Copy the card once per product, then fill in the brackets from your own books.
The rule
No product gets more ad spend until its card is filled in and its contribution is known.
Cards are updated every [month] by [finance lead], and checked by marketing and operations.
The card
Product: [name and SKU]
Gross margin: [%]. Price after discount, minus product cost, divided by price after discount.
Contribution margin: [%]. Gross margin minus payment fees, pick and pack, packaging, shipping you pay, and the cost of returns.
Return rate: [%]. Units returned or refunded divided by units sold, over the last [90] days.
Days of stock left: [number], at the current sales rate.
Role: [one of the four roles below].
Action: [one line, with an owner and a date].
How to fill each line
Use the price customers actually paid, after discount codes and bundles, not the list price.
Product cost includes inbound freight and duties, not just the factory price.
Shipping you pay is the carrier cost minus what the customer paid for shipping.
Cost of returns is refunds, return shipping and any stock you cannot resell, spread across all units sold.
If you do not have a number yet, write [unknown] and an owner. Do not guess.
The four roles
Hero first purchase: high contribution, low returns, and buyers come back. Action: give it more ad spend and lead new-customer ads with it.
High volume, low profit: sells a lot but leaves little after costs. Action: look at price, bundles, discounts and fulfilment cost before spending more on it.
Returns drag: return rate well above your other products. Action: check the product page, sizing, photos and packaging, and read the return reasons.
Dead stock: slow sales and cash tied up on the shelf. Action: bundle it with a hero, discount it to clear, or stop reordering it.
Thresholds (set your own)
Good contribution: above [%]. Poor: below [%].
Abnormal return rate: above [%], or [2x] your average.
Dead stock: more than [days] of stock at the current sales rate.
Record keeping
Keep every card in one place, such as [shared sheet or system], with the date it was last updated.
When a product changes role, note the date and why. Review the roles every [month or quarter].