What Is the Handling Cost?

Handling (also called the handling fee) is an optional cost per unit sold, on top of the product's unit cost. Examples are the box, the insert, or the pick and pack fee for that item. You enter it per product or per variant, and every order is charged the handling of each unit it contains.

Where: In the sidebar, open Product Costs. Handling is the Handling column next to Unit Cost.
Who: Stores that pay a packaging or preparation cost for every item they ship.
Time: About 1 minute per product.
Updates: After you click Apply, the orders that contain the product are recalculated.

How Handling Is Calculated#

Handling is multiplied by the number of units, line by line.

Handling of an order = handling per unit × units, added up over all lines.

Example with one product. A mug set has a unit cost of $11.60 and a handling of $0.90. An order with 3 mug sets is charged:

Cost	Calculation	Amount
Product cost	3 × $11.60	$34.80
Handling	3 × $0.90	$2.70
Total	3 × $12.50	$37.50

Unit cost and handling together cost $12.50 per mug set. On the order and on the dashboard, the $34.80 shows as product cost and the $2.70 as handling.

Example with several products. An order contains 1 bath towel (handling $0.40), 1 mug set (handling $0.90) and 2 coffee sets (handling $1.10 each). Its handling is $0.40 + $0.90 + 2 × $1.10 = $3.50.

Handling is not a flat amount per order. If you enter $2.00 as the handling of a product, every unit sold costs $2.00, so an order with 5 units is charged $10.00. For a flat cost per order, use a rule-based expense. See How to Add Rule-Based Expenses (Automatic Order Costs).

Enter Handling#

Leave the field empty when a product has no handling. Then nothing is added to its orders.

In the screenshot, both blanket variants have a handling of $1.80. The Oat variant is being changed to $2.40, which is why the product shows 1 unsaved changes next to Apply.

The other ways to enter costs carry a handling value too:

Way to enter costs	Where handling goes	Guide
Cost file (CSV, Excel)	The `handling_cost` column, per unit	Import Product Costs from a CSV or Excel File
Quantity breaks	Every tier has its own Handling, per unit	How to Add Quantity-Based Costs (Quantity Breaks)
Price changes over time	Every period has its own Handling	How to Add Cost Changes Over Time (Price Changes)
One single order	The Handling field, as a total for the order	How to Manually Change the Cost of an Order

All product cost options are described in How to Add Product Costs.

Handling or Something Else?#

Your cost	Use
A cost for every unit sold (box, insert, pick fee per item)	Handling (this article)
A flat cost per order, or a share of the order value	A rule-based expense, see How to Add Rule-Based Expenses (Automatic Order Costs)
What the carrier charges you to ship the order	A shipping rule, see Add a Shipping Rule
The fee of your payment provider	Transaction fees, see How to Add Transaction Fees

Where Handling Appears#

In an order. In the sidebar, open Orders and click an order. Click a product line to see its details.

The order list has a Handling column with the same total per order.

In the reports.

Where	Shown as
Dashboard	Handling Fees, in the Fulfillment & Selling block
Reports > Income Statement	Handling, under Fulfillment & Selling
Reports > Products	Included in Product Costs, together with the unit cost

Troubleshooting#

Handling is much higher than expected. A cost per order was entered as handling, so it is charged once per unit. Divide it down to one unit, or remove it and create a rule-based expense with Fixed per order instead.

An order shows no handling. The variants in the order have no handling entered. Open Product Costs, expand the product and check the Handling field of the variant.

Handling is on the order but not in your profit. Profit rules can leave handling out for an order status. The order list then shows the amount struck through. In the sidebar, open Store settings > Profit Rules and check the Handling column. See Choose Which Orders Count Toward Profit (Profit Rules).

If the numbers still do not add up, contact support and send the order number, the product, and the handling you expect.

Limits#

Handling is always per unit. There is no handling per order or per shipment.
A bundle cost does not include handling. The handling of each product in the bundle still applies.
Units cancelled from an order before it shipped are not charged handling.