Forgetting marketplace fees
Commissions, logistics and storage often take 25–40% of the price.
Financial model template
E-commerce financial model template
In e-commerce the profit hides between fees, ads and returns. The template counts orders and the average order value, deducts cost of goods, marketplace and payment fees, ad spend as a share of revenue and fulfillment, and shows what is left per order.
The model answers
- How much you earn on one order after all fees
- What ad spend share the margin can carry
- How much stock you need to finance growth
What is inside the template
Each line is a block with plain fields. Change the numbers, delete blocks or add new ones.
- Orders × average order value with monthly growth
- Cost of goods as a share of the price
- Marketplace and payment fees as a share of revenue
- Advertising as a share of revenue
- Warehouse and fulfillment
- Taxes on revenue or profit
Numbers to watch
- Contribution per order
- Price minus cost of goods, fees, delivery and ads. If it is negative, growth only deepens the loss.
- Ad spend share
- Ads above 20–30% of revenue need a high margin to pay off.
- Returns
- Clothing and shoes can have a third of orders returned.
- Inventory financing
- Fast growth needs stock bought in advance.
Common mistakes in this kind of model
Average order value without returns
Returned orders cost delivery both ways.
Growth without cash
Scaling ads needs more stock up front. Check the cash chart before increasing the budget.
AI assistant
Check the template against your market
Tell the assistant your city and format. It looks up prices, rent and salaries online, compares them with the template and proposes changes as cards with the effect on profit and cash. You decide what to apply.
Questions
How do I model a marketplace store?
Put the marketplace commission and logistics as a percentage of revenue, and ads as a separate percentage. The model shows profit after all deductions.
Can I see unit economics per order?
Yes. The Analytics screen breaks revenue down into cost of goods, fees, ads and profit.
Related reading
Unit economics in plain words
Unit economics explained with examples: contribution margin per order, customer acquisition cost (CAC), lifetime value (LTV), LTV/CAC and CAC payback for e-commerce and SaaS.
Profit vs cash flow: what is the difference
Why profit and cash flow differ: depreciation, loans, inventory, payment terms, taxes and owner payouts. With examples and how to read both reports together.
Similar templates
Open the online store template now
The demo works without sign-up. To save your model, start the free trial.