What Is Unit Ops in Print-on-Demand? (Average Payment Processing Fee per Order)

Want to see how Unit Ops fits into the bigger picture? Read our guide on AOC (Average Order Cost). Together, AOC and Unit Ops give you a true picture of order-level costs. If you’d rather see all your processing fees automatically calculated, check out PodVector. For official rates, see Shopify Payments’ fee documentation.

Definition of Unit Ops

Unit Ops stands for Unit Operations, and in POD it refers to the average payment processing fee per order. Whenever a customer pays through Shopify Payments, Stripe, or PayPal, a small percentage plus a flat fee is deducted from the sale.

Typical structure looks like this:

• Percentage fee: 2.9% (varies by country and payment method)
• Fixed fee: $0.30 USD per transaction

While one fee may seem small, multiply it across hundreds of low-value orders and it becomes one of your biggest hidden costs.

Formula for Unit Ops

The formula for Unit Ops is:

Unit Ops = (Total Processing Fees ÷ Total Number of Orders)

This shows the average processing fee per order, regardless of order size.

Example Calculation

Suppose your store runs 200 orders in a month with $6,000 in total sales, and the processor charges 2.9% + $0.30 per order:

• Percentage fee: 2.9% of $6,000 = $174
• Fixed fees: 200 orders × $0.30 = $60
• Total fees: $174 + $60 = $234

Unit Ops = $234 ÷ 200 orders = $1.17 per order

That means every order, no matter how small or large, costs you an average of $1.17 in processing fees.

Why Unit Ops Matters in POD

• Margins on low-ticket items: If you sell $15 t-shirts, a $1.17 fee eats almost 8% of revenue.
• Scaling effects: Fees grow linearly with order volume, unlike some fixed business costs.
• Pricing strategy: You need to bake Unit Ops into your prices, or you’ll slowly bleed profit.
• Profit tracking accuracy: Ignoring fees leads to overestimating profit by hundreds or thousands per month.

Benchmarks: What’s a Normal Unit Ops?

Typical Unit Ops benchmarks in POD:

• $0.80–$1.20 per order: Normal for stores selling items priced between $20–$40.
• $1.20–$2.00 per order: Common for lower-ticket stores with $15–$25 AOV.
• $0.40–$0.80 per order: Seen in higher-ticket POD stores ($60+ AOV), since the fixed fee becomes less significant.

The key insight: raising AOV reduces the impact of Unit Ops on your margins.

How to Track Unit Ops

Manual (Spreadsheets)

1. Export payment processor statements (Shopify, Stripe, or PayPal).
2. Calculate total transaction fees for a time period.
3. Divide by total orders to get average per order.

Automated (PodVector)

With PodVector, Unit Ops is tracked in real time. Every Shopify order automatically includes payment processing fees, so you see AOC and AOP without manual math.

How Unit Ops Relates to Other Metrics

• Unit Ops vs AOC: Unit Ops is one component of AOC (average order cost).
• Unit Ops vs AOP: AOP subtracts Unit Ops (and other costs) from AOV.
• Unit Ops vs Operating Profit: At scale, high Unit Ops can drag down operating profit margins.

FAQs

Does Unit Ops vary by payment method?

Yes. PayPal and international credit cards often have higher fees than Shopify Payments or Stripe domestic cards.

How can I reduce Unit Ops?

You can’t eliminate fees, but you can reduce their impact by increasing AOV (bundles, upsells) or negotiating better processor rates as you scale.

Is Unit Ops included in Shopify reports?

Shopify reports show fees, but they don’t calculate per-order averages. That’s why AOC and Unit Ops tracking tools are useful.

Can PodVector calculate Unit Ops automatically?

Yes. PodVector automatically tracks processing fees at the order level, giving you instant visibility into AOC and profit.