Blog · Alternatives and comparisons
Compare Shopify analytics apps by the reporting questions they need to answer. Test revenue, refunds and contribution against a checked set of order and cost exports before choosing a workflow.
Shopify analytics apps should be chosen for a reporting job you can describe and verify. Start with the gap in your current reporting, then test candidates against the same order, refund and cost records. A useful result explains both the total and the records behind it.
Store performance, custom recurring reports and a margin review from supplied files are different jobs. The first asks what happened in the store. The second asks how a team should receive a consistent view. The third asks whether sales still look attractive after returns and specified costs.
Shopify's analytics page describes prebuilt commerce reports, report customization and dashboards. Establish what that reporting already answers before adding another product. The separate Shopify data analytics guide covers the analysis job more broadly; this page focuses on selecting a reporting workflow.
| Option | Job to evaluate | Question for your test |
|---|---|---|
| Shopify reporting | Review store results and existing commerce measures | Do the available definitions and groupings answer the decision? |
| A reporting app such as Better Reports | Produce custom or recurring reports | Can the required fields and calculations be reproduced and checked? |
| An Excel workbook | Inspect supplied files with visible formulas and summaries | Can another colleague rebuild the total and maintain the workbook? |
| Covirage | Analyze supplied files with computed figures and explanations | Do the mapped columns, checks and supporting rows answer your question? |
The vendor-authored Better Reports listing describes custom reports and metrics, exports and scheduled reports. Those are relevant capabilities for a recurring reporting job. They do not establish that a particular contribution definition matches your company's costs; make that part of the test.
Microsoft's PivotTable guidance explains how Excel summarizes worksheet data. That makes a checked workbook a useful reference when comparing outputs. This is a practical set of approaches to evaluate, rather than a ranking of every available app.
Covirage is not affiliated with Shopify, Better Reports or Microsoft.
For a revenue-and-contribution review, define the sales period, the included order statuses and the refund policy. Specify whether refunds follow their processing date or the original order date. Record how you treat tax, shipping collected from customers and discounts.
Then state the cost boundary. Product costs may come from a separate finance file. Payment fees and fulfillment costs may have their own records. Marketing spending might be outside the review entirely. A report titled profit should not leave the reader guessing which of those amounts it deducts.
Ask who will maintain product categories and cost matches after the evaluation. Finance should approve the calculation basis; the trading or operations owner should confirm that the categories support a real decision. A report that requires an unexplained adjustment every month needs an owner for that adjustment.
Consider an illustrative US home-and-apparel retailer. The test contains completed orders and matched refunds. Sales are after discounts, excluding tax and shipping collected from customers. Product costs are net of any recorded inventory cost reversal. Variable operating costs include fulfillment and payment fees; campaign spending and fixed expenses are excluded.
| Order | Category | Sales after discounts (USD) | Refunds (USD) | Product cost (USD) | Variable operating cost (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S1001 | Home | 500 | 0 | 220 | 45 |
| S1002 | Apparel | 600 | 200 | 180 | 60 |
| S1003 | Home | 400 | 0 | 160 | 35 |
| Total | 1,500 | 200 | 560 | 140 |
Use the same calculation for every candidate:
Net sales = Sales after discounts − Refunds
Gross profit = Net sales − Product cost
Contribution = Gross profit − Variable operating cost
The gross profit margin guide explains the first cost boundary. Keep that distinction visible when assessing reports that use different labels.
| Order | Net sales calculation (USD) | Gross profit calculation (USD) | Contribution calculation (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| S1001 | 500 − 0 = 500 | 500 − 220 = 280 | 280 − 45 = 235 |
| S1002 | 600 − 200 = 400 | 400 − 180 = 220 | 220 − 60 = 160 |
| S1003 | 400 − 0 = 400 | 400 − 160 = 240 | 240 − 35 = 205 |
| Total | 1,500 − 200 = 1,300 | 1,300 − 560 = 740 | 740 − 140 = 600 |
Contribution margin is $600 divided by $1,300, or 46.2%, rounded to one decimal place. That is the margin after the costs in this test. It should not be presented as net profit.
Now test grouping without changing the total. Home contains S1001 and S1003: net sales of $900 and contribution of $440. Apparel contains S1002: net sales of $400 and contribution of $160. The groups sum back to $1,300 and $600 respectively. A candidate should preserve those identities when you change the view.
Increase the refund on S1002 from $200 to $300. Assume the additional refund has no inventory recovery and leaves all supplied costs unchanged. This isolates refund treatment from cost treatment.
| Measure | Original file (USD) | Changed file (USD) | Change (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales after discounts | 1,500 | 1,500 | 0 |
| Refunds | 200 | 300 | 100 |
| Net sales | 1,300 | 1,200 | −100 |
| Product cost | 560 | 560 | 0 |
| Variable operating cost | 140 | 140 | 0 |
| Contribution | 600 | 500 | −100 |
The changed contribution margin is $500 divided by $1,200, or 41.7%, rounded to one decimal place. Ask the reporting owner to trace the movement to S1002. If the result differs, request the exact definition or filter causing the difference before judging the product.
For category and channel selection across a wider range of selling systems, see the ecommerce analytics platform guide.
Bring a sample of your own order, refund and cost files to Covirage: it maps the columns, and its tools compute and check the comparisons. The external AI model explains the result with every figure traced to its rows. Create a free Covirage account, which takes about a minute, then set up your business and bring your files.
See self-service analytics for the supporting workflow.
First write down the question your current reports cannot answer. You may need a different grouping, a recurring report or a comparison with costs held outside the store. Test that specific gap before selecting an app, and keep a checked export as the reference for its answer.
Evaluate the exact app and the costs available to it. A contribution figure requires a stated revenue basis and agreed variable costs. Ask which refunds, payment fees, fulfillment costs and other expenses are included, then reproduce the calculation on a small file before relying on the percentage.
Reports may use different dates, refund treatments, tax rules, shipping amounts or order statuses. Start by comparing those definitions and filters. A difference does not by itself prove that either report is wrong; reconcile the same records on the same basis before deciding.
Use order and refund records for a closed period, plus matched product costs and the variable costs relevant to your decision. Include order identifiers and product categories. Keep a list of missing matches and duplicate identifiers so you can test how the reporting workflow handles exceptions.