Sample report · fictional store · synthetic data · illustrative only. Not a real business, and not a claim of recoverable cash.

Margin-Leak Audit: Fernhollow Candle Co.

Data window 1 Jun – 31 Aug 2026 (92 days) · 2,200 orders · prepared from 4 Shopify-style exports

Revenue, window$130,313

Annualised$517,002

Average order$59.23

Refund rate3.8%

Up to ~$28,686/year of potential margin impact across 7 findings

Illustrative only. Findings partly overlap and are not a claim that the store can recover this amount in cash. Your report will separate evidence, assumptions and overlap using your own data.

Range across findings: $19,825–$28,686. Overlap example: a loss-making free-shipping order can also carry a free gift. Missing-cost (C1) is overstated profit, not cash, and is excluded.

Impact by finding

Dot = midpoint, whiskers = low–high estimate, $ per year.

Ranked findings

Ranked by midpoint impact weighted by confidence.

Free gift cost not in promotion margin

D4 · Confidence: High

$8,483–$9,375per year

What we found: 726 free gifts shipped in 92 days at $3.10 cost each.
Fix: Keep the gift only if gift orders out-earn non-gift orders; otherwise raise the gift threshold.
How it's calculated: Gift units x cost per gift, annualised.
Data used: orders_export, products_export

Products with no cost recorded

C1 · Confidence: High (fact) / Medium (size)

$4,951–$9,195per year

What we found: 2 active SKUs have no 'Cost per item': Wick Trimmer, Brass Snuffer. They carry $22,551/yr revenue that Shopify reports at 100% gross margin.
Fix: Enter landed cost per item for these SKUs; re-run Shopify profit reports.
How it's calculated: Annual revenue of SKUs with blank cost x median cost ratio of costed SKUs (31%), +/-30%. This is overstated profit, not cash lost.
Data used: products_export, orders_export

Reusable discount codes used far beyond their campaign

D1 · Confidence: Medium

$3,410–$8,524per year

What we found: FRIENDS25: 104 orders (5%), $6,435/yr discounted; WELCOME10: 218 orders (10%), $4,966/yr discounted; FALL20: 112 orders (5%), $5,647/yr discounted
Fix: Replace with unique single-use codes (Klaviyo/Shopify bulk codes); expire old codes; check coupon sites.
How it's calculated: Annual discount on reusable codes used on >=3% of orders x 20%-50% non-incremental share (assumption).
Data used: orders_export

Free-shipping orders that lose money

S1 · Confidence: High

$2,403–$2,937per year

What we found: 47 of 2200 orders (2%) shipped free and had negative contribution margin. Across all orders you paid $73,442/yr more for shipping than customers paid (the cost of the free-shipping policy); the orders above are the ones it pushed below zero.
Fix: Test raising the free-shipping threshold or excluding heavy SKUs; see break-even table.
How it's calculated: Sum of negative order contribution margin on free-shipping orders, annualised, +/-10%.
Data used: orders_export, shipping_costs, payment_transactions

Import duties paid by you, not the customer

S2 · Confidence: High

$2,152–$2,379per year

What we found: Duties paid on international (DDP) orders total $2,266/yr and appear in no product margin.
Fix: Add duties to landed cost by destination, or price international orders to recover them.
How it's calculated: Sum of 'Duties paid' in carrier/3PL invoice, annualised.
Data used: shipping_costs

Refund rate outlier: Lavender Reed Diffuser

R1 · Confidence: Medium

$2,070–$2,957per year

What we found: Refunds are 14% of this SKU's revenue against 4% store-wide.
Fix: Read refund reasons for this SKU (breakage, scent, leakage); fix packaging or listing.
How it's calculated: (SKU refunds - store refund rate x SKU revenue), annualised; lower bound 70% because export attributes refunds approximately.
Data used: orders_export

Refund rate outlier: Black Fig Candle 14oz

R1 · Confidence: Medium

$1,307–$1,867per year

What we found: Refunds are 8% of this SKU's revenue against 4% store-wide.
Fix: Read refund reasons for this SKU (breakage, scent, leakage); fix packaging or listing.
How it's calculated: (SKU refunds - store refund rate x SKU revenue), annualised; lower bound 70% because export attributes refunds approximately.
Data used: orders_export

Price inconsistency: Citrus Grove Travel Tin 4oz

X1 · Confidence: Low-Medium

$0–$647per year

What we found: Same size and similar cost as siblings, priced $2 lower.
Fix: Align price or confirm it's intentional; A/B test.
How it's calculated: Price gap x annual units x 0-50% (demand response unknown).
Data used: products_export, orders_export

Catalogue errors (no $ estimate): Citrus Grove Travel Tin 4oz: compare-at $12 is BELOW price $14; Citrus Grove Travel Tin 4oz is $2 below its siblings (646 units/yr). Fix in Shopify admin.

Assumptions

Data window 2026-06-01 to 2026-08-31 (92 days); annualised x3.97, assuming no seasonality.
D1: 20%-50% of redemptions on high-use reusable codes ASSUMED non-incremental (would have bought at full price). Verify against the merchant's own source for each code.
Refunds in the order export are not itemised; they are attributed to the highest-priced line, so SKU refund figures are approximate.

Data handling

Email, name, address and phone columns are dropped at ingest; only order IDs, SKUs and amounts are processed. Input files are deleted 30 days after delivery.