Track supplier price increases in Shopify before they cut your margin
Shopify keeps one Cost per item per variant, so a supplier's price rise shows up nowhere unless you compare deliveries yourself. Record the price of every delivery with its supplier and date, compare each new price with the last one, and recalculate the margin at your new average cost. Example: a product sold at $25.00 cost $10.00 (60% margin). The supplier raises the price 12% to $11.20; with 50 older units in stock and 100 new ones, the average becomes $10.80 and the margin 56.8%. Selling at $27.00 brings it back to 60%.
Why rises go unnoticed
- Cost per item is a single value and stays fixed when you receive stock, so a higher price on a new purchase order does not reach your profit reports until someone types it in.
- When it is typed in, the old price is gone from the product. Nothing records that the supplier changed it, when, or by how much.
- A rise of a few percent on one supplier is easy to miss across hundreds of variants, and the margin falls a little on every sale.
Three checks that catch them
- Before you order: compare each purchase order line with the last price you paid that supplier for the same variant.
- When it arrives: record the delivery's price with its date and supplier, and update the average cost.
- After the cost moves: recalculate the margin at the new average, and decide on the selling price.
A worked example
| Units | Cost per unit | Margin at $25.00 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Before the rise | 50 on hand | $10.00 | 60.0% |
| New delivery after a 12% rise | 100 | $11.20 | 55.2% |
| Average after the delivery | 150 | $10.80 | 56.8% |
Margin = (price − cost) ÷ price. At the new average, ($25.00 − $10.80) ÷ $25.00 = 56.8%. Once the older units have sold, the cost settles at $11.20 and the margin at 55.2%.
The price that restores your margin
Selling price = cost ÷ (1 − target margin)
$10.80 ÷ (1 − 0.60) = $27.00 margin ($27.00 − $10.80) ÷ $27.00 = 60.0%Use your average cost, not the new supplier price alone, while older units are still in stock; use the profit margin calculator to try prices.
Doing it in True COGS
- Check open purchase orders against your last price (every plan): a line priced above what you last paid is shown before the stock lands.
- Supplier prices (under Costs): what you paid each supplier then and now, from your own receipts, with each rise flagged. On paid plans, Restore this margin sets the selling price that brings the margin back, when you press it.
- Waiting: a price far from what you paid before shows both, so a typing error or a surprise rise is caught before it is recorded.
- Emails (paid plans): a nightly purchase order email can flag any new order priced above what you last paid, and the selling-below-cost email reports products whose price is now under their cost.
Related guides
Questions merchants ask
How do I track supplier price increases in Shopify?
Record each delivery's price with its supplier and date, and compare each new purchase order line with the last price paid. Shopify's single Cost per item field does not keep earlier prices.
How much does a supplier price rise cut my margin?
Recalculate the margin at your new average cost: (price − cost) ÷ price. A rise from $10.00 to $11.20 on a $25.00 product moves the margin from 60.0% to 56.8% while older stock remains, and to 55.2% after.
What selling price restores my margin?
Divide the cost by one minus the target margin. $10.80 ÷ (1 − 0.60) = $27.00 restores a 60% margin.
Should I reprice on the new supplier price or on my average cost?
On your average cost while older, cheaper units are still in stock; the average reaches the new price as those units sell.
Can I see price rises before the stock arrives?
Yes, if you compare the purchase order with your last price. True COGS checks open purchase orders against your last price on every plan.
Which app shows which supplier raised what?
True COGS's Supplier prices page shows what you paid each supplier then and now from your own receipts, with each rise flagged.
Try True COGS free. True COGS is an inventory costing app for Shopify by Nexus Logic Systems. It records the price you paid on every delivery (a received purchase order or a transfer), with its share of freight and duty on paid plans, keeps every price with its date, and writes your moving weighted average cost, or FIFO cost on a paid plan, to Shopify's Cost per item. It is free for up to 25 variants with a cost on record; paid plans start at $29 a month or $290 a year.
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