Order breakdowns shown in the Swap Global Dashboard reflect the order values used in calculations for taxes, VAT, duties, and import shipping fees, as well as, as an extension, the amounts that will be reported to and remitted for cross-border tax and duty compliance.
Some orders will show a platform variance, which occurs when certain aspects within Shopify are not visible to Swap Global when the calculations are created (like a discount, for example). This can result in a difference between the order total we used for our calculations and the amount the customer pays at checkout. To account for and align the totals, the difference is recorded as the "platform variance."
Variance Reasons
Variances are a result of the following items of combination of the following items:
- Additional taxes included on the order from other apps
- Discounts on the line item that we do not receive when quoting (this is the most common)
- Shopify currency conversion fee
- Shipping buffer set in Shopify instead of Swap Global
- Shopify price rounding
As the processor of the order payment, Shopify remains the source of truth for the order total. The variance shown in the Dashboard ensures the total on the order reflects the total from Shopify, and differences are accounted for.
Negative variances
If the variance is negative, the order total within Swap Global was greater than the order amount in Shopify. The most common reason for a negative variance is a discount at checkout that Shopify does not share. When a discount is used, a negative variance in the discount amount is included in the variance.
For example, if a 100 EUR order had a 10% discount (making the item price 90 USD) and 12 EUR in duties, taxes, and fees, the total in Shopify may be 102 EUR. In the Swap Dashboard, the total would be 112 USD with a -10 EUR variance (for the total value of 102 EUR as in Shopify).
Positive variances
For positive variances, the order total within Swap Global was lower than the order total in Shopify. This is often a result of price rounding and currency conversion fees within Shopify. For the price rounding functionality, Shopify rounds the converted value of the item and shipping to end in consumer-friendly numbers, such as whole integers or numbers ending in .95 or .99. This can result in a small amount being added in the checkout that was not known or used with the Swap Global calculations.