Costs and pricing
Part of How to plan shopping feeds costs and pricing for a multichannel shop
Seven rows every shopping feeds budget template needs
Build a shopping feeds budget template around seven rows teams forget, from feed management hours to returns and VAT, with figures labelled and sources cited.
What to take away
- Most teams budget for the feed tool subscription and stop there, so their first draft misses the rows that decide whether feeds pay.
- A working template carries seven rowssoftware, feed management hours, data quality, channel fees, returns, VAT and contingency.
- Every figure stays a labelled illustrative example until you swap it for supplier quotes and invoice data.
- Keep it to one page per channelthe template is a decision tool, not an accounting document.
Why the first draft usually misses money
Teams open a spreadsheet, type the monthly cost of their feed tool and call it a budget. Comparing that row with channel revenue flatters the channel, because labour never appears. Deciding which rows belong matters more than adding columns.
Label every budget row
- Feed tool monthly cost
- Feed management hours
- Data quality and product information
- Channel and payment fees
- Returns, refunds and restocking
- VAT and tax treatment
- Contingency and crawl control
Start with the shopping feeds costs and budget guide for England, which sets out the categories this template breaks into rows, then label each row fixed, variable or one-off.
Row one: feed management software
List the monthly fee, any annual discount and per-SKU charges above a threshold. A small retailer paying £250 a month, for example, commits £3,000 a year before overage. Note the contract end date, because renewal timing changes what you can negotiate.
Feed software cost example
- £250monthly fee
- £3,000annual commitment
- Renewal timingcontract end date
Row two: feed management hours
Someone builds the feed, maps attributes, fixes disapprovals and checks channel rules. Price that time at an hourly rate even if the work sits with a salaried colleague. For example, six hours a month at £30 an hour is £2,160 a year, often more than the software line.
Row three: data quality and product information
Poor titles and descriptions cause disapprovals, and disapprovals consume the hours above. Google's guidance on the description and structured description attributes explains what those fields are for, which helps you price the work of writing them. Budget photography, copywriting or a cleanup sprint as a one-off line.
Row four: channel and payment fees
Marketplaces and ad platforms take commission or cost per click, while payment providers take a percentage plus a fixed fee. List each channel separately so an expensive one cannot hide behind an average.
If you sell by email as well, read the ICO's guidance on direct marketing using electronic mail before assuming one consent covers both, and budget the compliance work as time.
Row five: returns, refunds and restocking
A returned order costs the original shipping, the return shipping and processing time. For example, 4% returns on 500 monthly orders at £12 handling each is £240 a month. Use your own return rate for the last quarter, or label the figure an assumption.
Row six: VAT and tax treatment
VAT on fees and subscriptions is recoverable for most VAT-registered businesses, but the cash leaves your account before you reclaim it. Note the VAT status of each row so cash flow and profit forecasts agree. Consumer sales in EU countries can bring local VAT registration, which is a question for an adviser.
Row seven: contingency and crawl control
Set aside a percentage for price changes, new channel requirements and migrations. For example, 10% on a £20,000 annual feed budget is £2,000.
Technical controls belong here too. A mistaken block can remove a feed or catalogue page from search, so keep the robots.txt specification to hand when developers change server rules. Once the rows are filled, test the spend using the shopping feeds return on investment in England method rather than one revenue figure.
Glossary
- Fixed cost
- a charge that stays the same whatever the order volume.
- Variable cost
- a charge that rises with orders, clicks or SKUs.
- One-off cost
- setup, migration or cleanup work that should not repeat.
- Contingency
- a buffer for changes you cannot yet name.
Common questions
How many rows should a shopping feeds budget template have?
Seven covers most multichannel shops: software, management hours, data quality, channel fees, returns, VAT and contingency. Add a row only when a channel introduces a charge the seven do not cover.
Should I include staff time if nobody is paid extra?
Yes. Feed work is time not spent elsewhere, and pricing it shows whether the channel is profitable. Use a realistic internal rate and label it an estimate.
How often should the template be updated?
Review it quarterly and after any channel rule change. Replace illustrative figures with invoice data once you have a full quarter of it.
What if I sell in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland?
VAT and most trading rules apply across the UK, but delivery and labelling requirements can differ. Keep a separate note in the template for each market you ship to.
