Understanding and Customizing Your Metrics in PayHelm

When you open your PayHelm dashboard, you see lots of numbers—sales figures, order counts, profit margins, and more. These are your metrics, and they tell the story of your business performance. But what exactly do they mean? And how can you adjust them to show the information that matters most to you?

This guide will help you understand what each metric represents and how to customize your view so you can make better business decisions with confidence.

---

Why Metrics Matter

Metrics help you:
• Track performance over time (Are sales going up or down?)
• Spot trends in your data (Which products are bestsellers?)
• Make informed decisions (Should I invest more in a specific marketing channel?)
• Improve accuracy in reporting (Are you accounting for refunds and costs?)

The key is choosing the right metrics for your goals and understanding what each number actually represents.

---

What Each Metric Means

PayHelm offers dozens of metrics to help you analyze your business. Here's what each one tracks:

Sales & Revenue Metrics

• Total Sales: Subtotal of all line items after discounts, excluding shipping and tax
• Gross Sales: Total sales plus shipping cost (gross sale amount)
• Net Sales: Total sales minus total sales of refunded items
• Revenue: Total tax + total shipping + total sales combined
• Product Sales: Sales amount for individual items (item price × quantity - discount)
• Default Sales: Sales calculated using default item prices (default item price × quantity sold)

Order Metrics

• Total Orders: Total number of matched orders
• Taxed Orders: Number of orders that have taxes paid
• Discounted Orders: Number of orders that have discounts applied
• Product Orders: Number of orders that contain a specific product

Items & Inventory Metrics

• Items Sold: Total quantity of items sold in matched orders
• Items Per Order: Average quantity of sold items per order
• Items Refunded: Number of items refunded in matched orders
• Product Items Sold: Number of sold items of a specific product

Pricing Metrics

PayHelm can show you the average, maximum, and minimum individual item price across your products, helping you understand your pricing spread.

Cost & Profit Metrics

• Total Cost: Product cost amount (item cost × quantity) for all items
• Product Cost: Cost for individual line items (item cost × quantity)
• Item Cost: Cost amount for a specific line item
• Cost of Goods Sold: Product cost minus refunded product cost
• Cost of Refunds: Product cost of items that were refunded
• Profit: Profit amount (subtotal - product cost - tax - store fee - gateway fee - backcharge costs)
• Product Profit: Profit for individual line items (item price × quantity - discount - product tax - product cost)
• Gross Margin: Percentage of gross profit (net sales - cost) out of net sales

Tax & Fee Metrics

• Total Tax: Total tax amount, including shipping tax
• Product Tax: Tax amount for individual line items
• Item Tax: Tax amount for a specific line item
• Tax Rate: Total tax divided by total sales
• Gross Tax Rate: Total tax divided by total gross sales
• Store Fees: Store fee amount charged by your platform
• Marketplace Fees: Marketplace fees amount from platforms like Amazon or eBay
• Gateway Fees: Payment processing fees from your payment gateway

Shipping Metrics

• Total Shipping: Shipping cost charged to customers (excluding shipping tax)
• Shipment Cost: Cost of shipping labels, including backcharges
• Shipment Insurance Cost: Cost of shipping insurance
• Shipment Insurance Value: Declared value of shipments being insured
• Shipment Profit: Shipping profit (shipping cost - shipping label cost - backcharge costs)
• Backcharge Costs: Additional charges from shipping carriers

Discount & Refund Metrics

• Total Discount: Total discount amount applied to orders
• Product Discount: Discount amount for individual line items
• Item Discount: Discount for a specific line item
• Sale Discount: Sale discount (base price - sale price + discounts)
• Total Refunds: Total refund amount

Customer Metrics

• Total Customers: Number of unique customers in your date range, including guest checkouts

Time-Based Metrics

• Fulfillment Time: Time from when an order was created to when it was completed
• Average Fulfillment Time: The average time it takes to fulfill orders
• Minimum Fulfillment Time: The shortest fulfillment time during your selected period
• Maximum Fulfillment Time: The longest fulfillment time during your selected period
Note: Minimum and maximum fulfillment times appear only when available for the selected report.

Product Metrics

• Total Products: Number of distinct products in your results

Optional Metrics

Some metrics appear only if your store uses specific features or integrations:
• Store Credit / Store Credit Refund – Tracks customer credit issued or redeemed
• Points Earned / Claimed / Refunded – Shows customer loyalty or rewards points activity
• Gift Card Sales – Displays total value of gift cards sold
• Process Fee(s) Refund – Shows refunded payment processing fees

If these features aren't enabled in your account, you won't see these metrics in your reports.

---

How to Customize Your Metrics in PayHelm

Use the dashboard's built-in Filters and metric tabs to control what you see:

1. Open the Dashboard.
You'll see metric tiles (e.g., Total Revenue, Total Sales) and tabs like Overview, Orders, Products, Customers, Marketing, and Map.

