How to work out the real profit of a COD store in Pakistan
Booked sales, delivered sales and profit are three different numbers. Here is the sum, step by step, with one example month in rupees — and the two figures to watch every month.
Alevate Books · 20 Oct 2026 · 4 min read
Your real profit is what is left after the goods, the couriers, the returns, the ads and the running costs — measured on what was delivered, not on what was booked. In the example month below, a store that booked Rs 37,80,000 kept Rs 2,26,600: Rs 8 from every Rs 100 delivered.
Three numbers that look like profit, and are not
Booked sales are what your store dashboard shows: every order placed, at its price. On cash on delivery, some of those orders are refused at the door and come back. They were never sales.
Delivered sales are the orders customers accepted and paid for. This is your real revenue.
Gross profit is delivered sales minus the cost of the goods you sold. It leaves out couriers, returns, ads, salaries and rent — so it is always bigger than what you keep.
The sum, step by step
Here is one example month for an online brand. Change the figures to yours as you read.
- Booked sales. 1,200 orders at an average of Rs 3,150 = Rs 37,80,000.
- Delivered sales. 75% were delivered: 900 orders = Rs 28,35,000. The other 300 came back.
- Goods. The products cost 44% of the price of what was delivered: Rs 12,47,400. Returned goods go back on the shelf, so they cost no product.
- Couriers and returns. Every parcel sent pays the courier charge, delivered or not: 1,200 × Rs 180 = Rs 2,16,000. Every returned parcel also pays to come back: 300 × Rs 150 = Rs 45,000. Together, Rs 2,61,000.
- Ads. Meta, TikTok and the rest, in rupees: Rs 4,30,000.
- Salaries, rent and bills. Everything else the month cost: Rs 6,70,000.
- What you kept. Rs 28,35,000 − 12,47,400 − 2,61,000 − 4,30,000 − 6,70,000 = Rs 2,26,600.
The same month, as shares of every Rs 100 delivered:
| Where it went | From every Rs 100 delivered |
|---|---|
| Goods | Rs 44 |
| Couriers and returns | Rs 9 |
| Ads | Rs 15 |
| Salaries, rent and bills | Rs 24 |
| Kept | Rs 8 |
The two figures to watch every month
Kept per Rs 100 booked. Against the Rs 37,80,000 the dashboard showed, the store kept Rs 6 from every Rs 100. That gap between booked and kept is the money COD hides.
Your delivery rate. In this example the month makes a loss if fewer than 65.1% of parcels are delivered. Every extra 1% delivered adds about Rs 23,000 to the month's profit, because those orders were already paid for in ads and courier charges.
You can run this sum on your own figures with the free COD profit calculator. Nothing you type leaves your phone.
What the same idea looks like in real books
A calculator is a rough guide. Real books show each line as it happened: what each channel sold, what each courier charged, what came back, what the ads cost. Here is a demo store's month in Alevate Books.
In Alevate Books these lines fill in from your orders, courier settlements, returns and ad spend as the month goes. The software prepares the entries; a person on your team approves each one before it reaches the books.
Frequently asked questions
Should I count my profit on booked orders or delivered orders?
On delivered orders. An order that is refused at the door earns nothing, so counting it as a sale makes the month look better than it was.
Why does a returned parcel cost money if the goods come back?
Because you paid the courier to send it and paid again to bring it back, and the ad spend that won the order is gone. The goods return to stock; those costs do not.
Is gross profit the same as profit?
No. Gross profit only takes away the cost of the goods. Couriers, returns, ads, salaries and rent all come after it.
How often should I work this out?
Every month at least. Watch the delivery rate and the ad spend every week, because those two move fastest.