When to Use a Custom Product Additional Costs Import
Conjura Retail Analytics automatically retrieves Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) data from your integrated eCommerce and ERP systems. However, many businesses incur additional costs beyond basic COGS that are essential for accurate contribution margin calculations.
Product Additional Costs allows you to import supplementary costs that sit on top of your existing COGS data, whether pulled from Shopify, your ERP/OMS (like Brightpearl, Linnworks, or Cin7), or manually imported via Product Costs.
Why Import Product Additional Costs?
Many ERP and eCommerce systems don't capture the full spectrum of costs associated with fulfilling orders. Product Additional Costs ensures you have a complete picture of your true cost structure by accounting for expenses such as:
Pick & Pack fees
Fulfillment center costs
Import duties and tariffs
Freight and shipping costs to your warehouse
Storage and warehousing fees
Quality control and inspection costs
Packaging materials
Third-party logistics (3PL) fees
Without these additional costs, your contribution margin calculations may be overstated, leading to inaccurate profitability analysis and poor business decisions.
How Product Additional Costs Work
Product Additional Costs are additive to your existing COGS data:
If you have COGS from Shopify → Additional Costs are added on top
If you have COGS from ERP/OMS (Brightpearl, Linnworks, Cin7) → Additional Costs are added on top
If you have manually imported Product Costs → Additional Costs are added on top
There are two ways to specify additional costs:
Cost Amount — a fixed cost per unit (e.g. $2.50 per unit for pick & pack)
Percentage of COGS — a percentage of the product's existing COGS (e.g. 0.10 for 10%)
Both can be provided on the same row, in which case they are added together.
Example:
Base COGS from Shopify: $10.00
Pick & Pack cost (fixed): $2.50
Import duties (10% of COGS): $1.00
Total Cost for margin calculation: $13.50
Costs added in a different currency from the order are automatically converted using daily exchange rates.
How to Use a Custom Product Additional Costs Import
There are two methods for adding product additional costs: via CSV upload or by manual entry into the app.
For large uploads, the CSV method is typically faster. Here's how to do it:
CSV Upload Method
Navigate to the Custom Data Import tab under 'Connectors' on the left-hand side navigation bar.
Select 'Product Additional Costs'.
Click on 'Download CSV Template File'.
Fill out the spreadsheet offline with the following details:
Start Date (optional, yyyy-mm-dd): When these additional costs should start applying. If left blank, costs apply from the earliest available date.
End Date (optional, yyyy-mm-dd): When these additional costs should stop applying. If left blank, costs apply indefinitely.
Product Key (pre-populated): Internal product identifier
Product SKU (pre-populated): Your product SKU
Product Name (pre-populated): Product name for reference
Channel: Select a specific channel or 'All Channels' to apply the cost across
all channels. If a specific channel cost exists alongside an 'All Channels' cost for the same product, the specific channel cost takes priority.
Country: Select a specific country or 'All Countries' to apply the cost across all markets where the product has orders. If a specific country cost exists alongside an 'All Countries' cost for the same product, the specific country cost takes priority.
Label: Descriptive name for the cost type (e.g., "Pick & Pack", "Import Duties", "3PL Fees"). Multiple label costs for the same product are summed together.
Currency: Currency for the cost amount. Costs are automatically converted to the order's currency if they differ.
Cost Amount: The additional cost value per unit as a fixed amount.
Percentage of COGS Cost: The additional cost as a percentage of COGS, in decimal format (e.g. 0.10 for 10%). This is multiplied by the product's existing COGS value.
Repeat for all desired SKUs and cost types, then save the file.
Navigate back to the Product Additional Costs import in Retail Analytics.
Before uploading your file, delete all existing rows in the table. You can see an example by hovering over "How to do it."
Either drag and drop your file or click 'Upload File'
Click 'Continue' to ensure all columns are correctly mapped.
Select 'Submit Data'.
Your data will sync overnight and appear in your reports with updated contribution margins.
Manual Entry Method
Alternatively, you can manually input data directly into the app:
Navigate to the Custom Data Import tab under 'Connectors'.
Select 'Product Additional Costs'.
Follow the on-screen prompts for manual data entry.
Select 'Submit Data'.
Your data will sync overnight and appear in your reports.
Managing Your Product Additional Costs
Updating Costs
To update existing additional costs, simply upload a new file or manually enter new data. The system will replace costs for the specified time periods and SKUs. Multiple uploads will all be used, however for the same dimensions (SKU/time periods/channel/country/label, etc) we will use the most recently uploaded costs.
Removing Costs
To remove additional costs, locate the file under 'My Imported Data' in the Custom Data Import tab and select the delete button.
Troubleshooting
If invalid entries are appearing, double-check that you removed all existing rows prior to uploading your new file.
Verify that SKUs match exactly with those in your connected systems
Check that currency codes are valid (USD, GBP, EUR, etc.)
Best Practices
Use descriptive labels for different cost types. Currently these will be grouped together as a single cost in the dashboards.
Set appropriate date ranges if costs change over time (e.g., seasonal freight rates)
Review contribution margins after import to ensure calculations look accurate
Keep costs up-to-date as your fulfillment costs change
Use country-specific costs if you have different cost structures by market
Use channel-specific costs if costs vary by sales channel
Impact on Reporting
Once imported, Product Additional Costs will be automatically included in:
Contribution Margin calculations
Product Contribution Margin
SKU-level financial performance metrics
This ensures you have the most accurate view of your true product profitability and can make informed decisions about pricing, product mix, and operational efficiency.