How to read your free border cost audit, and what to change first

Short answer: the free audit prices your past cross border orders the way your customers met them at the door. Read it top down. The total tells you how big the problem is. The product and region tables tell you where it is. The three changes at the end tell you what to try first.

Before you start

Export your orders from Shopify (Orders, Export, the last 90 days) or Etsy (Shop Manager, Settings, Options, Download Data, Order Items) and drop the file into the free audit. Your browser reads the file and sends only order numbers, products, quantities, prices and where each order went. Names and addresses never leave your computer.

The total

What your customers paid at the door across the orders that crossed the border, or what you paid if you already charge at checkout. Look at the share of what the goods were worth: under 5% is a light touch; over 15% is losing you sales.

Orders that owed something

How many of your cross border orders came with a bill at all, and the average bill. If most orders owed nothing, your problem is a few big orders. If most owed a little, your problem is the rules for small parcels, and the carrier you use.

The heavy orders

Orders charged more than a quarter of their value at the door. These are the ones most likely to be refused or end in a complaint. Even a handful is worth acting on.

By product and by region

The products table shows which products carry most of the cost, with the tariff code the audit suggested from each name. Check those codes: a wrong suggestion changes the numbers. The region table shows which provinces and states paid the most; into Canada, the Atlantic provinces pay the highest sales tax.

The three changes

• Ship by courier into Canada, when the audit shows mail costing your customers more.
• Charge it at checkout, so nothing is collected at the door.
• Claim CUSMA, when your goods are made in North America and qualify.

Try the biggest one first, then run the audit again on next month's orders.

From audit to every order

The audit looks backwards. Othermile does the same check on every new order before it ships. It holds the ones that break your limits until you approve them on your phone, and keeps a monthly report like the one in this post.

Check your own numbers

• One parcel: the free border fee checker.
• Your store's last 90 days: the free border cost audit.
• Every order, before it ships: Othermile checks each one against your limits and holds the costly ones for your OK.

These are estimates from the official rules, not customs advice.

This guide explains public rules in plain language for general information. It is not customs, tax or legal advice; the exact tariff code, your paperwork and the carrier decide the final amount.