Paid media

See what your ROAS really is once COD orders come back.

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Paid media
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Example values throughout; replace with your own.
₹
%
%
%
₹
Total logistics cost you absorb on each returned order.
Reported ROAS
3.00×
Orders × AOV ÷ ad spend
RTO-adjusted ROAS
2.37×
Delivered revenue ÷ (spend + RTO cost)
Delivered revenue
₹12,45,000
830 delivered orders
RTO cost
₹25,500
170 RTO orders, blended 17.0%
Effective CPA per delivered order
₹633
vs ₹500 per order placed

RTO cuts your ROAS from 3.00× to 2.37×, a 21.0% drop. Optimise campaigns on delivered orders, and test COD confirmation or prepaid incentives before scaling spend.

About this calculator

Ad platforms count an order the moment it is placed. For Indian D2C brands selling cash on delivery, a share of those orders is refused or undeliverable and comes back as Return-to-Origin (RTO), and you pay shipping both ways. This calculator restates ROAS and CPA on delivered orders so you can judge campaigns on money that actually arrives.

How to use it

  1. Enter ad spend, orders placed and average order value for the period. The pre-filled numbers are editable examples, not benchmarks.
  2. Enter the share of orders paid by COD, then the RTO rate you see on COD orders and on prepaid orders, from your logistics or shipping dashboard.
  3. Enter the forward plus reverse shipping cost you absorb on each RTO order.
  4. Read reported ROAS next to RTO-adjusted ROAS, delivered revenue, total RTO cost and effective CPA per delivered order.

Methodology

RTO orders = orders × (COD share × COD RTO rate + (1 − COD share) × prepaid RTO rate). Delivered orders = orders − RTO orders. The blended RTO rate is RTO orders ÷ orders.

Reported ROAS = (orders × AOV) ÷ ad spend, which is what an ad platform shows. Delivered revenue = delivered orders × AOV. RTO cost = RTO orders × forward plus reverse shipping per RTO.

RTO-adjusted ROAS = delivered revenue ÷ (ad spend + RTO cost). Shipping on returned orders is treated as part of the cost of acquiring the orders that did get delivered. Effective CPA per delivered order = (ad spend + RTO cost) ÷ delivered orders.

The model ignores product damage on return, payment gateway fees, packaging and post-delivery returns or refunds. Add those to the per-RTO cost if you want them included.

FAQ

Why is my Meta or Google ROAS higher than my real return?

Ad platforms attribute revenue when the order is placed. RTO orders never turn into cash but still count in the platform figure, and you also pay shipping on them, so delivered ROAS is lower.

Should I include prepaid RTO?

Yes, if you see it. Prepaid orders can still come back because of address issues or failed delivery. Enter your own observed rate; set it to zero if it does not apply.

What should I put in the shipping cost per RTO field?

Use the total logistics cost of one returned order: forward shipping plus the reverse or RTO charge your courier bills. Add packaging or handling if you want a fuller cost.

How do I improve RTO-adjusted ROAS?

Common levers are COD order confirmation, incentives to choose prepaid, blocking repeat refusers or poor-serviceability pincodes, and sending delivered-order conversions back to ad platforms so bidding optimises for orders that stick.

Numbers looking off?

If the model says one thing and the pipeline says another, that gap is usually where the revenue is. A 30-minute call finds it.

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