Build a landed-cost worksheet with a worked total, cost per unit, checks for bundled charges and a separate record of unknown costs.
Choose the cost view that matches your purchasing decision
Budget the cash needed to get the order to the receiving warehouse before judging product profitability. Separate confirmed costs, estimates and unknowns. For mixed products or recoverable taxes, confirm the allocation and accounting treatment; a shipment average may not represent each product’s final cost.
Compare your options ↓Choose the option that fits
Define the end point and the purpose of the worksheet
A freight quote and a landed-cost budget answer different questions. A quote may cover only transport between two points. A purchasing budget may need goods value, transport, insurance, duties, taxes and other arrival-related charges through the receiving warehouse. Write the end point and the items included before using the total to price a product.
This guide uses an order-level cash-planning example. It is not a customs-value, tax or accounting calculation. Tax treatment, recoverability and cost allocation depend on the transaction and applicable rules and should be confirmed with the responsible professionals. Check these questions separately from the forwarder’s delivery charges.
Open the printable landed-cost worksheet ↗Give every cost line a status and a payer
For each charge, record the amount, currency, calculation basis, payer, supporting evidence and status. Use confirmed, estimate, included elsewhere, or unconfirmed. If collection is already inside a transport package, point to that package line and do not add collection a second time. If a local charge has not been priced, use “unconfirmed” rather than zero.
When converting currencies, retain the rate, date and purpose of the conversion. A planning exchange rate is not necessarily the settlement rate or a customs conversion rate. Preserve the source-currency amount so later differences can be explained without reconstructing the quote.
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Charge and scope | Service, location and end point | Destination handling through cargo release |
| Quantity / basis | Shipment, package, kg, CBM, container or other quoted unit | 12 chargeable W/M units × quoted rate |
| Amount and currency | Original amount plus conversion assumption if used | USD 300; no conversion in this example |
| Status / evidence | Confirmed quote, estimate, included elsewhere or unconfirmed | Estimated; awaiting destination agent confirmation |
| Payer / owner | Who receives the charge and who confirms it | Buyer pays; shipping coordinator verifies |
| Trigger | Conditions that could create or change the charge | Storage if cargo remains after the applicable free period |
Worked example: 500 units delivered to one warehouse
The USD figures below are invented and are not live freight rates, a tariff schedule or a tax assessment. Assume 500 identical units with goods value of USD 10,000. All listed costs belong to this order and none are already included in the goods price. Duty and tax amounts are assumed planning inputs only, not calculated percentages or statements of what any destination will charge.
The included collection row is shown for clarity but is not added again. The listed cash-planning subtotal is USD 12,630. Unknown exception costs remain open beneath the table, so this is a provisional budget rather than an unconditional final landed cost.
| Cost line | USD amount | Status / treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Goods: 500 units × USD 20 | 10,000 | Example order value |
| Origin transport and handling package | 300 | Example quote |
| Factory collection | Included | Already in the USD 300 package; do not add again |
| International carriage | 900 | Example quote |
| Insurance | 80 | Illustrative separate provision; verify actual cover and price |
| Destination handling and clearance service | 250 | Example combined service amount; excludes duties and taxes |
| Final delivery | 200 | Example warehouse delivery quote |
| Duty | 500 | Assumed input only; verify classification, origin and valuation |
| Import tax | 400 | Assumed cash outflow only; verify assessment and recovery treatment |
| Listed cash-planning subtotal | 12,630 | Provisional; excludes unresolved exceptions |
Calculate cost per unit without hiding what it means
For 500 identical saleable units, the listed cash-planning amount per unit is USD 12,630 ÷ 500 = USD 25.26. The amount above the goods value is USD 2,630 ÷ 500 = USD 5.26 per unit. Both use the same 500-unit denominator and include the assumed tax cash outflow. They are not automatically the accounting inventory cost or the final selling price.
If an accountant later confirms that a tax is recoverable, show the treatment in a separate view instead of silently deleting it from the cash plan. If the shipment contains different products, choose and document an allocation basis appropriate to each cost: for example, a value-based allocation produces a different result from an allocation by weight or volume. Do not apply a single per-unit average to very different SKUs without explaining its limitations.
