Use What the Customer Paid as Your Shipping Cost
Updated October 2, 2026
With the setting Shipping classification on Count as expense, the shipping amount a customer pays at checkout is booked as your shipping cost for that order. You charge customers what shipping costs you, and you have no carrier data and no rates worth maintaining.
- Where
- In the sidebar: Store settings > Costs & Fees, card Shipping Revenue.
- Who
- Stores that pass shipping on at cost and have no carrier data and no rates.
- Time
- 1 minute.
- Updates
- All existing orders of the store are recalculated as soon as the setting changes.
How It Works#
You set Shipping classification to Count as expense. From then on, the shipping amount a customer was charged at checkout (after shipping discounts) is booked as your shipping cost for that order. It still counts as revenue as well, so the two cancel each other out: shipping neither adds to your profit nor reduces it.
Worked Example#
An order contains products for $60.00 and the customer pays $5.90 for shipping. The store has no shipping rule and no carrier.
| Line | Count as revenue | Count as expense |
|---|---|---|
| Products | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| Shipping Revenue (customer paid) | $5.90 | $5.90 |
| Revenue of the order | $65.90 | $65.90 |
| Shipping Costs | $0.00 | $5.90 |
| Left after shipping | $65.90 − $0.00 = $65.90 | $65.90 − $5.90 = $60.00 |
With Count as revenue and no other cost source, the $5.90 is pure profit, which overstates your profit unless shipping really costs you nothing. With Count as expense, the shipping part of the order is neutral.
How It Combines with Rules and Carriers#
| Order | Shipping cost with Count as expense |
|---|---|
| Customer paid $5.90, rule says $4.80 | $5.90. The amount the customer paid replaces the rule |
| Free shipping (customer paid $0.00), rule says $4.80 | $4.80. Nothing was charged, so the rule applies |
| Free shipping, no rule | $0.00 |
| Customer paid $5.90, a carrier reports a $7.20 label | $7.20. Real carrier and label costs always come first |
If you offer free shipping on some orders, add a rule with the scope All orders too (Add a Shipping Rule). It covers the orders where the customer paid nothing.
Change the Setting#
A progress window opens while the store's orders are recalculated, and the settings on the page are locked until it has finished.
The shipping your customers pay is revenue with both options. Count as expense does not move it out of revenue or into your operating expenses. It only books the same amount as the shipping cost of the order.
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