There are so many areas in Triple Whale that utilize your Expenses metrics to provide you with accurate data.
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One of the most important is Net Profit. Triple Whale calculates your Net Profit as Sales - Blended Ad Spend - Expenses - Refunds/Returns. So getting your Expenses input properly affects your ability to calculate your profit margins within the app.

In this article, we will break down the different expenses you should set up within Triple Whale to build your store the dashboard of your dreams. 💫

Cost of Goods (or: COGs) refers to the amount it costs you, the store owner, to create or purchase this product from your manufacturers. If Shopify already has your COGs, then those will be imported into Triple Whale automatically when you create your account.
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You can view the Cost of Goods value breakdown by clicking into the COGS Tile on the Summary Page. In this breakdown, you will see the Sales COGS, the Returned COGS and the Net COGS value from the given date selected! Returned COGS are reflected on the day of the refunded order, with the COGS amount remaining the same as when the order was placed​.

Example:
- January 1: A $200 order with $20 COGS
- January 2: A $100 refund for 1 product with $10 COGS

COGS for Scenarios:
- January 1: COGS = $20
- January 2: COGS = -$10
- January 1 and January 2: COGS = $10

If you would like to adjust the Product Costs or Handling Fees in Triple Whale for historical data in Triple Whale, you can update the costs within the Cost Settings, under the Product Costs column. Here is a walk through on how these changes can be applied:

See details here.

Your Payment Gateway costs are what you pay your payment processors each time a customer purchases from your store. Typically, this is a flat fee plus a percentage of the order cost. You can input the correct values here.

Your Custom Expenses can be any expenses that your company has that you'd like to see deducted from your Net Profit on the Summary page.

These custom expenses can include anything.
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Some examples include:

There are two ways you can create a custom expense in Triple Whale: either as a Fixed Expense or as a Variable Expense. Let's break it down, shall we?

A Fixed Expense would be a consistent dollar amount spent on a one-time or consistent basis. For example:

A Variable Expense would be a percentage-based amount spent on a one-time or consistent basis. For example:

To set up a Custom Expense of either kind, simply click Add Fixed Expense or Add Variable Expense, and input the Title and Cost of the expense. Select the Start Date of the expense.

If the Cost should be divided out over the course of the month, click Recurring and then don't select an End Date.

If the Cost should be divided out over a specific frame of time, click Recurring and then DO select an End Date.

If you'd like this custom expense to be calculated into part of your Blended Ad Spend (on the Summary page) and thereby play a role in your Blended ROAS, check the Ad Spend box.

For more on Fixed and Variable Expenses, head to this article: Custom Expenses in Triple Whale 🐳