Contribution Margin Metrics | Upstack Documentation

Data Source: Shopify
Metrics: 24

Level	Name	Formula
CM1	Gross Margin	Revenue - COGS
CM2	After Fulfillment	CM1 - Fulfillment Costs - Transaction Costs
CM3	Contribution Margin	CM2 - Marketing Cost - Agency Fees
CM4	Operating Profit	CM3 - Opex

Level

Name

Formula

CM1

Gross Margin

Revenue - COGS

CM2

After Fulfillment

CM1 - Fulfillment Costs - Transaction Costs

CM3

Contribution Margin

CM2 - Marketing Cost - Agency Fees

CM4

Operating Profit

CM3 - Opex

Metrics in This Group

CM Per Order

Metric	Description	When to Use
CM1 Per Order	Gross margin per order	Benchmark product profitability
CM2 Per Order	Post-fulfillment margin per order	Include variable costs
CM3 Per Order	Contribution margin per order	Include marketing costs
CM4 Per Order	Operating profit per order	Full cost allocation

New Customer CM Per Order

Metric	Description	When to Use
New Customer CM1 Per Order	NC gross margin per order	New customer profitability
New Customer CM2 Per Order	NC post-fulfillment margin	Include new customer variable costs
New Customer CM3 Per Order	NC contribution margin	Acquisition profitability
New Customer CM4 Per Order	NC operating profit	Full new customer economics

Cost Components

Metric	Description	When to Use
Total Cost	All costs combined (COGS + fulfillment + transaction + marketing + fees + opex)	Measure complete cost structure
New Customer Total Cost	All costs for first-time buyer orders	Measure acquisition cost structure
Marketing Cost	User-defined marketing costs	Track marketing spend allocation
Marketing Cost Per Order	Average marketing cost per order	Measure per-order marketing efficiency
Agency Fees	User-defined agency fees	Track agency spend allocation
Opex	Operating expenses	Track overhead allocation

How These Metrics Relate

Contribution margins build progressively:

CM1 (Gross Margin) = Revenue - COGS

CM2 (After Fulfillment) = CM1 - Fulfillment - Transaction Costs

CM3 (Contribution Margin) = CM2 - Marketing - Agency Fees

CM4 (Operating Profit) = CM3 - Opex

Each level shows profitability after deducting the next set of costs.

Choosing the Right Metric

Product profitability: Use CM1 to evaluate products before variable costs

Order economics: Use CM2 to see profit after all variable costs

Marketing efficiency: Use CM3 to measure contribution after marketing

Business profitability: Use CM4 for bottom-line order profitability

Customer acquisition: Compare New Customer CM metrics to justify CAC

METRICS

Contribution Margin: Track CM1-CM4 Per Order

Contribution Margin Levels

Metrics in This Group

CM Per Order

New Customer CM Per Order

Cost Components

How These Metrics Relate

Choosing the Right Metric

​Contribution Margin Levels

​Metrics in This Group

​CM Per Order

​New Customer CM Per Order

​Cost Components

​How These Metrics Relate

​Choosing the Right Metric

Contribution Margin Levels

Metrics in This Group

CM Per Order

New Customer CM Per Order

Cost Components

How These Metrics Relate

Choosing the Right Metric