Total sales breakdown
How Total Sales Are Calculated
The Formula
Total Sales is the amount your customers paid (or owe) for their orders, after accounting for returns and refunds. It is calculated as:
Total Sales = Gross Sales - Discounts - Returns + Shipping Charges + Return Fees + Taxes
Here is what each component means:
Component | Description |
|---|---|
Gross Sales | The original price of all line items, before any discounts or taxes |
- Discounts | The total value of all discount codes and automatic discounts applied |
- Returns | The net value of returned items (refunded line items minus order adjustments) |
= Net Sales | Gross Sales - Discounts - Returns |
+ Shipping Charges | What the customer paid for shipping, minus any refunded shipping |
+ Return Fees | Restocking fees and return shipping fees charged to the customer |
+ Taxes | All taxes collected, minus taxes refunded |
= Total Sales | Net Sales + Shipping Charges + Return Fees + Taxes |
Order date
The following are always attributed to the order date (the date the order was placed):
- Gross Sales
- Discounts
- Shipping charges (before refunds)
- Taxes (before refunds)
This includes items added to an order after it was originally placed (order edits).
Even if an item is added days later, the revenue counts on the original order date.
Refund date
The following are attributed to the refund date (the date the refund was processed):
- Returns (refunded line items and refunds independent of line items)
- Refunded shipping
- Refunded taxes
- Return fees (restocking fees, return shipping fees)
- Restocked COGS
This means that if a customer places an order on January 1st and returns an item on February 15th, the original sale shows up on January 1st and the return shows up on February 15th.
Example
A customer places an order on March 1st with a $20.00 discount code:
Item | Net Price | Taxes |
|---|---|---|
T-Shirt | $80.00 | $10.00 |
Socks | $50.00 | $6.25 |
Shipping | $5.00 | — |
On March 10th, the customer returns the T-Shirt. They receive a $80.00 refund (the item price minus the $10.00 discount allocated to it) and the $10.00 tax on that item is refunded. A $5.00 restocking fee is charged.
March 1st (order date):
Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Gross Sales | $80.00 + $50.00 | $130.00 |
Discounts | discount code | -$20.00 |
Net Sales |
| $110.00 |
Shipping Charges |
| $5.00 |
Taxes | $10.00 + $6.25 | $16.25 |
Total Sales |
| $131.25 |
March 10th (refund date):
Component | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
Returns | T-Shirt net after discount | -$70.00 |
Refunded Taxes | tax on T-Shirt | -$10.00 |
Return Fees | restocking fee | +$5.00 |
Impact on Total Sales |
| -$75.00 |
Total sales result across both dates: $131.25 - $75.00 = $56.25
That breaks down as:
- Socks ($50.00)
- remaining discount savings kept (-$10.00 already deducted above)
- Shipping ($5.00)
- remaining taxes ($6.25)
- restocking fee ($5.00)
- = $56.25.
Updated on: 17/03/2026