Composerie shows you a margin in two places, and both of them are larger than the money you actually keep. Neither is lying. They each subtract what they can see, and neither can see the whole bill. This guide gives you the full subtraction and a worksheet to run it once on a real order, which is faster and more honest than modelling it.
The two numbers you already see
The Margin pill on a variant row is price minus cost, for that variant. See pricing and inventory.
The Margin line on an order is the order total minus the recorded provider cost. That total includes tax and shipping, so on a sale with high VAT the figure looks generous.
Read both as “what is left after the biggest single cost”, not as profit.
The subtraction that is
Run it once, on a real order
Modelling a price is slower and less convincing than reading one sale you have already made. Take an order that has been produced and shipped, and fill in five numbers.
- What the shopper paid. The Total on the order. Note the tax separately if you are VAT-registered and reclaim it, because that part was never yours.
- Shopify’s processing fee. From Shopify’s own payout reporting for that order.
- The Composerie usage fee for the item. Your approved usage terms give the rate; Settings, then Billing shows the period’s billable count. See usage fees explained.
- Production and shipping. The Provider cost on the order is the recorded figure. The authoritative one is on your provider’s invoice, in their billing currency. See what your print provider charges you.
- AI spend, if the design used it. The connected provider’s card in Integrations shows the month’s spend and how many generations produced it, so you can work out what one design cost. See what AI generation costs.
Subtract two through five from one. That is the item.
Then price the range, not the item
One order tells you what a product actually costs to sell. Turn it into a price with three decisions.
Decide what shipping does. Free shipping is a discount you are funding out of the same margin. If the provider’s shipping is a meaningful share of the cost, either charge for it or price it in; do not do neither.
Decide the floor. Set the price at which the item is not worth selling, and check the thin variants against it. A large size that costs more to produce but sells at the same price is the usual place a range goes negative.
Leave room for the month. Your plan is a fixed monthly cost. Divide it across the volume you actually expect, not the volume you hope for, and add that to the floor.
Common questions
Why does the order Margin look better than my own figure?
It subtracts the recorded provider cost from the order total, and that total includes tax and shipping. It does not subtract Shopify's processing, the Composerie usage fee, or AI spend.
The provider cost on the order is in a different currency.
Composerie records the provider's invoiced amount in the provider's own billing currency and does not convert it. Convert before you subtract.
Should I price personalization separately?
You can. A priced add-on carries its own cost and sale price, and its margin is recorded per item. See charging extra for personalization.
What does a self-print item cost me?
There is no provider charge, so the subtraction is your own materials, labour and postage, plus Shopify's processing and the Composerie usage fee.
Do I have to redo this when a provider raises prices?
The cost on the variant is the figure you typed, so a provider price change does not update it for you. Re-check it whenever a provider publishes a new catalogue.
Next
Read charging extra for personalization to price the personalization itself, or where the money goes on one order for who bills you and when.