity: 4 units of the same mug are 1 line. For a cost that applies to every unit sold, use handling instead: see What Is the Handling Cost?.

   For the percentage types, enter the rate as a percentage (2.9 for 2.9%) and choose the Percentage Basis: Total price (including tax/shipping) or Subtotal price (before tax/shipping).

2. 2

   Step 2 of 4

   Choose what the rule applies to#

   Scroll down in the dialog to Applies to. This choice decides which existing orders are booked when you save, and whether new orders are covered.

   

   1. AThe four choicesSee the table below. A new rule starts with From a date set to today.
   2. BDateWith From a date and Date range, click the date to change it.
   3. CPast ordersHow many existing orders the choice covers. These are booked when you save.
   4. DTimelineYour order history up to today. The blue part is the existing orders the rule covers, the orange part stands for new orders. 1Y, 2Y and All change how much history is shown, the arrows move it.
   5. ESummaryHow many existing orders are booked on save, and what happens to new orders.

   Choice	Orders covered	Pick it when
   All orders	Every order since your first one, and every new order	The cost has applied for as long as the store exists
   New orders only	Orders placed from today on	The cost starts now and your past numbers should stay untouched
   From a date	Orders placed on or after the date, and every new order	The cost started on a date you know
   Date range	Orders placed between the two dates, both included	The cost applied for a limited time, or you are ending a rule

   Dates follow the time zone of your store.

3. 3

   Step 3 of 4

   Check Refund & Dispute Handling#

   Below Applies to, a table decides whether the cost still counts when an order is refunded. A ticked box in Cost counted keeps the cost, an unticked box sets it to zero for orders with that status.

   

   1. ARefundedOrders that were refunded in full. Ticked by default: the cost stays.
   2. BPartial refundOrders of which a part was refunded. Ticked by default: the cost stays in full.
   3. CProrate partial refundsTick it to reduce the cost by the refunded share of a partially refunded order instead of counting it in full.

   Example for Prorate partial refunds: a rule adds $3.50 to an order of $100.00. Later $40.00 of that order is refunded. The cost becomes $3.50 × (1 − 40 ÷ 100) = $2.10.

   These settings also apply to orders that are refunded after the rule was booked.

4. 4

   Step 4 of 4

   Preview and save#

   Click Next. The preview shows what saving does before anything is booked.

   

   1. ATotalsExisting orders is the number of orders the rule is booked on, Booked on save the amount added to them in total, Average per order the amount per order.
   2. BLast 30 daysThe bars are your orders per day: blue where the rule applies, grey where it does not. The line below is the rule's cost per day.
   3. CExample ordersThe three most recent orders the rule covers, each with its order total and the amount the rule adds.
   4. DOn saveWhat happens to existing orders and to new orders.
   5. ECreate and bookThe button names the number of orders that are booked. It reads Create Rule when the rule covers no existing order.

   In the screenshot, a packaging cost of $0.40 per order applies from September 1. It covers 746 existing orders, so saving books 746 × $0.40 = $298.40.

   After you click the button, the dialog Applying expense rule shows the booking and closes when it is done. If it reports that the rule was saved but could not be applied, open the rule with Edit and save it again.

Where the Cost Appears#

On the order. In the sidebar, open Orders and click an order. The cost summary has a Rule Expenses line.

On the dashboard. The profit breakdown lists Rule Expenses below Transaction Fees. The amount shown for Transaction Fees includes the rule expenses.

In the Income Statement. Rule-based expenses have their own Rule Expenses row.

Change, Pause or Delete a Rule#

To stop a rule and keep what it has booked, give it an end date. Do not pause it.

Example: your fulfillment fee rises from $3.50 to $3.90 on October 1.

1. Edit the existing rule: Date range, end date September 30. Save.
2. Create a second rule with $3.90: From a date, October 1. Save.

An order from September 28 keeps $3.50, an order from October 3 gets $3.90. If you changed the amount of the existing rule to $3.90 instead, every order since the start of the rule would be booked again at $3.90. With 1,000 earlier orders that is 1,000 × $0.40 = $400.00 of extra cost in months that are already closed.

Troubleshooting#

An order has no Rule Expenses line. Check three things. The order date must lie in the Effective Period of the rule. The rule must be Active. And the order must not be a Shopify test order: test orders are never booked.

The rule is on the order but not in your profit. Profit rules can leave rule-based expenses out for an order status, for example for unpaid orders. In the sidebar, open Store settings > Profit Rules and check the Rules column.

Past months changed after you edited a rule. Editing books the new amount on every covered order. Set the rule back to its old amount, give it an end date, and create a new rule for the new amount (see the example above).

The amounts disappeared after you paused a rule. Pausing removes the rule from all orders. Click Enable in the row menu to book it again, then give the rule an end date instead.

Fixed per item books less than you expect. It counts lines, not units. See the note under "Calculation types".

The rule is missing in the Expense Report. The Expense Report does not include rule-based expenses. Use the dashboard or the Income Statement.

If a number still looks wrong, contact support and send the name of the rule, one order number, and the amount you expect on that order.

Limits#

• The Expense Report does not list rule-based expenses.
• Shopify test orders are never booked.
• Fixed per item counts the lines of an order, not the units.
• A rule belongs to the store it was created in. Create it again in every store that has the cost.
• A rule does not replace a handling cost that was changed by hand on an order. Both amounts count, and the preview warns you when covered orders have one.

Common questions