Likes, views and "interested!" comments feel good, but they do not pay you. A handful of simple numbers tells you the truth about your selling, and shows you exactly what to fix. You can work them all out with a notebook in ten minutes a week.
1. Delivered orders
What it is: the number of parcels that actually reached the customer and were paid for.
Why it matters: on MyKade, your profit goes to your wallet only when a parcel is delivered. A placed order that comes back earns nothing. So "orders placed" can look great while your wallet stays empty.
How to track it: each week, count the orders whose profit reached your wallet.
2. Return rate
What it is: returned parcels ÷ parcels sent.
Example: if you sent 20 parcels and 5 came back, your return rate is 5 ÷ 20 = 25%.
What real shops saw: selling to strangers, 30–37% of parcels came back. When customers knew the seller and ordered again, about 96% were delivered, so only around 4% came back.
Why it matters: your return rate decides your seller level (Green, Amber or Red). Every seller gets 3 free returns; after that, Amber and Red sellers pay a Rs 150 return fee per return, and many returns can suspend an account. See how seller levels work.
Go one step further: write down why each parcel came back. In real shops, 42% of returns were "no answer", 19% refused, and 8% changed their mind. If most of yours are "no answer", remind customers to keep their phone on. If most are refusals, check that you are saying the full total. See why parcels come back.
3. Enquiry-to-order rate
What it is: orders ÷ enquiries (people who asked about a product).
Example: 30 people asked this week and 12 ordered: 12 ÷ 30 = 40%.
What real shops saw: about half of enquiries became orders. Of those, 3 in 4 ordered within a day, and almost none after 3 days.
Why it matters: if lots of people ask but few order, the problem is usually in the conversation: slow replies, an unclear price, or a total that surprises them. If few people ask at all, the problem is your posts or your product.
4. Repeat customers
What it is: how many of your orders come from people who have bought from you before.
Why it matters: returning customers are your most reliable orders, with about 96% delivered in real shops. And buyers of everyday items they use up (packaging, cleaning, beauty) reordered about 4 times as often as gadget buyers: about 11% compared with about 3% within two months.
How to track it: next to each order in your notebook, put a tick if the customer has bought before. Watch the ticks grow. See the message after delivery that brings the next order.
5. Real profit per delivered order
What it is: your profit on an order, minus anything you spent to get it, such as ads.
Why it matters: if you spend nothing on ads, your real profit is simply the profit the app shows. If you run ads, it can shrink fast. Real Sri Lankan shops paid about Rs 1,200 in Facebook ads per delivered order.
Example (illustration only): in a week you have 10 delivered orders at Rs 450 profit each, so Rs 4,500. You spent Rs 2,100 on ads. Your real profit is Rs 4,500 − Rs 2,100 = Rs 2,400, or Rs 240 per delivered order, not Rs 450. Read when to pay for ads.
A ten-minute weekly check
Each Sunday evening, fill in one line:
| Week | Enquiries | Orders | Delivered | Returned | Repeat | Ad spend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 |
Then ask three questions:
- Did my delivered orders go up?
- Did my return rate go down?
- Which one number will I try to improve next week?
Pick just one. Trying to fix everything at once usually fixes nothing.
Let the numbers guide you
You do not need to be good at maths to sell well, but you do need to know your numbers. They turn guesswork into clear next steps. The MyKade Academy in the app can help too, with an earnings planner and an AI selling coach that answers in your language. Download the MyKade app and start your first weekly check this Sunday.