What Is Total Sales in Print-on-Demand?

Total sales can be misleading if you don’t know how to connect it to other profit metrics. For a deeper breakdown, see What Is Net Sales in Print-on-Demand?. If you want to skip spreadsheets and track live revenue, costs, and profits together, check out PodVector, built for Shopify + Printify/Printful sellers. And for Shopify’s own definitions, see the official Shopify Sales Report guide.

Definition of Total Sales

Total sales is the total revenue from all orders placed in your store before subtracting any deductions. This includes orders later refunded, canceled, or discounted. It’s often called gross sales in Shopify reports, but “total sales” is the broader e-commerce term.

Formula for Total Sales

The formula is simple:

Total Sales = Sum of all customer order amounts (before discounts, refunds, or returns)

If you sold 100 products at $30 each, your total sales is 100 × $30 = $3,000—even if 5 of those orders get refunded later.

Example Calculation

Imagine this scenario for a POD t-shirt store in one month:

• Orders: 200
• Average Order Value (AOV): $40
• Total Sales: 200 × $40 = $8,000
• Refunded Orders: $500 worth
• Discounts Used: $300

Even though net sales would later be $7,200, your total sales still records as $8,000. That’s why it’s a “big picture” number but not your real take-home revenue.

Why Total Sales Matters (and Why It Misleads)

Total sales is important because:

• It shows your raw growth: If your total sales are going up month over month, you’re bringing in more orders overall.
• It motivates: Sellers love seeing the “big number” because it feels like momentum.
• It’s the starting point: Net sales, gross profit, and operating profit all begin with total sales.

But it can mislead because:

• Refunds aren’t removed: Cancelled orders still inflate total sales.
• Discounts aren’t counted: If you give a $10 coupon, total sales still counts the original price.
• It ignores costs: Total sales doesn’t consider printing, shipping, or ad spend.

Total Sales vs Net Sales

Total sales is revenue before deductions. Net sales subtracts discounts and refunds. Example:

• Total Sales = $10,000
• Refunds = $500
• Discounts = $200
• Net Sales = $9,300

That $700 gap is why net sales is more accurate. For details, check What Is Net Sales in Print-on-Demand?.

Total Sales vs Profit

Profit is what’s left after subtracting all costs. A POD store might show $50,000 in total sales but only $3,000 in profit after COGS, shipping, ads, and fees. Total sales is exciting—but profit is what keeps you in business.

This is why many POD sellers use PodVector, which tracks not just total sales, but also net sales, gross profit, and operating profit in one clean dashboard.

What’s a Healthy Total Sales Number?

There’s no “one size fits all” number, but some benchmarks:

• $1K–$5K/month: Typical for small POD stores just starting.
• $10K–$50K/month: Growing stores with consistent marketing.
• $100K+/month: Large brands scaling through paid ads.

The key is not how big the number is, but how much of it survives as profit.

How to Grow Total Sales

• Raise AOV: Use bundles, upsells, or free-shipping thresholds.
• Run more ads: Increase traffic, but check break-even ROAS to avoid losing money.
• Expand products: Add more designs or product types (mugs, hoodies, phone cases).
• Leverage organic: Use SEO and social media to add “free” traffic to your paid efforts.

How to Track Total Sales Accurately

Manual Method

Shopify automatically reports total sales. You can also export order data into spreadsheets and sum the “Order Value” column. But this doesn’t remove refunds unless you filter carefully.

Automated Method

PodVector connects to Shopify and Printify/Printful, syncing your total sales alongside net sales, gross profit, and operating profit in real time. That way, you see the big picture number and the “real” numbers together.

FAQs

Is total sales the same as revenue?

Yes, but it’s gross revenue—before refunds, discounts, and returns are removed.

Why is my total sales higher than net sales?

Because net sales subtracts refunds and discounts, while total sales doesn’t.

What’s more important: total sales or profit?

Total sales shows momentum, but profit is what pays the bills. Always track both.

Does Shopify report total sales automatically?

Yes. You’ll see it in your Shopify dashboard under “Sales Overview.”