How to track Shopify revenue by month

What counts as revenue, how refunds affect it, and how to query it from order data

Definition

What it is

Shopify monthly revenue is the sum of paid order totals for a given calendar month, net of refunds. Shopify tracks revenue through its orders table using the financial_status field — only orders with a status of "paid" should be included in revenue figures. Partially refunded orders contribute their net amount (order total minus refunded amount). This is the foundational metric for all Shopify financial analysis.

Formula

Monthly Revenue Formula

Formula

Monthly Revenue = SUM(total_price) - SUM(refund_amount) WHERE financial_status = 'paid' AND month = target_month

Filter to financial_status IN ('paid', 'partially_refunded') to capture both full-payment and partial-refund orders correctly. Use created_at date field for consistency. For prior-period comparison, use a LAG window function or a self-join on the same query grouped by month.

Business impact

Why it matters

Monthly revenue is the primary growth metric for any Shopify store, but raw revenue figures obscure important signals. A month with high gross revenue but a spike in refunds may actually show lower net revenue than a quieter month. Tracking revenue net of refunds month-over-month and year-over-year gives a truthful picture of business momentum and flags potential quality or fulfilment issues before they compound.

The challenge

How most teams track this today

Shopify Analytics shows a monthly revenue chart in the dashboard, but it cannot be queried flexibly — you cannot add custom comparisons, filter to specific product categories, or export in a format suitable for trend analysis. Most merchants export monthly revenue to a spreadsheet and track trends manually.

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FAQ

Common questions

Does Shopify revenue include taxes and shipping?

The total_price field in Shopify orders includes subtotal, taxes, and shipping. For net product revenue, use subtotal_price, which excludes taxes and shipping. For financial reporting, total_price is typically the right field; for product performance analysis, subtotal_price or line item totals are more accurate.

How do refunds affect Shopify revenue figures?

Refunds in Shopify are stored in a separate refunds table with associated refund_line_items. The order financial_status changes to "refunded" (full) or "partially_refunded" (partial). To get net revenue, you need to join the refunds table and subtract the refunded amounts from the order totals for the same period.

What is the difference between Shopify gross revenue and net revenue?

Gross revenue is the sum of all paid order totals before refunds. Net revenue subtracts refunds from that total. For most reporting purposes, net revenue is the more meaningful number — it reflects what the business actually retained from customers in the period.

Can I track Shopify revenue by product category in Taptic?

Yes. Taptic imports the order line items and products tables alongside the orders table. You can group by product_type or tags to produce revenue by category. This requires a JOIN from orders to order_line_items to products, which Taptic's AI handles automatically from a plain-English question.

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