1. Set your Filters.
Click Filters (top left), choose your date range and any other filters (e.g., fulfillment status), then click Apply. The tiles update immediately to reflect your selections.

1. Switch metric views by tab.
Click Overview / Orders / Products / Customers / Marketing / Map to show the metric group for that area. Each tab presents a focused set of tiles for quick scanning and comparison.

1. Fine-tune in reports (columns & filters).
When you need a table with specific columns, open the corresponding report and use Report Configuration: - Report Column: Choose which built-in columns (metrics) appear in the table. - Filters: Apply the same filtering controls at the report level for more precise data. Changes take effect immediately after you apply them.

Use the Dashboard for tile-based, at-a-glance metrics (fast filtering + tab switching), and use Report Configuration when you want a tabular report with only the columns you care about.

---

Creating Custom Metrics

You can create custom calculated metrics (columns) in your reports to apply your own business logic—like commission formulas, product exclusions, or SKU-specific adjustments.

Follow these steps to create a custom metric in PayHelm:

1. Go to the Reports tab.
From the main navigation bar, click Reports.

1. Create a new report.
Click the Create a New Report button on the right-hand side of the screen.

1. Choose your Source Type.
Select Overview as your source type. (You can also choose Orders, Products, Customers, or Marketing depending on what you want to analyze.)

1. Select your Report Type.
Choose Pivot & Group. This is where you can create and manage custom calculated metrics.

1. Open Report Configuration.
Expand the Report Configuration panel at the bottom of the setup area.

1. Go to Custom Columns.
Inside Report Configuration, click on the Custom Columns tab.

1. Add a custom column.
Click + Add Column, give it a Name (for example, Total Commission). The new field appears in the list with a Calculations preview and an Edit link.

1. Define your logic (conditions + calculations).
Click Edit to open the calculation editor. Add one or more rules: - Condition – when the rule applies (e.g., (shipping_form_fields == "Team Member A") and (total_sales > 162500)) - Calculation – what to output when the condition is true (e.g., (total_sales - 162500) * 0.01)

You can use fields like total_sales, account.total_sales, and shipping_form_fields, along with standard operators (==, >, and, or, *, +, -, /).

1. Save your calculation.
Click Save in the editor. Your logic appears next to your custom column in the Custom Columns list.

1. (Optional) Add multiple rules.
Use + Add Calculations to stack additional condition/calculation pairs—for example, different commission tiers per team member.

1. Use your new metric.
Once saved, your custom metric (for example, Total Commission) is available in your report alongside built-in columns. You can select it in Report Column if you only want specific metrics to display.

---

Example: Commission Rules

• Team Member A
- Condition: (shipping_form_fields == "Team Member A") and (total_sales > 162500) - Calculation: (total_sales - 162500) * 0.01

• Team Member B
- Condition: (shipping_form_fields == "Team Member B") and (total_sales > 162500) - Calculation: (total_sales - 162500) * 0.02

• Team Member C (Account Level)
- Condition: (shipping_form_fields == "Team Member C") and (account.total_sales > 490000) - Calculation: (account.total_sales - 490000) * 0.01

Tip: Add multiple rows to handle different scenarios. PayHelm runs the conditions in order and applies the first one that matches.

---

Tips for Choosing the Right Metrics

Start with Your Goals

If you want to understand profitability, focus on:
• Total Sales
• Total Cost
• Profit
• Gross Margin

If you want to track growth, focus on:
• Total Orders
• Total Customers
• Revenue
• Items Sold

If you want to optimize shipping, focus on:
• Shipment Cost
• Shipment Profit
• Total Shipping
• Backcharge Costs

If you want to analyze marketing effectiveness, focus on:
• Orders filtered by UTM parameters
• Revenue by marketing channel
• Sales from specific campaigns

Don't Overwhelm Yourself

You don't need to track every metric at once. Start with 5–8 key metrics that align with your current business goals, and add more as needed.

Understand the Difference Between Similar Metrics

Pay attention to what's included and excluded:
• Total Sales excludes shipping and tax
• Gross Sales includes shipping
• Revenue includes sales, shipping, and tax
• Net Sales accounts for refunds

Choosing the right one depends on what you're trying to measure.

Use Time Comparisons

Most metrics become more valuable when you compare them over time. Look at week-over-week or month-over-month changes to spot trends.

Combine Metrics for Deeper Insights

Sometimes the most valuable insights come from looking at multiple metrics together:
• Items Per Order + Total Sales = Understanding of order composition
• Total Cost + Total Sales = Quick profit check
• Fulfillment Time + Total Orders = Operational efficiency

---

Need More Help?

If you have questions about a specific metric or need help setting up your reports, contact our support team. We're here to help you get the most out of PayHelm!

Happy analyzing!