How to correct a wrong product cost in sales reports?

Accounting & Taxes

Topic summary

A user discovered they entered incorrect product costs in Shopify, resulting in inaccurate gross profit calculations in sales reports. The specific issue: a product initially listed with a $9 cost and $6 selling price (showing negative profit) was corrected to $2 cost, but historical sales data from February 2022 onward still reflects the original wrong cost.

Key Finding:

  • Shopify only applies updated product costs to new sales going forward
  • Historical sales data cannot be automatically updated in the system

Proposed Workaround:

  • Export sales reports to CSV and manually correct the cost data
  • One comment mentions a paid solution ($19/month) but provides no details

Community Reaction:

  • Multiple users express frustration with this limitation
  • Comparisons made to competitors (older Lightspeed version) that allowed retroactive cost updates
  • One user’s bulk upload error (yen vs USD) permanently compromised their reporting accuracy
  • General consensus: this is a significant platform shortcoming that undermines Shopify’s reporting functionality

Status: Unresolved - no native solution exists within Shopify.

Summarized with AI on October 28. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Guys,

I have an issue with my product cost, Initially, when I was adding the product into the store, I have added the cost wrongly for the product. After sell started and now I generated the report, it shows overall minus gross profit due to wrong product cost mentioned for the product. I tried to update the cost and now it shows updated product cost, but somehow the updated product cost does not reflect in the report which is generating.

Question to experts: Is it is the only way in Shopify that it will reflect the updated product cost for the old sale? and it will only start showing for a new sale. ?

For example: For Feb 2022, when we added the product into the shop, the product cost was $9, and the selling price was $6 till yesterday.. when I realized the wrong cost which running the report, I have corrected it and then re-run the report. like new cost is $2 and selling price is $6, and then ran the report, but looks like the cost is not getting updated for old sale, and it is only updating for a new sale.

Need your help to fix the reporting..

Thanks,

Kiva

2 Likes
2

Hi @Kivaz

Thank you for reaching out here.

You’re right. The system will automatically record and update the new information for new sales after making a change and the old sale information will not be affected or updated.

The best way is you have to export a report to a CSV file and change them on your own.

If you feel this answer is helpful, please mark it as a Solution.

Best regards.

3

Thanks a lot.. Is there any workaround that old sales can also be updated in the system?

4

Hi @Kivaz

As far as I know, there a no way to get around this issue. Just export them into a CSV file and update the wrong information by yourself.

Best regards.

5

And it costs another $19 US a month.

1 Like
6

Poor solution. Shopify has many shortcomings. This one of them. In the older version of Lightspeed, you could quickly click on sale and update cost basis. Should be the same for Shopify but system is designed by people that have never owned a business. Disappointing.

1 Like
7

I ran into this issue. I accidently bulk uploaded the cost in yen instead of USD, and now a product that was 1440 yen was showing up in my reporting as $1440. :skull: It’s unacceptable that there is no way to change this. This is a massive flaw, and it has essentially ruined the reporting tool for me forever. Shopify NEEDS to fix this, as the reporting tool is one of the only reasons I haven’t used another platform.