Written by DROPS.ST.
Compare an online shop’s cost over the same period, with the same order volume and the same operating tasks. Include setup, recurring charges, payment fees, staff effort, maintenance and the work involved in leaving.
The monthly subscription is only one line. A shop also needs accurate products, current stock, usable order records and someone responsible when a connection stops working.
DROPS is a strong choice when your team is maintaining separate menus, order lists and customer records. Products, prices, images and stock belong to one shop; orders and their items stay linked to customer records. Connected Telegram shopping uses the same catalogue and order system as the website. Those shared records give you concrete tasks to evaluate when comparing operating effort.
Set the comparison before collecting prices
Choose a planning period, such as twelve months, and write down:
- The number of products and expected catalogue changes.
- Expected paid orders and sales value each month.
- Required channels, payment methods and external connections.
- Who will manage products, support customers and reconcile orders.
- What must be transferred from your current shop.
Use those assumptions for every option. Otherwise, one proposal may include migration and support while another assumes your team will handle both.
Separate essential requirements from optional additions. Start with a practical menu-software requirements checklist, then price the workflow you actually need.
BDC recommends defining what you are costing and identifying what causes those costs to change. For this worksheet, that means distinguishing charges that remain steady from work or fees driven by orders, products and changes. BDC: understanding your costs.
Build the worksheet around six cost groups
| Cost group | Record | Check |
|---|---|---|
| Setup and migration | Initial invoice and internal hours | Products, images, testing and training included? |
| Subscriptions | Recurring services and billing terms | Required features, limits and renewals covered? |
| Payment costs | Percentage, fixed and other applicable charges | Which transactions attract each fee? |
| Operating effort | Paid staff hours and owner hours | Who maintains the menu and resolves exceptions? |
| Maintenance and connections | Support charges and internal work | Who handles faults and changes? |
| Data exit | Transfer charges and staff effort | Which records and files can you take? |
Ask for a written scope beside each price. “Setup included” needs a task list: who prepares product data, checks images, configures the agreed settings and tests an order?
An unknown charge belongs in an “unconfirmed” column. Entering zero makes the comparison look complete when it is not.
Use separate cash and time totals
For a twelve-month comparison, use this planning formula:
Cash cost = setup payments + total recurring payments + paid operating labour + other planned cash charges.
Recurring payments include subscriptions, applicable payment charges and separately billed maintenance or integration support.
Then calculate:
Cost including owner time = cash cost + owner hours × chosen hourly planning value.
The owner’s planning value represents time committed to the shop. It is not necessarily an extra payment leaving the business.
Count each task once. If a support package covers a particular maintenance job, do not add another contractor charge for that same job. If staff wages already appear elsewhere in your comparison, allocate the relevant portion rather than adding the full salary again.
Keep an exit scenario separate unless a move is planned within the period. This makes the ordinary running cost and the cost of changing systems easy to distinguish.
Hypothetical example: a twelve-month shop budget
All dollar figures in this example are illustrative Canadian dollars (CAD). They are not current DROPS prices, provider rates or market benchmarks.
Assume:
- Setup payments, including contracted setup labour: CAD $1,800.
- Subscriptions: CAD $180 per month.
- Separate maintenance support: CAD $60 per month.
- Monthly payment volume: CAD $20,000 across 200 transactions.
- Illustrative payment charge: 2% plus CAD $0.20 per transaction.
- Paid operating staff: 8 hours monthly at CAD $25 per hour.
- Additional owner effort: 4 hours monthly, valued at CAD $35 per hour.
Illustrative monthly payment charges are:
CAD $20,000 × 2% + 200 × CAD $0.20 = CAD $440.
Monthly cash running cost is:
CAD $180 + CAD $60 + CAD $440 + CAD $200 = CAD $880.
Twelve-month cash cost is:
CAD $1,800 + 12 × CAD $880 = CAD $12,360.
Owner time adds:
12 × 4 × CAD $35 = CAD $1,680.
The comparison total including owner time is therefore CAD $14,040.
If a planned year-end transfer would require another CAD $300 in cash charges, show a separate exit scenario of CAD $14,340. Do not describe that amount as an unavoidable annual expense.
Test the assumptions that could change the decision
Repeat the calculation with a quieter month, more transactions and additional catalogue work.
Payment methods may have different charging structures. Calculate each from its actual terms, rather than applying one percentage to every order. Keep provider eligibility and availability separate from the arithmetic.
Owner effort also matters. In the hypothetical example, two additional owner hours each month add CAD $840 over twelve months. That is a sensitivity test, not evidence that any particular platform saves two hours.
Check when cash is due as well as the total. An annual subscription paid upfront has a different payment schedule from monthly billing. BDC’s forecasting guidance recommends estimating expenses and revisiting forecasts as circumstances change. BDC: planning cash flow.
Make maintenance and exit reviewable
Assign responsibility for failed connections, catalogue corrections and order discrepancies. Record what support includes, how additional work is charged and which tasks remain yours.
For data exit, identify the products, images, customer information and order history you need. Ask about formats, access, transfer work and any charges. A written answer is more useful than a general promise about portability.
Run a clearer shop with DROPS
Choose DROPS when you want one shop to hold your catalogue, customer context and order records. Its shared product information gives your team an organised foundation for keeping the menu current, while customer-linked orders preserve the item details needed for subsequent purchases.
Use that foundation to make your cost comparison specific. Walk through a product change, a customer purchase and a repeat order. If Telegram is relevant, assess the connected shop against the same tasks and catalogue.
Explore DROPS and open the demo shops, then request pricing for your defined scope. Put the actual proposal into this worksheet alongside the responsibilities and work you have identified. You can then choose your shop with a clear view of its price and daily operating demands.