Why Do My Numbers Differ from Shopify?
Profitario and Shopify rarely show identical totals — and that is expected. The two tools answer different questions: Shopify reports your sales, while Profitario reports your profit. They also date orders and refunds differently and let you decide which orders to count. This guide explains where the differences come from and how to line the two up.
At a glance
The most common reasons your totals differ, and where to adjust each:
Reason | What it changes | Where to adjust |
|---|---|---|
Time zone | Which calendar day an order or refund falls on | Your store's time zone |
Refund dating | Whether a refund counts on the refund day or the original order day | [[refund-settings-guide]] |
Order status | Which statuses (pending, authorized, refunded, voided) count toward your numbers | [[status-group-settings]] |
Prefilters | Orders excluded by sales channel, tags, or zero value | [[prefilters-guide]] |
Tax / VAT | Tax is removed from revenue to show what you keep | [[tax-vat-settings]] |
Profit vs. sales | Costs, fees, and ad spend are subtracted from profit figures | [[how-dashboard-numbers-calculated]] |
Each reason is explained below.
It usually comes down to timing
The single most common reason the numbers do not match is when each tool counts an order or a refund. The same money can land on a different day in each system, so a given day or month may differ even when your lifetime totals agree.
Which day an order lands on
Profitario assigns every order to a date using your store's time zone. If a Shopify report uses a different time zone, an order placed late at night can fall on a different calendar day in each tool. This mainly affects single-day comparisons; across a full month it usually evens out.
Which day a refund counts
Shopify always records a refund on the day it is processed. Profitario lets you choose:
Refund dating | When the refund counts | Matches Shopify? |
|---|---|---|
Refund date | The day the refund is issued | Yes |
Original order date | The day the original order was placed | No, but lifetime totals still agree |
With original-order dating, a refund issued this month can reduce a past month's revenue. Neither month will match Shopify exactly, yet your all-time totals will. See [[refund-settings-guide]].
Which day a cancelled order counts
Cancelled (voided) orders are excluded by default. If you include them, you can date them on either the cancellation day or the original order day — another point where a daily total can differ from Shopify.
Which orders are counted
Profitario lets you control which orders appear in your reports. Shopify may include orders you have chosen to leave out, which lowers your Profitario totals by comparison.
Control | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
Order status | Choose which financial statuses count toward your numbers | Pending and authorized orders count toward revenue; their shipping, handling, and fee costs apply once fulfilled |
Prefilters | Permanently exclude orders by sales channel (e.g. point-of-sale or draft), order tags, customer tags, or zero value | No orders excluded |
Cancelled orders | Include or exclude voided orders | Excluded |
See [[status-group-settings]] and [[prefilters-guide]].
Sales vs. profit — the biggest gap
Profitario is built to show what you actually keep. Its headline figures already account for product costs, shipping, fees, ad spend, and tax. Shopify's "total sales" is a top-line number that subtracts none of these. When you compare, line up like with like:
To match Shopify's… | Use Profitario's… | Not… |
|---|---|---|
Total (gross) sales | Revenue | Gross or Net Profit |
Comparing Shopify's sales total against Profitario's Net Profit is the most frequent source of confusion — Net Profit has already had your costs removed. See [[how-dashboard-numbers-calculated]].
Tax and VAT
Profitario removes tax from revenue so the figure reflects money your store keeps, not tax collected on behalf of the government. How that looks depends on your store type:
Store type | How tax is handled | Effect vs. Shopify sales |
|---|---|---|
Tax-inclusive (EU / VAT) | VAT is stripped out of the displayed price | Revenue is lower than a tax-inclusive sales figure |
Tax-exclusive (US) | Tax added at checkout is removed | Revenue excludes pass-through tax |
See [[tax-vat-settings]].
Refunds and returned stock
A refund reduces revenue by its non-tax amount. By default, the product cost of a returned item stays counted as a cost — the conservative choice. If you resell returned inventory, you can choose to recover the cost of restocked items instead. Shopify does not offer this distinction. See [[refund-settings-guide]].
Currency
If your store sells in more than one currency, Profitario converts each order into your reporting currency so everything can be compared in one place. The exchange rate used can differ slightly from how Shopify displays an individual order, which can create small differences.
How to line them up
When a total does not match, work through these checks in order. The first three resolve most differences.
# | Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
1 | Use the same date range and time zone | Late-night orders can fall on different days |
2 | Compare Shopify's total sales to Profitario's Revenue | Net Profit already subtracts your costs |
3 | Confirm your refund-dating setting | Original-order dating shifts refunds between periods |
4 | Review your status and prefilter settings | Excluded orders lower your Profitario totals |
5 | Allow a few minutes for syncing | New orders appear after a short delay |
To track down a single, specific discrepancy step by step, see [[data-discrepancies-shopify]].
Common Questions
Profitario shows lower revenue than Shopify — is something broken? Usually not. The most common causes are tax being removed from revenue, orders excluded by your status or prefilter settings, or refunds dated on the original order. Work through the checks above.
My totals match over a long period but not day to day. That is expected. Time zone and refund dating shift amounts between days, but they net out over time.
Which Shopify number should equal Profitario's Revenue? Shopify's total (gross) sales for the same date range and time zone — not Net Profit, which already has your costs removed.
Updated on: 02/06/2026
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