# Track true profit per order

> Researched. Small business · Intermediate · Research. Updated 2026-11-02.

Canonical page: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/track-true-profit-per-order/

## What it does
Upload your order export and your costs, and get the real profit on each order and product after product cost, shipping, platform fees and ad spend.

## Who it's for
Online sellers who know their revenue but not what they actually keep on each order.

## Tools
- Claude or ChatGPT with file upload
- Your order export (CSV)
- A list of product costs, shipping costs, fees and ad spend

## Steps
1. Export last month's orders as CSV. Remove customer names and addresses.
2. Write down your costs: product cost per item, average shipping, platform and payment fees as you are charged them, and total ad spend.
3. Upload the file and paste the costs into the prompt below. Anthropic says you can upload CSV files for analysis and have Claude create Excel files with working formulas.
4. Check two orders by hand against the result before trusting it.
5. Look at the products with the lowest profit per order first; those are your pricing or ad decisions.
6. Keep the spreadsheet it builds and drop in each month's export.

## Copy-paste prompt
Adapt bracketed fields to your situation.
```text
I uploaded last month's orders. Calculate true profit per order and per product. Use only my file and these costs:

Product cost per item: [LIST]
Shipping cost: [PER ORDER OR AVERAGE]
Platform and payment fees: [EXACTLY AS I AM CHARGED]
Ad spend for the month: [TOTAL]

1. Confirm the columns you used and how you matched products to costs.
2. Profit per order = revenue - product cost - shipping - fees - (ad spend / number of orders). Show it for 3 sample orders.
3. Table by product: orders, revenue, total profit, profit per order, sorted lowest first.
4. Build it as an Excel file with formulas I can reuse.
If a cost is missing, say so instead of guessing.
```

## Guardrails
- What it touches: Chat input you provide (Claude or ChatGPT with file upload; Your order export (CSV)).
- Needs your OK: Send, pay, publish, and account changes stay with you. Treat agent output as drafts first.
- Safety level: Read-only
- Leaving out payment fees, which makes every order look better than it is.
- Mixing up revenue with and without tax.
- Trusting totals without checking two orders by hand.

## Tips
- Spreading ad spend evenly is a simple start; split it by product later if you track that.
- Refunds and returns change the picture; add them as a column.
- Re-check fees when your platform changes its pricing.

## Estimates (labeled, not measured)
- Time saved: About 1 to 2 hours saved each month.
- Money saved: Not stated in sources.
- Tool cost: File analysis may need a paid plan. Prices: Not stated in sources.

## Sources
Summaries use the public sources below, not independent verification.
- Anthropic: https://support.claude.com/en/articles/12111783-create-and-edit-files-with-claude (Create and edit files with Claude: Excel spreadsheets with working formulas; upload CSV and other files for analysis (read 2026-11-02 from a search result excerpt of the page))

## Get the free starter pack
Five beginner copy-paste AI setups, free by email: https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/starter-pack/?utm_source=ai-agent&utm_medium=markdown&utm_campaign=setup-track-true-profit-per-order

Related:
- [Ask AI questions about your spreadsheet](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/ask-ai-questions-about-your-spreadsheet/index.md)
- [Track inventory in a spreadsheet with reorder alerts](https://www.aisetupsthatwork.com/setups/inventory-tracker-with-reorder-alerts/index.md)