Calculator

True cost per order calculator

True cost per order is a month's total fulfillment and shipping cost divided by the orders you shipped that month.

Add every 3PL charge, all postage and late carrier adjustments, subtract related credits, then divide by orders shipped.

Warehouse fees ($)

Every 3PL charge other than postage

Postage ($)

With surcharges, on any account. Labels are postage.

Late carrier adjustments ($)

For this month's parcels

Credits ($)

Only credits that reverse a charge in the figure

Orders shipped (DTC)

Orders that left the warehouse that month

Illustrative numberswith rates that are not benchmarks

True cost per order

$12.37

($7,081 + $17,450 postage + $320 − $120) ÷ 2,000 = $24,731 ÷ 2,000 = $12.37

True cost per order = (warehouse fees + postage + carrier adjustments − credits) ÷ orders shipped

($7,081 + $17,000 postage + $450 return labels + $320 − $120) ÷ 2,000 = $24,731 ÷ 2,000 = $12.37

Units shipped

Quote's per-order fee ($)

Provisional figure, when the month's invoices are in

$24,531 ÷ 2,000 = $12.27

Finalized after next month's invoices bring in late adjustments and credits

$24,731 ÷ 2,000 = $12.37

A $1.75 order fee becomes $3.54 of warehouse fees per order, $12.04 with postage and $12.37 once return labels and late items are counted.

Item	Where it's billed	Amount	Running total	Per order
Warehouse fees	The month's own invoices	$7,081	$7,081	$3.54
Postage	The month's own invoices	$17,000	$24,081	$12.04
Return labels	The month's own invoices	$450	$24,531	$12.27
Carrier adjustments for this month's parcels	Next month's invoices	$320	$24,851	$12.43
Credits for this month's charges	Next month's invoices	−$120	$24,731	$12.37

Divide each group by orders shipped, as well as the total.
Group	Lines	Amount	Per order
Variable per order	Order fee (includes first unit) $3,500, Additional units $480, Packaging (at cost) $1,100, Inserts $300, Postage $17,000, Carrier adjustments on this month's parcels $320, Credit for packaging overbilled this month −$120	$22,580	$11.29
Recurring	Pallet storage $800, Bin storage $300, Account fee $250	$1,350	$0.68
Inbound	Receiving $96	$96	$0.05
Returns	Returns $210, Return labels $450	$660	$0.33
One-time and projects	Special projects $45	$45	$0.02
Conditional		$0	$0.00
Total		$24,731	$12.37

If 5 wholesale orders on the same invoice ($1,150 of B2B order fees, case picks and LTL freight, or $230 per order) were mixed in, the figure would be ($24,731 + $1,150) ÷ 2,005 = $12.91, which is $0.54 too high for DTC and far too low for wholesale.

Work out a provisional figure when the month's invoices are in. Finalize it when the next month's invoices arrive, moving adjustments and credits for this month's orders back into it. Anything later goes into the month it arrives, labeled as a prior-month item.

Warehouse fees

Warehouse fees means every 3PL charge other than postage: receiving, storage, pick and pack, packaging, inserts, returns processing, account and technology fees, special projects and other accessorial charges for work outside the standard flow, and any monthly minimum shortfall (the true-up line billed when eligible fees fall below the floor).

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Spread evenly over (months)

Report separately, or spread evenly over the contract's initial term. Either works if done the same way every month.

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Rate ($)

Amount ($)

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Postage, with surcharges

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Rate ($)

Amount ($)

Cost groupVariable per order

Where it's billed

Return labels

Labels are postage; group them with postage or returns, consistently.

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Rate ($)

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Carrier adjustments for this month's parcels

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Rate ($)

Amount ($)

Cost groupVariable per order

Where it's billed

Credits for this month's charges

Subtract only credits that reverse a charge in the figure: a reimbursement for lost or damaged inventory offsets your inventory cost, and a goodwill credit or a credit for a missed service-level agreement (SLA) that reverses no charge stays out of the figure. A credit belongs to the month of the charge it reverses, shown by the invoice and line it references.

If a credit cuts qualifying charges in a month you're under a creditable minimum, the shortfall rises by the same amount, so the credit is worth nothing: don't move it back, and ask for credits to be applied after the shortfall is calculated.

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Quantity

Rate ($)

Amount ($)

Cost group

Group of the charge corrected

Where it's billed

Wholesale orders on the same invoice

Keep wholesale and other B2B orders, inventory transfers and their freight in a separate calculation.

Wholesale orders

B2B order fees, case picks and LTL freight ($)

Leave out inbound freight and duties, software you pay for yourself and internal staff.

Divide by orders shipped, not orders placed, which include cancelled and unshipped orders. Count customer orders, not packages: an order shipped in two boxes is one order, and both boxes' costs go in the numerator.

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Read the full explanation: True cost per order: how to calculate it from your 3PL invoices.

Published by Implentio. Next review Jan 4, 2027.