Self-assessment · 10 questions · ~3 minutes

The Margin Leak Self-Assessment

Ten questions about the numbers your business runs on. Answer honestly — if you can't answer a question, that is the answer, and there's an option for it. Your score lands in one of three bands, each with concrete next steps.

The scorer needs JavaScript. Without it you can still read the questions below — and if most of them are hard to answer, you already know your band.

Contribution marginCan you say what any single order contributed after product, shipping, fees, and ad cost?
Yes — per order, in a system, updated at least weeklyRoughly — a blended average in a spreadsheetNo — we track revenue and check the bank balance
Shipping economicsDo you know the gap between what customers pay you for shipping and what carriers actually bill you — including surcharges?
Yes — carrier invoices are reconciled against ordersWe check rates occasionally, but surcharges slip throughNo idea — shipping is a flat cost of doing business
ReturnsWhen an order is returned, does its full cost — outbound shipping, return label, restock labor, refund fees — show up anywhere?
Yes — returns are costed per order and per SKUWe track the refund amount, not the full costReturns just vanish into the P&L
Fee visibilityCould you list what you paid last month in payment processing, platform, and app fees — as separate numbers?
Yes — fees are itemized and reviewed monthlyI could reconstruct it in an afternoonThey come out of payouts before I ever see them
Discount stackingDo you know how often discounts stack (code + auto-discount + free shipping) and what stacked orders actually earn?
Yes — stacking is blocked or measured per orderWe suspect it happens but haven't measured itNever looked
Ad biddingWhat number does your ad platform bid against?
Profit — margin-adjusted conversion values feed the bidderRevenue — standard ROAS targetsWhatever the default was when the account was set upWe don't run paid ads
SKU economicsCan you rank your SKUs by contribution margin — not by revenue?
Yes — and the ranking changes what we promoteWe know our best sellers; margin per SKU is fuzzyNo — revenue rank is the only rank we have
Subscription marginIf you run subscriptions: do you know margin per cycle after discounts, churn credits, and failed-payment costs? (No subscriptions? Answer for repeat orders.)
Yes — cohort-level margin per cycle or repeat purchaseWe track subscriber or repeat-buyer counts and revenue, not marginNo visibility past the top-line numberNo subscriptions or meaningful repeat business
Reporting cadenceHow often does a profit number — not a revenue number — reach you without someone building it by hand?
Daily or weekly, automaticallyMonthly-ish, assembled manuallyAt tax time
Data silosShopify, ad platforms, carrier invoices, your bank: do those systems ever meet in one place?
Yes — joined in a warehouse or pipeline we ownPartially — a dashboard tool covers some of itFour browser tabs and a feeling

The Margin Leak Self-Assessment

You run one of the rare instrumented brands.

You're flying partially blind — the most common pattern in the industry data above.

You're flying blind on margin — and you're not alone.

Want the steps for your band?