Tool 02 · live

Break-even ROAS

The number most brands get wrong. They divide by gross margin, get 1.5, and scale straight into a loss.

Gross margin isn't what pays for ads. Shipping, pick and pack, payment fees and returns all come out first. What's left is contribution margin — and that is the only number your break-even ROAS can be built on.

Your per-order economics

Averages are fine. Everything updates as you type, and nothing leaves your browser.

$

After discounts — what actually lands in your account.

$

Landed cost: manufacturing, packaging, duty, inbound freight.

$

Your net cost per order after whatever the customer paid toward it.

% + $

Card processing plus any platform transaction fee.

%

Refunded revenue you lose but still paid the costs on.

%

Profit left after ads. Set 0 to see pure break-even.

What you actually need

break-even ROAS

Contribution margin
Contribution per order
Break-even cost per order
Gross margin (the misleading one)

To hit 15% net margin

Target ROAS
Max cost per order

Check where you are now

This is first-order economics. If a real share of customers buy again, your blended margin is higher and you can afford a lower ROAS on acquisition — but only once you can prove the repeat rate. Don't spend against a repeat rate you're hoping for.

The number is one thing. Moving it is another.

Margin, offer, and cost per order are three of the things I go through when I tear a brand down. Three a week, free, published in public.

You're in. Next one lands this week.

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