Start From the Margin You Need
Set the margin requirement before choosing a customer-facing price. Use revenue excluding GST as the base: the current GST rate in Singapore is 9% (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). GST collected is not margin. If your box sells for S$50 including GST, its revenue base is S$45.87 before other deductions (Source: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore).
Separate the measures. Gross margin is useful for checking product economics after product cost. Contribution margin is the stronger pricing measure when fulfilment and payment fees vary by box: it shows what remains after those direct costs. For a target contribution margin, use: price ≥ (fulfilment cost + fixed payment fee) ÷ (1 − payment fee rate − target margin).
For illustration only, with S$18 fulfilment, a S$0.50 fixed payment fee, a 3% payment fee and a 55% target contribution margin, the minimum net-of-GST price is S$44.05: (18 + 0.50) ÷ (1 − 0.03 − 0.55). Test the assumptions in the product pricing calculator, then compare the result with your actual realized revenue. ORVX can calculate profitability from delivered orders, excluding cancelled and returned orders.
- Gross margin = (revenue − product cost) ÷ revenue; act on it when product cost is the main variable.
- Contribution margin = (revenue − product cost − fulfilment − payment fees) ÷ revenue; act on it when each box creates different direct service costs.
Build the Full Cost per Box
Calculate one box on a delivered-order basis. Include product or inventory cost, inbound freight and duties where applicable, packaging, pick-and-pack labour, last-mile delivery, payment processing, and an allowance for refunds, damaged parcels and replacements. A simple example is S$18 products + S$2.50 packaging + S$3 pick-and-pack + S$4 delivery + S$1.20 payment fee + S$1.30 refund/replacement allowance = S$30 variable cost per delivered box.
Keep overhead separate, then allocate it consistently. Rent, software, salaries, storage, customer support, photography and general administration do not belong to one order automatically. Divide the monthly amount by the number of boxes you expect to deliver that month. If overhead is S$6,000 and expected deliveries are 1,000, add S$6 per box; your fully allocated cost is S$36.
Use variable cost to judge whether an incremental order pays for itself, and fully allocated cost to judge whether the subscription model supports the business. Base the refund allowance on your own history rather than ignoring it. ORVX calculates product costs and profitability, reports delivered orders without counting returned or cancelled orders as revenue, and shows refund value against revenue. For a structured starting point, use the product pricing calculator.
Worked example with sample numbers
This example is illustrative. It uses sample numbers for a subscription boxes store selling in Singapore. They are made up to show the method, they are not a benchmark, and your own figures will differ.
Formula: Net price needed = (variable costs + fixed fee) / (1 - target margin - percentage fee).
| Target margin | Net price needed | Check |
|---|---|---|
| 15.0% | S$38.92 | S$5.84 left per order |
| 25.0% | S$44.31 | S$11.08 left per order |
| 35.0% | S$51.44 | S$18.00 left per order |
| 45.0% | S$61.29 | S$27.58 left per order |
Run the same sum with your own numbers in the free calculator, or browse guides for sellers in Singapore and more subscription boxes guides.
General information only: tax, duty and import rules change and depend on your situation, so check with an accountant or the official source before acting.
Eligible Shopify stores can see these numbers for their own store through the Founding 10,000 offer.
Show the Price Clearly in Singapore
Show the recurring subscription price in SGD where the box is chosen. State whether delivery is included, separate or address-dependent, show its amount before payment, and make the one-billing-period total clear. Singapore’s current GST rate is 9% (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). If GST-registered, label prices consistently GST-inclusive or GST-exclusive: a GST-inclusive price of S$109 contains S$9 GST and S$100 excluding GST. Register when taxable turnover for a calendar year exceeds $1 million, or expected taxable turnover is more than $1 million in the next 12 months (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). Low-value goods are goods with a sales value of S$400 or below imported into Singapore by air or post; a GST-registered overseas supplier charges GST at the point of purchase (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore). If applicable, identify the treatment at checkout. Use the product pricing calculator to reconcile the shown SGD price with excluding-GST economics (Source: Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore).
Compare the Measures Before Changing Price
Do not change a subscription price because the list price looks attractive or because cash briefly increased. Compare the measure with the decision it can support. The same box can show strong cash collection but weak contribution after acquisition costs.
Use delivered orders for performance analysis: ORVX calculates realized revenue from delivered orders only, never counting returned or cancelled orders as revenue. Its product cost model also derives gross profit and margin, while contribution reporting includes advertising. That separates pricing economics from billing timing.
| Measure | What it means | Act on it when |
|---|---|---|
| List price | The customer-facing recurring price before discounts, refunds, GST treatment or other adjustments. | Checking market positioning, offer clarity or the starting point for a test. |
| Net revenue | Revenue retained from delivered sales after applicable discounts, refunds and GST exclusion. | Checking whether the price actually produces the revenue you planned for. |
| Gross margin | Net revenue minus product and other cost of goods, divided by net revenue. | Product, packaging or supplier costs are eroding box economics. |
| Contribution margin | Revenue left after variable costs such as fulfilment and advertising. | Deciding whether acquisition spend and delivery costs leave enough per box. |
| Cash collected | Money actually received, including timing differences from billing, refunds or failed payments. | Managing liquidity or checking whether the subscription can fund upcoming obligations, not setting the sustainable price alone. |
When a Higher Price Is the Wrong Move
A higher price is wrong when extra contribution is outweighed by fewer renewals or orders: raising $40 to $44 might lift contribution from $12 to $16, but a 100-subscriber cohort falling to 70 renewals changes 100 × $12 = $1,200 to 70 × $16 = $1,120. Check renewal value, cancellation rate and delivered order volume, not price or first-order revenue alone.
Compare the change with narrower scope, better product mix, lighter packaging, a different delivery charge or lower acquisition cost. Removing a $2 packaging cost while preserving 100 subscribers produces 100 × $14 = $1,400 without charging more. Mix can improve contribution while keeping the subscription attractive; lower acquisition cost improves customer economics without changing renewal pricing.
ORVX reports contribution after advertising by product and collection, customer profitability and repeat behaviour; it reports where a price experiment is worth running but cannot estimate price elasticity or predict demand response. Use the product pricing calculator to test the arithmetic before changing the offer.
Use a Repeatable Pricing Review Routine
Review weekly: delivered orders, cancellations, refunds, payment fees, fulfilment costs and stock variances. Monthly by plan: realised revenue, tax treatment, cost per box, gross profit and margin; separate new subscribers from renewals. At month-end, reconcile with Shopify orders/payments, check consistent GST treatment and whether registration status or selling flow changes it, and compare refund value/return rate with calculated revenue. ORVX reports delivered-order revenue, refund value against revenue, product/collection profitability and consistent currency. Test one input at a time, price, delivery charge, contents, interval or discount, predefine window/measure, hold others steady, compare prior/control, separate acquisition/renewals, and do not treat correlation as elasticity when choosing to test, fix economics or stop.
A defensible Singapore subscription box price is the result of a complete cost model, a stated margin target and a customer-facing SGD presentation that makes tax treatment clear. Recheck the calculation against actual renewal and fulfilment data before treating a price change as a profit improvement.
Sources
- Current GST rates (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, checked 26 October 2026).
- Do I need to register for GST (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, checked 26 October 2026).
- GST on imported low-value goods (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, checked 26 October 2026).
How this page was made: drafted with AI from a brief, then checked by automated rules for arithmetic, sources and duplication. The sample numbers were calculated, not reported.