Product costs (also called Cost of Goods Sold or COGS) are the most important numbers in Setpilot. They define CM1 — the profit your products carry before any other costs — and every number downstream depends on them.
How Setpilot sources your costs
Source | Priority | Notes |
Shopify unit cost | 1 (highest) | If you set Cost per item in Shopify, Setpilot imports it automatically. |
Setpilot manual override | 2 | Any cost you edit in the Products page overrides the Shopify value. |
Shop default margin | 3 (fallback) | If no cost is set anywhere, Setpilot uses your default gross margin % to estimate COGS. |
Editing costs in the Products page
Go to Products in the navigation.
Find the variant you want to edit — use search or filters.
Click into the Unit cost column and type the new value.
Set the Effective from date if this cost change applies from a specific date. If you leave it blank, the new cost applies from today forward.
Press Enter or Tab to save.
Bulk editing
For large catalogues, use the spreadsheet-style bulk edit:
Select variants using the checkboxes, then click Bulk edit.
Paste from Excel or Google Sheets — Setpilot supports clipboard paste into the cost column.
CSV import — upload a CSV with SKU and cost columns for very large updates.
Time-windowed costs
A cost entry is always tied to a date range. When you edit a cost with an Effective from date:
The previous cost is closed on the day before.
The new cost applies from that date forward.
Orders placed in each window use the cost that was effective at the time.
This keeps your historical CM1 accurate even as supplier costs change.
What counts as a product cost?
Product costs should include everything that scales per unit sold:
Raw material or wholesale cost of the product itself.
Packaging — boxes, bags, inserts, labels, tissue paper.
Per-unit 3PL fees — pick/pack charges your fulfilment partner bills per item.
Import duties and customs if they scale per unit.
Do not include shipping to the customer — that belongs under Order Processing. Do not include marketing — that is its own category.
Products with no cost set
If a product has no cost in Shopify, no manual override, and no default margin fallback, its orders will show CM1 = Net Revenue (implying 100% gross margin — almost certainly wrong). The Products page highlights missing costs so you can fix them.