> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.stockful.app/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Costs and landed cost

> How unit costs, shipping and fees combine into the landed cost that sets your margins

The point of costing a purchase order properly is a true **landed cost** - what a unit really costs you once shipping, duties and fees are counted, not just the price on the invoice. Stockful works this out for you and feeds it into your average cost, so your margins are right.

## Unit cost

Every line has a **unit cost** from its [cost source](/user-guide/purchasing/purchase-orders/creating#adding-products) - the supplier's price list, the product's cost per item, or a custom cost for this order. The line subtotals roll up into the order's **subtotal**.

## Adjustments

Costs beyond the goods themselves go in as **adjustments** on the cost summary. Each has a type:

* **Shipping** and **Freight fee**
* **Customs duties** and **Tariffs**
* **Insurance**, **Rush fee**, **Surcharge**, **Foreign transaction fee**
* **Discount** (a negative adjustment) and **Other**

These are the extras that make a landed cost different from the sticker price.

## How adjustments are spread

Adjustments are shared across the order's units to give each one its landed cost. Choose **Allocate costs by**:

* **Value** - spreads each adjustment in proportion to line cost, so more expensive items carry more of it.
* **Quantity** - splits each adjustment equally per unit.

Each line shows its resulting **Landed** cost. The allocation **locks after the first receipt**, because received units already carry the split - so later changes only affect units still to come. The default method for new orders is set in [Purchasing settings](/user-guide/purchasing/settings).

## Multi-currency

When a supplier bills in another currency, you enter costs in **their** currency and Stockful converts to your store currency at the order's exchange rate. Everything downstream - landed cost, cost history, margins - is stored in your store currency, so reporting stays consistent no matter who you buy from.

## Cost history and average cost

When you [receive stock](/user-guide/purchasing/purchase-orders/receiving), each accepted line writes a **cost history** entry at its landed cost. That entry updates the product's **average cost**, blended across everything you've received over time. Your average cost is what drives margin and profit figures across Stockful, so accurate landed costs here keep your reporting honest.

<Note>
  Costs are only committed to your average cost when stock is **received**, not when the order is created or sent - so a draft or an in-transit shipment never moves your numbers.
</Note>

## Syncing cost to Shopify

By default, landed costs stay in Stockful and drive your reporting there. If you turn on **Sync landed cost to Shopify** in [Purchasing settings](/user-guide/purchasing/settings), then after each receipt Stockful also writes the variant's new average landed cost back to its **cost per item** in Shopify - so Shopify's own margin figures line up with yours.

<Warning>
  This overwrites the existing cost per item in Shopify and can't be undone. Leave it off if you maintain cost per item another way. It's off by default.
</Warning>