Landed cost in Shopify: why Cost per item doesn't update, and how to work it out

What Shopify does and doesn't do

Shopify purchase orders let you add shipping, fees or duties as adjustments on the order. But the variant's Cost per item doesn't change when you receive, and for "weighted-average costing or automatic landed cost allocation, such as duty, freight, or tax," Shopify's guide points you to a third-party app. It also says line costs and adjustments on a purchase order "don't replace supplier-specific cost defaults." (Source: Shopify Help Center: Migrating from Stocky to Shopify inventory management, checked November 12, 2026.)

Worked example

One purchase order: 100 mugs at $4, 50 bowls at $12, 20 platters at $30. Goods total $1,600. Freight and duty come to $240.

By value: each line carries the extra cost in proportion to what it cost. $240 is 15% of $1,600, so every unit goes up 15%. By quantity: $240 spread over 170 units is about $1.41 a unit, whatever the unit is worth.

Which is right? By value suits duty and insurance, which are charged on value. By quantity suits freight when the items are similar in size. In this example, splitting by quantity would put more than a third on the price of a $4 mug, and you'd likely price it wrong.

Doing it in a spreadsheet

1. List each line: quantity and unit cost. Multiply for the line total.
2. By value: each line's share = line total ÷ order total × extra costs. By quantity: share = line quantity ÷ total units × extra costs.
3. Landed unit cost = unit cost + share ÷ quantity.
4. Type the landed cost into the variant's Cost per item yourself; Shopify won't. If you already hold stock bought at a different price, the honest figure is a weighted average of old and new.

How Sutler handles it

When you receive a purchase order in Sutler, freight, duty and fees are split across the lines by value or by quantity (set once in Settings), and the landed cost goes into each product's weighted average cost and cost history. When the invoice arrives, Sutler matches it against the order and what you received, and flags price and quantity differences.

Quick answers

Does Shopify calculate landed cost?

No. Shopify's help center says each variant has a single static Cost per item that stays fixed when you receive a purchase order, and points to third-party apps for landed cost allocation of duty, freight or tax.

How do you calculate landed cost per unit?

Add each line's share of freight, duty and fees to its unit cost. Split by value, a line's share is its total divided by the order total, times the extra costs. Divide the share by the line quantity and add it to the unit cost.

Should I split freight by value or by quantity?

By value suits duty and insurance, which are charged on value. By quantity suits freight when items are similar in size. Splitting by quantity can load a cheap item with a large share of the cost.

Check your Stocky export first: two minutes, nothing uploads.

The free Stocky Export Checker reads your Stocky CSV files in your browser and tells you what is inside them: purchase orders, products, suppliers named on your orders, open orders still to arrive, and what is missing. It also builds a list of the suppliers you'll need to re-enter, because Stocky can't export them.

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What Sutler doesn't do

What Sutler does and doesn't do: Sutler suggests what to reorder from your sales, lead times and minimums, with the math shown, but makes no promise about forecast accuracy, and it does not do transfers between locations. What it does is the purchasing desk: purchase orders, receiving, labels, stocktakes and landed cost, and it imports your Stocky export into working purchase orders.