Profit per channel
Profit per channel is revenue minus fees minus ad spend, for the payments attributed to one acquisition channel in a period. Revenue per channel rewards channels that are expensive; profit per channel shows which ones actually leave money, which is the number a bootstrapped company spends against.
Formula
profit(channel, period) = revenue − fees − ad spendRevenue is the charges attributed to the channel in the period minus refunds and chargebacks, before processor fees. Subtract the processor and merchant-of-record fees on those charges, then the channel’s ad spend for the same dates.
Worked example
| Google Ads revenue | $2,407 |
|---|---|
| Fees | $152 |
| Ad spend | $1,518 |
- $2,407 revenue − $152 fees − $1,518 ad spend = $737 profit
Google Ads made $737 of profit in the period.
How ProductLense shows it
ProductLense’s Profit page and the Sources table show profit per channel, source, campaign and landing page, with CAC, ROAS and payback alongside. Loss-making channels carry a minus sign and a down arrow as well as the loss colour. Available on Growth and Scale.
ProductLense needs the script, identify calls, a billing connection or payment API, and ad spend entered by hand or imported as CSV with channel, source, medium and campaign values that match your UTM tags.
Profit per channel: questions
- What is profit per channel?
- Profit per channel is revenue minus fees minus ad spend, for the payments attributed to one acquisition channel in a period. Revenue per channel rewards channels that are expensive; profit per channel shows which ones actually leave money, which is the number a bootstrapped company spends against.
- How do you calculate profit per channel?
- Revenue is the charges attributed to the channel in the period minus refunds and chargebacks, before processor fees. Subtract the processor and merchant-of-record fees on those charges, then the channel’s ad spend for the same dates. For example, $2,407 of revenue with $152 of fees and $1,518 of ad spend is $737 of profit.
- Where does ProductLense show profit per channel?
- ProductLense’s Profit page and the Sources table show profit per channel, source, campaign and landing page, with CAC, ROAS and payback alongside. Loss-making channels carry a minus sign and a down arrow as well as the loss colour. Available on Growth and Scale.
- What does ProductLense need to calculate profit per channel?
- ProductLense needs the script, identify calls, a billing connection or payment API, and ad spend entered by hand or imported as CSV with channel, source, medium and campaign values that match your UTM tags.
- How is profit per channel different from ROAS?
- ROAS is a ratio, profit is an amount. A channel with 3× ROAS on $50 of spend makes $100; one with 1.5× on $4,000 makes $2,000. ProductLense shows both so you do not cut the channel that makes the most money because its ratio looks worse.
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