Import Landed Cost Tracker Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet puts freight, duty, clearance, insurance, the exchange rate and the money tied up onto each shipment, so you can see what imported goods actually cost to be in the building.
Everybody prices off the supplier’s invoice, because it is the only figure that arrives with the goods. The freight comes a month later, the duty a week after that, the clearance charge on a different invoice again, and the rate did whatever it liked in between — so by the time the true cost is knowable, the price has already been set.
What is in it
- Shipments — 40 rows, one per consignment.
- Lines — 400 rows, one per product on each shipment.
- By Shipment — what each consignment really carried on top of its invoice.
- Where The Money Goes — every extra in one list, including the two that never arrive as an invoice.
- Overview — the whole year on one screen.
- Start Here and Setup: three numbers and one decision — whether a shipment’s extras are split by value or by weight.
Who it is for
Importers, wholesalers, retailers and makers buying abroad, whether that is containers, pallets, air freight, courier consignments or a van from the next country. If you buy in your own currency, put the rate at 1 and the exchange line goes to zero while everything else works the same. It does not file customs paperwork and it does not know your commodity codes; it takes the duty you were charged and puts it on the shipment that caused it.
The worked example
The worked year has 14 shipments. Suppliers invoiced $310,858 and everything on top came to $103,091 — an uplift of 33.2% that takes the real cost to $413,949 and turns a margin everyone thought was 70.7% into 62.8%.
The spread between consignments matters more than the average: the cheapest landed at 10.4% on top of the invoice and the dearest at 38.0%, 27.5 points apart, and not one of those points appears on a quote. Two of the extras never arrive as an invoice at all — the rate moving cost $14,863, or 14.4% of everything on top, and the money tied up another $4,314.
How it works
Compatible with Microsoft Excel 2016 or newer on Windows or Mac, Google Sheets, and LibreOffice. No macros, no add-ons, no account to create, nothing to install.
The download has two workbooks: one with the example above already filled in, so you can see what every column expects, and the same file completely blank for your own figures. A plain-English guide comes as a PDF. Order on WhatsApp — $9
Orders are taken on WhatsApp: message me and I’ll send the payment details, then the files as soon as the payment is confirmed.
A look inside the file
Questions people actually ask
How do I work out the true landed cost of imported goods?
You put every shipment's freight, duty, clearance, port charges, insurance, the exchange rate movement and the money tied up on the shipment that caused them, and the file shares them across the products on it. In the worked year suppliers invoiced $310,858 and $103,091 more sat on top of it — a 33.2% uplift, making the real cost of the goods $413,949 and taking the margin from the 70.7% they thought they had to 62.8%. The cheapest shipment landed at a 10.4% uplift and the dearest at 38.0%: 27.5 points of difference, and not one of those points appears on a quote.
Is it only for containers?
No — it works for pallets, air freight, courier consignments or a van from the next country: anything that arrives with charges attached to it. It holds 40 shipments and 400 product lines across seven linked tabs. Two suppliers quoting the same price can cost completely different amounts to have on your shelf — nine days on the water, no duty, 6% freight and $49 tied up against forty-four days, 19% freight, 11% duty and $319 tied up.
What if a charge arrives months later, or I buy in my own currency?
Put a late charge on the shipment it belongs to, not the month it turned up in — that is the only way a shipment ever gets a true figure. If you buy in your own currency, set the rate to 1 and the exchange line goes to zero, while freight, duty, clearance and the money tied up all work exactly the same. In the worked year the range was priced at 1.24, not one shipment all year was bought at it, and the gap cost $14,863 that nobody ever invoices you for.
Does it work in Google Sheets or do I need Excel?
Both — it is built as .xlsx for Excel 2016 or newer on Windows or Mac, and it loads into Google Sheets through File then Import then Upload. LibreOffice opens it too. No macros, no add-ons, no account to create, nothing to install and no subscription: you download the file and it is yours. The one judgement you make is a single word in Setup: whether a shipment's extras are shared by value or by weight.
Does it do customs paperwork?
No — it does not file anything and it does not know your commodity codes; it takes the duty you were charged and puts it on the shipment that caused it. It is not a customs, tariff or commodity-code tool, not a stock, purchase order or warehouse system and not a currency hedging tool. Nothing syncs and nothing logs in, and I never ask for a password, your accounts or a forwarder portal.
Need it built around your business?
This file assumes goods bought abroad in one foreign currency and cleared consignment by consignment. If yours works differently — three currencies on the same shipment, goods that go into a bonded warehouse and are duty-paid in batches later, or a forwarder who bills you monthly rather than per consignment — I can build the same landed-cost split around the way your imports actually arrive.
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