Free tool · True ROAS calculator
What did your ads really return?
Meta counts every order you booked. This counts only what was delivered and paid for, after 18% GST on ads, RTO, COD and shipping.
The short answer
True ROAS is delivered revenue ÷ ad spend including 18% GST. Put in your last 30 days of orders, ad spend and costs per order, and this shows your True ROAS, your break-even ROAS and your RTO Tax. Above break-even, your ads make money. Below it, more budget only makes the loss bigger.
- Who it’s for
- Indian D2C founders who run Meta ads and sell on COD.
- How it works
- Three steps: orders and ads, costs per order, then COD and RTO. Results update as you type.
Break-even —. Beat it to make money.
Share links carry your numbers, never your brand name.
Where your money went · this month
— booked. — kept.
Every rupee from booked to banked, line by line. Break-even ROAS is on the same basis as True ROAS: delivered revenue ÷ ad spend including GST.
RTO Tax
What returned orders cost you.
Every RTO order is a parcel you paid to send, pack and get back, and some of that stock comes back damaged. That is the RTO Tax.
Shipping, packing and RTO fee on returned orders are already in your net profit above. Damaged stock is shown here only; net profit assumes returned stock goes back on the shelf.
Save this report
Get this as a PDF on WhatsApp.
We send your numbers as a one-page PDF: True ROAS, break-even ROAS, RTO Tax and the line that hurts most. Plus what we would fix first.
- 01Your result exactly as calculated here.
- 02The biggest leak, in rupees per month.
- 03The first fix our team would try.
no spam, just your numbers
How it’s calculated
Every number, in plain words.
- Delivered revenue: orders delivered × your average order value. Cancelled and RTO orders bring in nothing.
- True ROAS: delivered revenue ÷ ad spend including 18% GST. This is what your bank account sees.
- Meta’s ROAS: revenue booked ÷ ad spend before GST. It counts orders that never reach the customer.
- Margin before ads: delivered revenue minus every cost except ads (product, shipping, packing, RTO fee, COD fee, gifts, commissions), as a % of delivered revenue.
- Break-even ROAS: 1 ÷ margin before ads. A 35% margin needs 2.9×. Beat it and you make money; fall short and every rupee on ads loses money. Same basis as True ROAS.
- RTO Tax: forward shipping + packing + RTO fee on every returned order, plus stock written off (RTO orders × product cost × % damaged). Shown per month and per 100 orders placed.
- Net profit: delivered revenue minus ads with GST, product cost on delivered orders, shipping and packing on every shipped order, RTO fee, COD fee, gifts and commissions. Profit % and profit per delivered order come from it.
Shipping and packing count on every shipped order, delivered or not. Product cost counts only on delivered orders; damaged RTO stock shows in the RTO Tax. If delivery + cancellation is over 100%, cancellation is cut to fit. COD fee needs a prepaid share above 0%.
Meta’s ROAS vs True ROAS
| What is counted | Meta’s ROAS | True ROAS |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | Every order booked | Delivered orders only |
| Cancelled and RTO orders | Counted as sales | Bring in nothing |
| Ad spend | Before GST | Including 18% GST |
| This page’s example | 4.00× | 2.58× |
Questions
FAQ
What is an RTO calculator, and how is RTO cost worked out?
An RTO calculator shows what returned orders cost you. Here it adds forward shipping, packing and the RTO fee on every returned order, plus the stock that comes back damaged. None of it shows in Ads Manager.
How do I calculate break-even ROAS?
Take delivered revenue, subtract every cost except ads, and divide by delivered revenue. That is your margin before ads. Break-even ROAS is 1 ÷ that margin. A 35% margin means you need 2.9× True ROAS just to stop losing money.
What is true ROAS for Indian D2C brands?
True ROAS is delivered revenue ÷ ad spend including 18% GST. In India, RTO, COD and GST on Meta ads make it much lower than the ROAS Meta reports. With this page’s example numbers, Meta shows 4.00× and True ROAS is 2.58×.
COD vs prepaid: what does COD really cost me?
COD orders carry a COD fee on delivery and return far more often than prepaid. Each RTO costs shipping both ways and packing. Change the prepaid share and the delivery % above to see how much a higher prepaid mix is worth to you per month.
Why is my Meta ROAS higher than my true ROAS?
Meta counts every order placed and divides by spend before GST. Cancelled orders, RTO orders and the 18% GST on ads are all left out. True ROAS counts only what was delivered and the full ad cost.
Next step
Track this every day.
This calculator is one month, typed by hand. Margifi connects Shopify, Meta and your courier and shows True ROAS and profit per order every morning.