The Profit Leak Agent is the first screen you see in Shopshot, and for most stores it is the fastest way to make money back. Instead of a dashboard you have to interpret, it runs a set of detectors against your store, finds the issues that are costing you the most, and ranks them biggest first. Open it, fix two or three things, and you have usually earned back more than the app costs.
[Screenshot placeholder] Profit Leak Agent home screen showing the recoverable amount, the directional exposure pill, and the first two ranked leak cards
What you are looking at
At the top of the report, for the date range you have selected, are two headline numbers. They are deliberately kept separate, because they answer two different questions.
Number | What it tells you | Where it comes from |
Recoverable amount identified | Money you can realistically get back by acting on the leaks below. The conservative, defensible figure. | The specific orders, SKUs, and costs behind each curated leak. |
Directional exposure | A larger, at-risk figure for issues that point at a problem but are harder to pin to an exact recovery, such as cash locked in slow inventory. | Detectors where the full dollar impact is not yet certain, for example stock value that is not moving. |
Keeping these apart is the honest-math principle at work: the recoverable number never borrows from the softer, directional number, so you can trust it when you act on it.
Under the headline you can Export PDF, Share the report, or turn on a Weekly Email so the report comes to you without logging in. (See Exporting and sharing reports.)
How to read a leak card
Each leak is a card, ranked by what it is costing you. A card is quiet until you open it, so the screen stays calm.
[Screenshot placeholder] A single leak card, e.g. "Shipping is underpriced on some orders", with the COSTS tag, HIGH CONFIDENCE tag, the estimated recovery on the right, and the supporting figures
Every card carries four signals:
Category (for example COSTS or SHOPIFY) tells you where the leak lives.
Confidence (HIGH or MEDIUM) tells you how firm the estimate is. Confidence rises as your cost data becomes more complete.
Estimated recovery is the dollar figure for that specific leak.
Supporting figures give the one-line proof, for example "6 orders · $93 avg gap · $558 total leak."
Taking action on a leak
Click Take Action and the card opens a drawer with the evidence behind the number. Nothing here is estimated in a black box: the drawer lists the exact orders, SKUs, or costs driving the leak so you can verify it and fix it.
[Screenshot placeholder] An open leak drawer, e.g. "Some inventory is not moving", showing the SKU table with on-hand units, units sold in the window, and value at risk
Examples of what the agent surfaces:
Shipping underpriced on specific orders. You charged less for shipping than it cost you. Fix by adjusting your shipping rates or your Shipping Costs setup.
SKUs selling at negative or low margin. A product loses money on every sale after all-in costs. Fix by repricing, renegotiating COGS, or retiring it.
Inventory not moving. Cash sitting in stock that has not sold in the lookback window. Not lost, but locked up until you act.
The five highest-impact leaks are shown as cards. Any additional detections sit under Other leaks, so the top of the report stays focused on what matters most today.
How the numbers are calculated
The recoverable amount is the sum of the per-leak estimates across the curated cards, and each per-leak estimate traces to the underlying orders, SKUs, or costs. Because every figure reconciles to Shopify and to your own cost setup, the more complete your costs are, the sharper and more confident the numbers become. If a leak shows MEDIUM confidence, it is usually a sign that a cost input (often COGS) is missing for some of the affected orders. See How Shopshot calculates profit for the underlying rules.
Get the report without logging in
Most operators do not open the app every day, so bring the report to them. Turn on the Weekly Email from the top of the report (or in Settings > Email Reports) and choose recipients. You can also Export PDF for a board deck or Share a link with a partner or accountant.
[Screenshot placeholder] The Export PDF / Share / Weekly Email controls at the top of the report
Common questions
Why is directional exposure so much larger than the recoverable amount? Because it includes issues where the full dollar impact is not yet certain, such as slow-moving stock. Shopshot keeps the two apart so the recoverable number never overstates what you can actually get back.
Can I trust the dollar figure on a card? Yes. Open the drawer and every figure traces to specific orders, SKUs, or costs. Nothing on a card is inferred.
Why does a leak show only MEDIUM confidence? Usually because a cost input is missing for some of the affected orders. Completing your COGS and cost settings raises confidence and sharpens the estimate.
A leak disappeared. Where did it go? If you fixed the underlying issue, or a bigger leak now outranks it, it rotates out of the five curated cards. You can still find it under Other leaks.
How often does the agent run? It reflects your latest synced data for the date range you select. Change the range to look at a different period.
Next step
Leak estimates are only as sharp as your costs. If you have not finished COGS and Shipping Costs setup, do that next so every leak amount is exact and every card reaches HIGH confidence. → Set up costs for a new store
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