overstates profitability
Platform dashboards are designed to show the platform's own contribution favorably. The brand's P&L requires a different calculation.
Advertising ROAS calculated on gross revenue
A 4x ROAS on a product with a 30% gross margin, a 15% FBA fee, and a 5% return rate produces a negative contribution margin. The 4x ROAS figure is not the relevant number. The contribution margin after all costs is the number that determines whether the campaign is profitable.
P&L built from platform revenue reports without fee reconciliation
Amazon's settlement reports include dozens of fee types: FBA pick-and-pack fees, referral fees, storage fees, removal fees, and reimbursements. A P&L built from gross Amazon sales revenue without reconciling these fees against the settlement data will overstate profitability by the amount of the unreconciled fees.
No channel-level margin view
A brand selling on Amazon, Shopify, and wholesale has three different margin structures. Amazon carries referral fees and FBA costs. Shopify carries payment processing and fulfillment costs. Wholesale carries discount structure and freight. Without a channel-level P&L, it is impossible to know which channel is most profitable at the margin and where incremental investment produces the best return.
for the complete P&L picture.
Each layer adds a dimension of accuracy to the profitability calculation. Together they produce the number that reflects what the business actually earns.
Multi-Touch Ad Attribution
Advertising spend from Amazon, Google, and Meta attributed to actual revenue using platform attribution windows, Amazon Attribution links, and a last-meaningful-touch model. Attribution discrepancies between platforms reconciled. The attribution model determines how ad spend is allocated in the P&L.
Fee Reconciliation
Every Amazon fee type pulled from settlement reports and reconciled against the fee schedule: referral fees by category, FBA pick-and-pack by size tier, storage charges by cubic foot, and removal order fees. The reconciliation identifies discrepancies between expected and actual fees.
COGS Integration
Cost of goods sold by SKU integrated into the P&L model. Landed cost per unit — including manufacturing, freight, and duty — applied to units sold in each settlement period. Gross margin calculated from actual COGS, not from an assumed margin percentage.
Channel-Level Contribution Margin
Contribution margin calculated separately for each channel after all channel-specific costs: Amazon fees, Shopify payment processing, FBA fulfillment versus 3PL fulfillment, and advertising spend by channel. The channel comparison shows where the brand earns its margin.
COGS second. P&L third.
The P&L is only as accurate as the data that goes into it. We build the data foundation before building the report.
Data Foundation Build
Amazon settlement reports pulled and reconciled for the prior twelve months. COGS data by SKU collected from the client's cost records. Advertising spend data pulled from all active platforms. The data foundation is audited for gaps and inconsistencies before the P&L model is built.
P&L Model Build
Contribution margin P&L built by channel, by SKU, and by time period. Attribution model configured. Fee reconciliation applied. The model is validated against the client's financial records for the prior quarter before full deployment.
Monthly Delivery
Monthly P&L report delivered within five business days of month-end settlement. ARIA generates the report automatically from live platform data after the initial model build. Variance analysis versus prior month and versus plan included.
what the business actually earns.
Every line in the P&L is traceable to its source data. No estimates where actuals are available.
All Amazon fees reconciled against settlement reports with discrepancy identification.
Contribution margin by SKU and channel after COGS, fees, advertising, and returns.
Advertising spend attributed to revenue across all active channels.
Contribution margin comparison across Amazon, Shopify, and wholesale.
Automated monthly delivery within five business days of settlement.
Settlement data processed by ARIA's remittance reconciliation module monthly.
Data Analytics & AI includes additional services that compound on this one.
Know what you actually
earn, not what the platform reports
We work through referrals. If you have been referred, send us a message and we will run a fee reconciliation on your most recent settlement and show you the gap between platform ROAS and actual margin.