> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.adpage.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.adpage.io/optimize-your-setup/profit-on-ad-spend/cost-items.md).

# Cost Items

Shipping, payment and other per-order costs, subtracted from your margin so profit\_value is what you actually keep.

`cost_of_goods` covers what the products cost you. Everything else an order costs — the parcel, the payment provider, the packaging — is a **cost item**.

Switch cost items on and three parameters start filling: `shipping_cost`, `payment_cost` and `other_cost`. Leave them off and all three are zero, which is why `profit_value` would equal `gross_profit`.

{% hint style="info" %}
This page quotes the dashboard in English. Using it in Dutch? See the [Dutch glossary](/optimize-your-setup/profit-on-ad-spend/dutch-glossary.md) for every label.
{% endhint %}

## Where to find it

Cost items, the purchase-price feed and the on/off switch all live on one screen in the AdPage dashboard: **Profit on Adspend**.

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Open your container

Log in at [data.adpage.io](https://data.adpage.io) and open the container you want to set up.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Go to Profit on Adspend

Open the container **Settings** and pick **Profit on Adspend** in the menu (*Feed, cost items and mode*). Click **Open Profit on Adspend**.

The screen lives at `https://data.adpage.io/containers/<your container id>/profit-on-adspend`, so you can also bookmark it.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Make sure the mode is Advanced

At the top, under **Mode**, choose **Advanced**. Cost items are only available in Advanced: in Standard mode the screen shows *Cost items are not available in this mode* and the margin stays at revenue minus purchase price.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Fill in the cost items

Scroll to the **Cost items** block, switch on **Subtract cost items**, fill in the blocks below and click **Save cost items**.
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

{% hint style="info" %}
**Looking for the purchase price per product?** That is not a cost item. The purchase price (`cost_of_goods`) comes from your shop or a feed, and is managed there:

| Your cost source | Where you change the purchase price                                                                                                                 |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Shopify          | In Shopify: product → variant → **Cost per item**                                                                                                   |
| Magento          | In Magento: product → Advanced Pricing → **Cost**                                                                                                   |
| XML feed         | In the tool that generates your feed. The feed URL and column names are set on the same **Profit on Adspend** screen, in the **Product feed** block |

See Choose your cost source for the details.
{% endhint %}

## The three blocks

| Block                 | What belongs in it                                                                |
| --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Shipping costs**    | What the carrier charges you. Fulfilment belongs here too — it is the same parcel |
| **Payment costs**     | What your payment provider charges per transaction                                |
| **Other order costs** | A free list: packaging, returns handling, a marketplace fee                       |

Each block is either **Flat + percentage**, or **Per method** (a table per method).

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Do not enter the same cost twice.** Fulfilment in *Shipping costs* and a € 5 "Fulfilment" line under *Other order costs* both get subtracted, and your margin is € 5 per order too low. Nothing errors — the number is simply wrong. The total at the bottom of the block is the only place this shows up, so check it.
{% endhint %}

## A table per method

A flat amount is an average, and an average is wrong on every individual order. If PostNL costs you € 4 and DHL € 8, a table charges each order what it really cost.

The method is looked up in one of two fields, depending on the block:

| Field             | Filled from                                                               |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `shipping_method` | Shopify's shipping line title, or `shipping_lines[].title` in the webhook |
| `payment_type`    | Shopify's payment gateway, or `payment_gateway_names` in the webhook      |

Using GA4's `shipping_tier` in your dataLayer? Then you are already covered: the AdPage variable sends `shipping_tier` as the shipping method when it is present, so a table on `shipping_method` matches your tiers.

## Get the spelling right

The method on the order is matched against your table as an exact string. `Mollie - iDEAL` typed by hand next to the real `mollie - ideal` silently gives you the fallback rate rather than the one you entered — no warning, just a different number.

So do not type them. With Shopify connected, the editor reads the methods your shop actually used over the last 30 days and lists them under **Found in Shopify**. Click those. Without Shopify, the same list comes from your own order webhooks (**Found in webhooks**).

A method missing from the list simply has not occurred recently; add it by hand and copy the spelling from an order.

## The fallback

Every table has a **Fallback**, used for a method that is not in it. Leave it at 0 and an unknown method costs you nothing in the calculation — which flatters the margin. A realistic average is the safer setting.

## Product without a cost price

Below the cost items you choose what happens to a product that is not in your feed or catalogue: **Count as free** (the order counts as full profit for that product) or **Estimate with a gross margin**. Count as free is only right when your cost source is complete.

## Per order, not per parcel

All of this is charged **per order**. An order that ships in two parcels is still one order, so it is charged one shipping cost. No source tells us the number of parcels, so a per-parcel rate is not expressible; if that difference matters to you, raise the flat amount to your real average per order.

## What it changes

```
gross_profit = revenue excluding VAT − cost_of_goods
profit_value = gross_profit − shipping_cost − payment_cost − other_cost
```

Both the Profit dashboard and the purchase event use the same settings, so the two agree. To see the result on a real order, use **Check on a real order** at the bottom of the Profit on Adspend screen and click **Check an order**.

See The variables for what each parameter contains, and Troubleshooting when a cost comes out as zero.


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