How does BlueTrace calculate Margin/Profit?

Profit is the difference between what you sell something for and what it cost you.

Profit = Sell Price − Cost

Example:

• You buy a case of oysters for $30.00
• You sell that same case for $42.00
• Your profit is $42.00 − $30.00 = $12.00

BlueTrace shows both dollar profit and margin percentage. Here’s the difference:

Using the example above:

($12.00 ÷ $42.00) × 100 = 28.6% margin. A higher margin means you’re keeping more of every dollar your customer pays.

BlueTrace pulls cost from the price recorded on your Purchase Order when you received the product. For processed items — like a whole fish broken down into fillets — it carries the cost forward from the original received lot and adjusts proportionally.

Tip: Always enter accurate costs on incoming purchase orders. If the cost field is blank or zero, your profit will look higher than it actually is.

On a sales order, the margin you see depends on where the order is in the process:

• Before lots are picked: BlueTrace shows an estimated margin based on the average cost of matching lots received in the past 3 days, including processed lots. If no recent lots exist, it falls back to the cost of the newest in-stock lot.
• After lots are allocated: The margin updates to reflect the actual cost of the specific lots tied to that order.

The margin shown on a fully packed and shipped order is your real number.

Why does my profit show as $0?

This usually means no cost was entered for that item. Check the original purchase order.

Can I see profit across all my products at once?

Yes — BlueTrace’s margin reporting groups profitability by department so you can see which categories are working and which aren’t.