Choose what Shopify's cost per item contains, and write it back
Shopify's reports use the cost per item on each variant. Cogsy lets you decide what goes into that number, writes it for one variant or thousands, and records any change made on the Shopify side.
Updated
Costs come in
Shopify
Cost per item, prices, SKUs and bundle parts, synced in the background and updated as they change
CSV import
Costs by SKU, with a source and a start date
By hand
A cost for a variant, a product or the whole shop
Cogsy keeps the record
The cost ledger
- Every cost is a dated row with a source
- The newest row counts, or the source you choose
- Your cost kinds are added on top
- Bundles are summed from their parts
What you get
Cost per item in Shopify
The unit cost plus the kinds you include, written when you run it
Total cost and margin
For every variant, with every cost counted
Flags
No cost, low margin, negative margin
One number, your choice of contents
For every kind of cost there is a setting: “Include in the cost written to Shopify”. The unit cost is always included.
| Cost | Amount | Included |
|---|---|---|
| Unit cost | $21.40 | Always |
| Packaging | $1.20 | Yes |
| Pick and pack | $2.85 | No |
| Payment processing | $1.97 | No |
| Written to Shopify | $22.60 | |
| Total cost in Cogsy | $27.42 |
Shopify’s margin and profit figures then run on $22.60, and you still see the full $27.42 in Cogsy.
Reading from Shopify
A sync reads every variant with its price, SKU, bundle components and the cost per item Shopify holds. It runs in the background, and the app’s home page shows its progress. Between syncs, Shopify notifies Cogsy when a product or a cost changes, so a cost typed into the Shopify admin appears in Cogsy without waiting for the next sync. Three rules keep the two sides straight:
- A cost in Shopify that is new to Cogsy is added to the variant’s history as coming from Shopify.
- A cost that is simply the number Cogsy last wrote is recognised as its own and is not recorded again.
- A cost that has been cleared in Shopify is ignored. An empty field never ends a cost.
Writing to Shopify
On the Costs page, select variants and write their costs, or apply a filter and write everything that matches, up to 1,000 variants at a time. Nothing is written until you run it. Cogsy reports how many were written and how many were skipped for having no unit cost, and shows any error Shopify returned.
Before you write, each variant’s page shows two figures side by side: “Cost per item now” and “Would be written”.
What it does not touch
Prices, inventory, orders and every other product field are left alone. Cogsy does not edit the cost recorded on orders you have already taken.
Questions
- What exactly does Cogsy write to Shopify?
- One number per variant, to its cost per item. It is the unit cost plus the cost kinds you have marked as part of Shopify's cost. Nothing else in Shopify is changed.
- Does Cogsy write costs automatically?
- No. You select variants on the Costs page, or everything matching a filter, and write them. Each variant's page shows the cost Shopify holds now beside the cost that would be written.
- What if someone edits a cost in the Shopify admin?
- Cogsy records it within moments, in the variant's history, with the source "shopify". It is kept beside your other sources and nothing you entered is replaced.
- What happens to variants with no cost?
- They are skipped. Cogsy never writes a zero for a missing cost, and a cost that was cleared in Shopify never removes one you recorded.
- How large a catalog can it sync?
- There is no fixed limit. A sync runs in the background and continues where it left off on a large catalog, so you can leave the page while it works. A single write to Shopify covers up to 1,000 variants.
Related
Guide
How to bulk update cost per item in ShopifyThree ways to update cost per item for many Shopify variants at once: the bulk editor, a product CSV import, or an app. Steps and pitfalls for each.
Feature
Costs on top of the unit costPackaging, fulfilment or duties per unit, or fees as a percentage of the price, for a variant, a product or the whole shop.
Glossary
Cost per itemCost per item is the field where Shopify stores what a variant costs you. What Shopify means by it, what uses it, and what the single field cannot hold.
Guide
Cost per item in Shopify: what it is and what depends on itWhat Shopify's cost per item field holds, how to set it, which reports use it, who can see it, and the four things one static field cannot do.