If some units arrive damaged or cannot be sold, the saleable-unit denominator changes. Keep the original budget and record the revised quantity separately with actual costs and any replacement or recovery amounts. This lets you trace the change in cost.
Keep an open-items register beside the subtotal
Keep unpriced inspections, storage and extra delivery requirements visible beside the total. Give each open item an owner and a next action. A contingency can support internal planning, but it is a business assumption, not confirmation that the carrier will charge that amount.
For example, adding an internal USD 300 contingency to the USD 12,630 subtotal gives a planning budget of USD 12,930. It does not cap the final invoice. Keep the contingency separate from quoted service lines and revise it when the unknown item is resolved.
| Open item | What needs confirmation | Owner / action |
|---|---|---|
| Examination or inspection | Whether required; handling and authority charges if it occurs | Clearance contact: provide actual notice and estimate |
| Storage or equipment-use charges | Applicable free periods, trigger times and subsequent rate basis | Operations: confirm booking terms and monitor release |
| Delivery exception | Appointment, access, waiting or redelivery conditions | Receiving warehouse: verify before booking |
| Currency movement | Difference between budget and settlement conversion | Finance: retain both exchange rates |
| Measurement adjustment | Carrier-measured dimensions or weight differ from the quote | Shipping coordinator: compare measurement evidence |
Close the worksheet after the final invoices arrive
Keep budget and actual columns side by side. Assign each difference to a reason: cargo measurement, changed scope, exception, exchange rate or a missing quote item. Mark whether the cost was approved and which document supports it. “Over budget” alone does not explain what the next planner should change.
Carry recurring facts into the next enquiry: real packed dimensions, warehouse appointment requirements, common handling lines and the receiving end point. Use the worksheet together with the quote comparison guide so the service choice and the product budget share the same assumptions.
Allocate shared freight without hiding the cost of a bulky SKU
For a mixed order, allocate each shared cost using a documented basis: allocated cost = cost pool × SKU basis ÷ total basis. The basis might be packed volume, chargeable weight, goods value or another measure appropriate to that particular cost. Use the charging cause and the finance team’s policy; do not assume one basis is correct for all lines.
In this separate original example, SKU A has 100 units, goods value USD 2,000 and packed volume 1.20 m³. SKU B has 200 units, goods value USD 8,000 and volume 0.30 m³. Shared freight is an invented USD 900. Allocating it by volume gives A 80% of the freight; allocating by value gives A 20%. Both sum correctly, but they tell very different product-margin stories.
The ITA’s pricing guidance distinguishes goods, freight, insurance and destination charges. The table below addresses only internal allocation of one freight pool. It is not a customs-value, tax or accounting determination, and it does not change the amount paid to the transport provider.
- Assign a charge that relates only to one SKU directly to it; do not spread it across the order merely because it shares an invoice.
- For each shared pool, retain its amount, currency, chosen basis and the quantities used, then have the responsible finance owner approve the method.
- Replace estimates with actual costs and reconcile the allocated total to the invoices. Keep cash paid, recoverable tax treatment and saleable-unit changes in separate, clearly labelled views.
| Allocation basis | SKU A freight / USD | SKU B freight / USD | Freight per unit A / B |
|---|---|---|---|
| Packed volume: A 1.20 of 1.50 m³; B 0.30 of 1.50 m³ | 900 × 80% = 720 | 900 × 20% = 180 | 7.20 / 0.90 |
| Goods value: A 2,000 of 10,000; B 8,000 of 10,000 | 900 × 20% = 180 | 900 × 80% = 720 | 1.80 / 3.60 |
| Reconciliation | A plus B must equal 900 | Do not add the pool again after allocation | Divide by each SKU’s own quantity, not all 300 units |
Sources
This is a planning guide. Requirements vary by service and destination. Confirm cargo acceptance, charges, customs requirements and delivery arrangements with your provider before shipping.
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