Selling well but losing money? Before pricing or running campaigns on TikTok, Shopee and Lazada

1. Separate sales, payouts and profit

Sales recorded by the store, platform payouts and business profit measure different things. A payout may already deduct platform charges, yet exclude product costs and expenses paid elsewhere. Treating it as profit can therefore overstate what the business earns.

Shopee lists different fee types and deductions from seller balances. TikTok Shop distinguishes commission by product category and seller type. A single percentage for every product and channel may not match the actual charges. Shopee fee policy · TikTok Shop commission policy

2. Collect the costs your store actually bears

For a practical pricing worksheet, identify each applicable cost and retain the supporting record:

• Cost of goods sold and related acquisition costs.
• Packaging and shipping paid by the store.
• Fees shown in the platform statements for your seller account.
• Seller-funded discounts and vouchers.
• Advertising, partner commissions or optional programme charges where applicable.
• Actual returns-related and operating expenses.

Do not subtract a fee or discount again if the starting balance already deducts it. Reconcile sales to net receipts before assessing the remaining costs.

3. Identify who funds a promotion

Review the campaign terms applying to your account: platform support, seller-funded amounts and additional programme charges. Shopee terms allow promotional participation charges under the notified conditions. Shopee terms

Lazada offers promotion and store-management tools through Seller Center. Review what your store has enabled; an older introductory article is not a substitute for the current fee schedule. Lazada seller tools

4. Assess the amount remaining after costs

Start with sales revenue adjusted for the relevant discounts and returns, then deduct product costs and the variable expenses borne by the store. The remainder still needs to cover fixed business expenses. This is a management review, not a ready-made net-profit statement or tax calculation.

VAT-registered stores should use figures with VAT treated consistently and have the accounting team check the treatment of non-creditable tax. This article does not invent a universal fee rate or a fictional store profit figure.

5. Bring matching records to your accountant

• Order and settlement reports for the same period.
• Platform fee invoices and advertising records.
• Campaign conditions and seller-funded discounts.
• Product, packaging and shipping costs.
• Returns and adjustments linked to the original orders.

Assess individual products before the next campaign, rather than relying on total sales alone. BFF can help organise scattered records into a structure your team can review.