Understand the deal before it costs you margin
Most trade deals look profitable in a spreadsheet. CommerceKit helps importers, wholesalers and food traders calculate the numbers, understand the terms, and verify the risks before they commit to a purchase, payment, shipment, or quote.
Common deal traps
Pick a common deal trap and watch the numbers change.
Freight rises. Margin falls.
10,000 units · €4.00 selling price · €3.20 supplier price
- Revenue
- €40,000
- Expected profit
- €8,000
- Expected margin
- 20.0%
Includes €600 handling.
- Real profit after freight & handling
- €5,400
- Money leaked from profit
- €2,600
- Real margin
- 13.5%
A deal can look safe at €8,000 expected profit. Freight and handling decide how much of that profit actually survives.
Check this on your dealHow it works
- 1Calculate
Run the numbers on your deal — free, no signup.
- 2Understand
See the real cost, margin and cash gap.
- 3Decide
Buy, renegotiate, or walk away with clearer numbers.
- 4Save
Keep useful calculations in your workspace for later.
Calculate, verify, and understand trade decisions in one place.
Trade decisions need more than numbers
CommerceKit combines calculators, audit checklists, plain-English trade definitions, and verification resources so you can calculate, understand, and approve trade decisions with less blind risk.
Run the numbers
Estimate landed cost, compare supplier quotes, test margins, model cash flow, MOQ, pallets, and containers.
Explore toolsVerify before you act
Use trade-risk guardrails before paying, shipping, approving suppliers, accepting Incoterms, or locking margin.
Open checklistsUnderstand the terms
Plain-English explanations for Incoterms, freight, customs, payment, margin, and import terminology.
Search dictionaryCheck official sources
Quick access to practical references for customs, sanctions, commodity codes, documents, and trade validation.
View resourcesStart with the checks that catch the biggest risks.
Most trade decisions fail first in two places: the quote you accept and the cash timing you miss.
Compare supplier quotes
See which supplier is really better once pack sizes, pallet fit, payment terms, destination costs and hidden assumptions are made comparable.
The cheapest unit price was not the best deal.
- Supplier A looked cheaper
- €3.20 / unit
- Supplier B looked higher
- €3.35 / unit
- Real comparable cost gap
- €1,850
Different pack sizes, pallet quantities, payment terms and destination costs turned the "cheapest" quote into the weaker deal.
Check cash survival
See whether the deal survives payment timing, supplier terms, customer terms and working capital pressure.
Profit existed. Cash broke.
- Expected profit
- €8,400
- Real lowest cash position
- −€11,200
- Cash gap created
- €19,600
Supplier deposit, freight and VAT landed five weeks before the customer paid the invoice.
Refine the deal
Use the supporting checks when the deal needs more precision.
What is the real cost, and what can I safely pay?
Check delivered cost and safe supplier price before you negotiate or quote.
I need my true landed cost
Add freight, duty, VAT and destination handling on top of the supplier price.
Hidden costs killed margin.
- Expected profit
- €6,400
- Real profit
- €1,700
- Money leaked
- €4,700
Freight, insurance, customs agent, unloading and destination handling were added after the price was agreed.
I need a target buy price
Work backwards from your selling price to the safest landed cost per unit.
The buy price was too high.
- Expected profit
- €8,000
- Real profit
- €5,500
- Money leaked
- €2,500
Safe landed buy price for a 20% margin was €3.20/unit. €3.45 was accepted, leaking €0.25 on every unit.
Will the profit survive pricing and commission?
Check margin logic and middleman fees before profit disappears.
I need to check margin vs markup
Two views of the same profit. Quoted the wrong way, they cost serious money.
20% markup was not 20% margin.
- Expected profit
- €8,000
- Real profit
- €6,667
- Money leaked
- €1,333
On a €40,000 deal, 20% margin gives €8,000. Applying 20% markup instead gives only €6,667.
I need to price with a middleman
See how commission and pricing layers move the final customer price.
Commission was added too late.
- Expected profit
- €4,000
- Real profit
- €1,600
- Money leaked
- €2,400
A 6% middleman fee was not built into the price, so €2,400 disappeared after the deal was agreed.
Am I buying or shipping the right quantity?
Check MOQ, shelf life, pallets and container assumptions before the order becomes too big or inefficient.
I need to check MOQ risk
Estimate sell-through, shelf life and cash recovery before committing to the MOQ.
The MOQ created dead stock.
- Expected profit
- €5,200
- Real result
- −€1,800
- Money swing
- €7,000
The MOQ gave a better unit price, but sales velocity was too slow for the shelf life.
I need to plan pallets and containers
Check pallet stacking and container fill before pricing the shipment.
The container plan failed.
- Expected profit
- €7,200
- Real profit
- €5,300
- Money leaked
- €1,900
Mixed pallet heights only allowed 18 of the planned 24 pallets, forcing extra freight after pricing.
Save it to the workspace
After you build a useful calculation, save it to the workspace so you can revisit, share, or compare it later.
Save
Save the checks you build so you can return when supplier terms, freight, or payment timing change.
Open a calculatorShare
Send the result to a partner, supplier, customer, or team member so everyone is looking at the same numbers.
Share a resultCompare
Keep different quote, cost, and cash scenarios side by side before you commit to the deal.
Compare scenariosNeed the concept behind the numbers?
Use the Knowledge Hub when a term, method or trade assumption is unclear.
Trade terms and practical mistakes explained in plain English.
Short explainers that connect trade concepts to calculators.
Curated official and commercial references with their limitations.
Step-by-step checks for each stage — supplier, quote, payment, shipment, clearance.
End-to-end walkthroughs for common import decisions, start to finish.
Frequently asked questions
Are the calculators free?
Yes. The public calculators are free to use. Some workspace features may require sign-in so you can save checks and compare deals later.
Can I use these numbers for real business decisions?
Use CommerceKit to understand the structure of a deal, spot risks and check assumptions. Always verify final decisions with your accountant, customs broker, freight forwarder or relevant professional.
What if my supplier quotes use different units?
That is one of the main reasons CommerceKit exists. Supplier quotes often mix units, boxes, pallets, weights, Incoterms and payment terms. The tools help normalize the numbers so you compare the real delivered cost, not just the printed price.
How does CommerceKit handle exchange rates?
Use the rate that matches your deal or accounting policy. Exchange rates move, so the important thing is to test the sensitivity of the deal and see how much margin disappears when assumptions change.
Who is CommerceKit for?
Importers, wholesalers, distributors and food traders who need practical decision clarity before buying, quoting or committing cash. It is not built as accounting software for CFOs.
What if my deal is more complex?
Use the calculators as a structured first pass. If the result is close, risky or cash-sensitive, treat that as a signal to validate the deal more carefully before committing.