Description
The refund is not the cost
Ask a seller what a return costs and they will name the refund. That is one line out of nine — and several of the others never appear on any report.
The outbound shipping is gone: the carrier delivered the parcel and does not refund you because the customer sent it back. The payment processing fee is usually gone too, because most providers keep it on a refunded transaction. The unit itself is rarely worth full price afterwards. And someone had to unpack it, check it and put it back.
Add those up on a thin-margin product and it takes roughly four clean sales to pay for one return. This kit works out your number.
What you get
1. A 10-sheet Excel workbook
- Start Here — how the sheets connect
- Settings — who pays return postage, whether the payment fee comes back, restocking fees
- Return Reasons — why things come back, and which reasons are avoidable
- Product Return Rates — up to 30 SKUs with their own rates
- Cost Of A Return — the full nine-line stack for one returned order
- Resale Recovery — what a returned unit is honestly worth afterwards
- Break-Even Rate — the return rate at which each product stops paying
- Policy Modeller — test free returns, a longer window or a restocking fee on paper first
- Returns Tracker — twelve months of real figures
- Dashboard — cost per return, recovery rate, and which SKUs are at risk
2. A 12-page companion guide (PDF)
What makes up the cost of a return, how to tell avoidable returns from unavoidable ones, how to value returned stock honestly, how to read a break-even return rate, and eight ways to reduce returns ordered by what they cost you to do.
3. A Notion template
Five ready-to-import databases: Return Reasons, Product Return Risk, Resale Recovery, Monthly Returns and an Action Board.
Built for
- Sellers in apparel, homeware or any category where returns are routine
- Anyone who suspects a best-seller is being eaten by its return rate
- Anyone considering free returns, or considering stopping them
- Anyone whose refunds feel higher than the reports suggest
What’s in the file
- 1 x Excel workbook (.xlsx) — formulas live and editable
- 1 x PDF guide, 12 pages
- 5 x Notion-ready CSV databases + import instructions
- Delivered as a single ZIP, available immediately after payment
Compatibility
Microsoft Excel 2016 and later, Microsoft 365, Google Sheets and LibreOffice Calc. Any currency, any country.
This is a planning tool. It does not constitute tax, accounting, legal or financial advice. Consumer return rights, restocking fees and refund obligations are set by law and vary by country — confirm yours before setting or changing a returns policy.
Frequently asked questions
Does this tell me what my returns policy should say?
No, and deliberately so. Consumer law sets minimum return rights in most countries and those override any store policy. This kit prices the policy you operate — what it says is a legal question for your own jurisdiction.
How is this different from the Profit Calculator?
The Profit Calculator assumes a sale sticks. This one works out what happens when it does not: the full cost of a return, the break-even return rate, and whether a policy change pays. They complement each other and neither repeats the other.
I don’t know my return rate per product.
Export your orders and refunds for the last 90 days and group by SKU. That window is long enough to be meaningful and short enough that you are still measuring the product page you have today.
What if my returns mostly go back into stock as new?
Then your cost per return is far lower, and the Resale Recovery sheet will show it. It asks you to split returns across five outcomes rather than assuming either total loss or total recovery.
Will this work in Google Sheets?
Yes. Upload to Google Drive and open with Google Sheets. Formulas, dropdowns and colour coding all carry over.
Can I use it for a wholesale or B2B business?
Yes. The cost structure of a return is the same; enter your own figures for postage, inspection and resale value.
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