№02 · Bot Profile · Merchandising / E-commerce
Margin Checker: Money on Every Item
Find the SKUs quietly losing you money.
Paid once. Checkout by Polar, our merchant of record, which works out any sales tax or VAT.
In these sets: Solo Founder Starter, $15 · All-Access, $49
Or included in membership.
- Format
- Bot Profile
- Made for
- Solo founders, small brands
- Difficulty
- Beginner to intermediate
- Time to value
- ~20–30 min
Times are estimates until a platform test run confirms them.
CompatibleChatGPT · Claude · Gemini · Grok
AdaptedAny model: paste the table as text, no file upload
Overview
- The problem
- “Sales look fine but there’s no money left. I don’t know which products actually make a profit after shipping, returns and ads.”
- What you get
- A per-SKU contribution table with a red/amber/green flag on each item and 3 test ideas for each red SKU (price, discount, bundle, costs, ads, or dropping it), with every step of the math shown.
- What’s included
- Bot profile instructions
- CSV input template + column guide
- Margin formula sheet
- Editable red/amber/green lines
- Input sanity checklist
- Results review checklist
- Spreadsheet calculator (.xlsx, formulas + color flags)
- 3 starter prompts (+ full prompt set)
- Platform setup notes (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok Bot, any chat tool)
- Ready-made skill (SKILL.md folder + zip)
- PDF guide
- Illustrative example
- What you’ll need
- Per SKU: list price, average discount per unit, landed cost, outbound shipping, fee %, return rate %, cost per return, ad spend per unit. Optional: units sold in the period
How it runs
7 steps- Fill in the template
- Upload or paste it
- Bot checks inputs and lists missing/odd values
- You confirm or fix the inputsYour call
- Bot calculates and flags each SKU
- You decide which ideas to testYour call
- Re-run after changes
Your call marks a step where you review and decide. Nothing moves on without you.
Estimated time: ~20–30 min once the data is gathered.
Starter prompts
- Check my margins using this sheet
- Why is SKU {sku} red? Show the math
- Give me 3 test options for my red items
Fill in the parts in braces. The full prompt set is in the kit.
Sample output
MP-CARD-OAT: net price $148.00 − landed $52.00 − shipping $9.00 − fees (3.4%) $5.03 − returns (22% × $14) $3.08 − ads $41.00 = contribution $37.89 (25.6%), AMBER (starter lines). MP-VEST-PINE: −$4.45 (−4.7%), RED. Test idea: a 10% average discount plus $18 ads/unit would give $24.95 (23.5%).
Produced by a manual walk-through of the prompt, not a platform test. It will be replaced with real output after a test run.
Platforms
| AI tool | Label | Setup note |
|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Compatible | Project + data analysis |
| Claude | Compatible | Project or skill, code execution for CSVs |
| Gemini | Compatible | Skill, attach the sheet in chat |
| GrokRuns as a Grok Bot (beta) | Compatible | No limits noted |
| Any modelAny capable chat model | Adapted | Paste the table as text, no file upload |
We ran it ourselves on this tool. Shows the date and model of the run.
No piece carries this yet. Tested means we have run it ourselves. We update the label as each piece is tested.
Built to run on this tool. Not yet confirmed by our own test run.
Works with a limit we name.
Tools required
Chat model with file/data analysis (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok Bot spreadsheet reading not yet confirmed) or paste-as-text in any chat tool. A spreadsheet app for the calculator. Your store export. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and any-chat-tool setups work on free tiers. Grok Bot needs a SuperGrok or Cursor plan (beta).
House standards for this piece
All our standards- Human review gate
- You confirm the inputs before any math, and you decide every change.
- Data grounding
- Your own numbers only. Missing values are marked [MISSING] and nothing is guessed.
- No invented results
- Options are test ideas, not predictions. No made-up benchmarks or competitor prices.
- AI disclosure
- Internal decision support. Not financial advice.
- IP & bias
- Uses only your own numbers. No competitor prices or invented benchmarks.
- Privacy
- SKU-level numbers only. Remove customer names, emails and addresses before you upload.
- Approval boundary
- Never edits store prices, discounts, ad budgets, inventory or listings.
Questions people ask
Do I need to be good with spreadsheets?
No. If you can type numbers into a table, you can do this. The column guide tells you where each number lives in your store and shipping reports.
Which AI tool should I use?
Whichever you already use. ChatGPT (Project), Claude (Project or skill), Gemini (skill) and Grok Bot are marked compatible. Any other chat tool is adapted (you paste the table as text). They should work, but we haven’t completed verified test runs yet. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and the any-chat-tool route work on free plans. Grok Bot needs a SuperGrok or Cursor plan.
Can I trust the bot’s math?
Check it. AI tools can slip on arithmetic, which is why the bot shows every step and why margin-calculator.xlsx is included. Spot-check at least one SKU each time. If they disagree, trust the spreadsheet.
Are 15% and 30% the “right” lines?
Not necessarily. They’re round starter numbers, not industry benchmarks. Your right line depends on your fixed costs and goals. The thresholds page shows a simple way to choose yours.
Is this the same as profit?
No. Contribution is what each sale leaves to cover fixed costs like rent, software and your own pay. It’s the first thing to get right, but it isn’t your profit or your tax position.
Will it tell me what price to charge?
It shows what the math would be at a different price. It can’t predict how customers will respond, so test ideas are ideas to try, carefully, not instructions.
Is this financial advice?
No. For tax, VAT, duty or accounting questions, please talk to a qualified accountant.