Unit economics of marketplaces: a system for tracking profit per product

Why a seller doesn't see real profit

You bought a batch of goods, listed them on Wildberries or Ozon, and sales are coming in. In your seller dashboard you see revenue — looks decent. But when it comes time to withdraw money, the amount turns out to be noticeably smaller. Where did the difference go? Marketplace commission, logistics, storage, acquiring, fines, advertising, taxes — all of this is scattered across different reports and doesn't add up into a single picture for each product.

The result is a typical situation: a seller buys a new SKU based on "approximate" margin, and a month later discovers that the product is selling at break-even or at a loss. The reason isn't demand — it's that unit economics were never calculated. Without a system for tracking profit per SKU, decisions about purchasing, pricing, and advertising are made blindly.

The problem is compounded by the fact that marketplaces provide data in different formats and with delays. The sales report, the logistics report, ad campaign statistics, tax breakdowns — all of this needs to be consolidated into a single table where, for each SKU, you can see: how much you earned, how much you spent, and what's left. That's exactly the task a well-built unit economics system solves.

What exactly can be automated

Marketplace unit economics isn't a single number — it's a set of interconnected calculations. Here's what can realistically be automated in a spreadsheet:

• Order loading and normalization. An export from your WB/Ozon dashboard goes into an order log, where each row is a sale with a date, SKU, price, discount, and delivery region.
• Marketplace commission calculation. Commission depends on the category and changes over time. In the system, it's pulled from a category reference table and recalculated automatically for each order.
• Logistics and storage. Logistics rates depend on dimensions and warehouse. In the spreadsheet, they're calculated by formulas, not manually.
• Product cost. Purchasing, delivery to the warehouse, packaging, defects — all of this forms the cost, which is updated as new batches arrive.
• Advertising. Promotion expenses are allocated by SKU so you can see which product is "eating" the budget and which one pays off.
• Taxes. Simplified tax system, patent, or general tax system — the rate and base are calculated automatically depending on your tax regime.
• Returns and non-purchases. They reduce revenue and increase logistics costs — this also needs to be included in the calculation.

All together, this gives what most sellers lack: profit tracking for wb ozon per product in real time, not based on quarterly results.

The solution step by step — how it works

A unit economics system is built on several connected sheets. Let's break down the logic.

Step 1. Order log

This is the foundation. Each row is an order or order line: date, number, SKU, sale price, discount, region, status (purchased, returned, not purchased). Data is loaded from marketplace reports or entered manually if volumes are small. The cost at the time of sale is also recorded here — this is important because purchase prices change.

Step 2. Reference tables

Separate sheets with commissions by category, logistics and storage rates, tax rates, and a list of ad campaigns. Reference tables are updated when the marketplace changes its terms, and all calculations are recalculated automatically.

Step 3. Unit economics calculation

On this sheet, the full picture is assembled for each SKU: revenue minus commission, logistics, storage, cost, advertising, taxes. The result is margin in rubles and percentages, as well as the break-even point. If a product sells below cost including all expenses, you see it immediately.

Step 4. Dashboard

A summary by category, brand, and period. Here you can see which products are pulling the business up and which are dragging it down. The dashboard answers the questions: where has margin dropped, which SKU needs a price review, which ad campaigns are paying off.

Step 5. "What if" scenarios

You can change the price, commission, and ad rate and see how this affects margin. This helps you make decisions before changes are made on the marketplace.

If you don't want to build everything from scratch, there are ready-made solutions. For example, the system for tracking orders, cost, and taxes in Google Sheets/Excel — it's a multi-sheet spreadsheet with pre-configured formulas for WB and Ozon. For a deeper dive into finances and cost, the ready-made Google Sheets system for Wildberries and Ozon is a good fit, as it accounts for returns, commissions, logistics, and advertising. And if you need a focus on scenarios and a dashboard, check out the spreadsheet system for tracking orders and profit with formulas and "what if" scenarios.

What the business gets

When unit economics are calculated per product, the very approach to management changes:

• Real margin is visible. You stop focusing on revenue and look at net profit after all expenses.
• Purchasing decisions become justified. A new SKU is added to the spreadsheet with a forecast, and you see in advance whether it will pay off.
• Pricing stops being intuitive. You know the minimum price below which a product goes into the red, and you can manage discounts consciously.
• Advertising is allocated where it works. You can see which campaigns generate orders with positive margin and which ones simply burn budget.
• Taxes and seller finances stop being a surprise. You see the tax burden in advance and plan your cash flow.

In most cases, sellers who implement this kind of tracking discover that part of their assortment sells at a loss. It's unpleasant, but it's a growth point: you can raise the price, review logistics, or drop the unprofitable product.

Where to start

1. Gather data for the last month. Order export, logistics report, ad statistics, purchase list.

2. Define the spreadsheet structure. At minimum: order log, reference tables, unit economics calculation, dashboard.

3. Fill in the reference tables. Commissions by category, rates, taxes — this is the basis for calculations.

4. Test on one or two SKUs. Make sure the formulas produce correct results and compare with the marketplace report.

5. Scale to the entire assortment. Once the logic works, add the remaining products and set up regular data updates.

If you don't have time to build it, you can take a ready-made system and adapt it to your categories. The main thing is to start calculating profit per product, not on average.

Conclusion

Marketplace unit economics isn't a report for the tax office — it's a working tool for the seller. Without it, you manage your business by feel; with it, you manage by numbers. A tracking system where you can see revenue, expenses, and margin for each SKU helps you make decisions faster and more accurately.

Take a look at all Business solutions — there are ready-made spreadsheets for WB and Ozon that you can implement without a programmer. Choose the right one and start calculating real profit this month.