Articles on: Settings

COGS Restocked Explained

COGS Restocked is the product cost that comes back to you when a refunded item is returned to your inventory. Because you still have the item and can resell it, its cost no longer counts as a loss, so Profitario can add it back to your profit. This article explains what the setting does, how the restock decision is made in Shopify, where the amount appears in your reports, and how to turn it on.

What COGS Restocked Means

When you sell a product, its cost of goods sold (COGS) is deducted from your profit. When a customer returns that product and it goes back on your shelf, you have not actually lost that cost: the item is yours again and can be sold to someone else.

COGS Restocked is Profitario's way of accounting for this. When the setting is on, the cost of returned-to-stock items is added back to your Gross Profit, so your reports reflect inventory you can still sell rather than treating every refund as a total write-off.

Two points matter:

It only affects the cost side. The refunded money is always subtracted from your profit in full. That is not configurable.
It only applies to items that actually came back. A refund where the product is not returned (damaged, lost, or a goodwill credit) keeps its full cost.

COGS stands for cost of goods sold: what you paid for the products you sell, before any other expenses.

Where the Restock Decision Is Made (in Shopify)

Profitario does not guess whether an item came back. The decision is made by you or your staff inside Shopify, at the moment you issue the refund. When you create a refund in Shopify, each line item has a restock option:

Shopify choice	What it means	Counts as restocked?
Return	The item was physically returned and is back in your stock.	Yes
Cancel	The order was cancelled before fulfillment, so stock is freed.	Yes
No restock	The item was not returned (damaged, lost, or goodwill).	No

When you check the restock box on a line in Shopify's refund screen, that line is marked Return (or Cancel for unfulfilled orders). Leaving it unchecked marks the line No restock.

In the example above, the Restock item box is ticked, so this item is returned to inventory and its cost can be recovered. Leaving it unticked would mark the item No restock, and its cost would stay deducted.

Profitario reads this choice for every refunded line. Even with the setting on, only items marked Return or Cancel have their cost recovered. Items marked No restock always keep their full cost.

Where It Shows Up in the Breakdown

When the setting is on and at least one refunded item was restocked, a COGS Restocked line appears in your profit breakdown. It sits just under the COGS line, slightly indented, shown as an addition (a positive amount) because it gives cost back to your profit.

In the example above, COGS Restocked shows +$603 indented under the Cost of Goods Sold line. That $603 of recovered cost reduces your effective COGS and lifts Gross Profit by the same amount.

If the setting is off, or if no restocked items fall in the selected date range, the line does not appear.

Its impact on COGS. The COGS Restocked amount is subtracted from your COGS, which raises your Gross Profit by the same amount. Only the portion that was returned is recovered:

If you refund and restock an entire order, the full product cost of those items comes back.
If you refund and restock only some units, only the cost of those units comes back. A refund of 1 unit out of 4 recovers one quarter of that line's cost.
If the refund is marked No restock, nothing is recovered.

Example. You sold an item that cost you $20. The customer returns it and you mark it as restocked in Shopify.

Setting off: The $20 stays in COGS. The return looks like a full loss of that cost.
Setting on: A $20 COGS Restocked line appears, your COGS drops by $20, and your Gross Profit rises by $20. The refunded sale amount is still subtracted in full either way.

Where to Change It

The setting lives on the Profit Rules tab of a shop's settings. Open Settings for the shop and select Profit Rules.

Find the refund row in the grid (labeled Partial refund / Refunded). Directly beneath it is a sub-row labeled Deduct returned COGS in the COGS column. Tick the checkbox to turn COGS recovery on, or untick it to turn it off, then click Save.

State	What happens
Checked	Cost of restocked (Return / Cancel) items is added back to Gross Profit.
Unchecked	Cost of all refunded items stays deducted. This is the default.

The checkbox is only available when COGS is included for the Refunded status. If COGS is excluded from the Refunded group, the option is greyed out, because there is no COGS in that scenario to give back.

This setting only changes how your existing data is displayed. Nothing is re-imported from Shopify, so you can switch it on or off freely and your reports update immediately.

Which to Pick

Your situation	Recommended
You resell returned inventory	Checked (recover restocked cost)
You rarely resell returns, or most refunds are no-restock	Unchecked (keep cost deducted, the conservative view)
You accept returns but also write off damaged stock freely	Checked (no-restock items are still treated as a loss)

Common Questions

Q: Does this give back the refunded money too?
No. The refunded amount is always subtracted from profit in full. This setting only recovers the product cost of items that came back to your inventory.

Q: I turned it on but I see no COGS Restocked line. Why?
The line only appears when at least one refund in the selected date range was marked Return or Cancel in Shopify, and COGS is included for the Refunded status. If all your refunds were No restock, there is nothing to recover.

Q: Can I set this differently for each shop?
Yes. Every shop has its own Profit Rules. In a multi-shop dashboard view, each shop applies its own setting before the results are combined.

Q: Do I have to re-sync anything after changing it?
No. It only changes how existing data is displayed. Toggle it as often as you like.