Analyze if enabling Third-Party Carrier Calculated Shipping (CCS) on Shopify will save you money compared to flat-rate shipping.
What you pay FedEx/UPS/USPS per order on average.
Your current flat rate or free shipping (0).
Total shipments per month.
Usually $20/mo (or free on annual plans).
Current Monthly Shipping Loss:$0.00
Annual Leakage (Projected):$0.00
Cost to Enable CCS (Yearly):$0.00
Net Annual Savings with CCS
$0.00
Understanding Third-Party Calculated Shipping Rates on Shopify
For many Shopify merchants, shipping is a hidden profit killer. The "Third-Party Calculated Shipping Rates" feature (often referred to as CCS) allows your store to connect directly with carrier APIs (like FedEx, UPS, Canada Post, or DHL) to show real-time, accurate shipping costs to customers at checkout. This ensures you charge exactly what the carrier charges you, eliminating the guesswork of flat-rate shipping.
Why Use the CCS ROI Calculator?
This calculator is designed to solve a specific problem: Shipping Profit Leakage. If you currently use flat-rate shipping (e.g., charging $10 for everything) but your actual costs fluctuate based on weight and distance, you are likely subsidizing shipping for distant customers. This calculator helps you determine if the cost of enabling the feature (which often requires a plan upgrade or a monthly fee) is offset by the money you stop losing on undercharged shipping.
How to Enable Third-Party Calculated Rates
To use this feature on Shopify, you typically need one of the following:
Advanced Shopify Plan: Included by default in higher-tier plans.
Annual Billing: If you switch your Basic plan to annual billing, Shopify support will often enable this feature for free upon request.
Monthly Add-on: On a monthly Basic plan, you can request this feature for an additional fee (usually around $20/month).
Interpreting Your Results
Positive ROI: If the calculator shows a positive number, your current shipping subsidies (the difference between what you pay and what you charge) are higher than the cost of the CCS feature. Enabling calculated rates will directly improve your bottom line.
Negative ROI: If the result is negative, you are currently charging customers enough to cover your shipping costs (or close to it). In this case, switching to calculated rates might not save money, but it could improve conversion rates by offering cheaper options to local customers.
function calculateShippingROI() {
// 1. Get Input Values
var carrierCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('avgCarrierCost').value);
var customerPaid = parseFloat(document.getElementById('avgCustomerPaid').value);
var orders = parseFloat(document.getElementById('monthlyOrders').value);
var featureCost = parseFloat(document.getElementById('ccsFeatureCost').value);
// 2. Validate Inputs
if (isNaN(carrierCost) || isNaN(customerPaid) || isNaN(orders) || isNaN(featureCost)) {
alert("Please enter valid numbers in all fields.");
return;
}
// 3. Logic: Calculate Current Discrepancy (Leakage)
// Discrepancy per order = Cost to Merchant – Revenue from Customer
// If positive, merchant is losing money. If negative, merchant is profiting (overcharging).
var leakagePerOrder = carrierCost – customerPaid;
// 4. Calculate Monthly and Annual Totals
var monthlyLeakage = leakagePerOrder * orders;
var annualLeakage = monthlyLeakage * 12;
var annualFeatureCost = featureCost * 12;
// 5. Calculate Net Savings
// Savings = Money stopped losing (Annual Leakage) – Cost to enable feature (Annual Feature Cost)
// Note: We assume enabling CCS reduces leakage to $0 because Customer pays exactly Carrier Cost.
var netAnnualSavings = annualLeakage – annualFeatureCost;
// 6. Formatting Helper
function formatMoney(amount) {
return "$" + amount.toFixed(2).replace(/\d(?=(\d{3})+\.)/g, '$&,');
}
// 7. Update DOM
document.getElementById('currentLossDisplay').innerHTML = formatMoney(monthlyLeakage);
document.getElementById('annualLeakageDisplay').innerHTML = formatMoney(annualLeakage);
document.getElementById('ccsCostDisplay').innerHTML = formatMoney(annualFeatureCost);
var savingsDisplay = document.getElementById('netSavingsDisplay');
var verdictDisplay = document.getElementById('verdictDisplay');
savingsDisplay.innerHTML = formatMoney(netAnnualSavings);
// 8. Determine Verdict Styling and Text
document.getElementById('ccsResults').style.display = "block";
if (netAnnualSavings > 0) {
savingsDisplay.style.color = "#008060"; // Green
verdictDisplay.className = "ccs-verdict verdict-positive";
verdictDisplay.innerHTML = "RECOMMENDATION: Enable CCS.You are currently losing significantly more on shipping subsidies than the cost of the feature. By switching to Third-Party Calculated Rates, you could save approximately " + formatMoney(netAnnualSavings) + " per year.";
} else {
if (leakagePerOrder < 0) {
// Merchant is overcharging
savingsDisplay.style.color = "#d40000"; // Red
verdictDisplay.className = "ccs-verdict verdict-negative";
verdictDisplay.innerHTML = "RECOMMENDATION: Analyze Conversion.You are currently profiting from shipping (overcharging customers). Enabling calculated rates will reduce your shipping revenue. However, accurate lower rates might decrease cart abandonment.";
} else {
// Merchant is losing money, but not enough to cover the fee
savingsDisplay.style.color = "#d40000"; // Red
verdictDisplay.className = "ccs-verdict verdict-negative";
verdictDisplay.innerHTML = "RECOMMENDATION: Stick to Flat Rate (for now).While you are subsidizing shipping slightly, the cost of the Third-Party Calculated Rates feature ($" + annualFeatureCost.toFixed(0) + "/yr) is higher than your shipping losses. Consider optimizing your flat rates instead.";
}
}
}