Delivery fee, courier fee and return cost
Three money amounts move around when a parcel is booked: what the customer pays you, what the courier charges you, and what it costs to return a failed parcel.
বাংলায়: অর্ডারে তিনটা ডেলিভারি খরচ জড়িত। এক, গ্রাহক যা পরিশোধ করে (ডেলিভারি ফি)। দুই, কুরিয়ার যা ব্যবসায়ীকে চার্জ করে (courier fee)। তিন, যদি পার্সেল ফেরত আসে, তার খরচ (RTO)। প্রতিটার টাকা আলাদা জায়গায় দেখা যায়।
Where to find it: Orders › open an order › the money section shows Shipping (what the customer paid) and Delivery fee (what the courier charged)
Delivery fee (what the customer pays)
The Delivery fee (or Shipping line in the order window) is what the customer pays for delivery.
For orders from your online store or landing pages, the customer picks a zone (Dhaka / Outside Dhaka) and the fee is:
- Inside Dhaka:
delivery_fee_dhaka(default Tk 80) - Outside Dhaka:
delivery_fee_outside_dhaka(default Tk 130)
The customer can pay this up front (prepay) or as Cash on Delivery. Either way, it is added to the Total and is part of the money the customer owes.
For orders you create by hand (in the Orders view), you set the shipping fee manually. It is a required field. In point-of-sale (POS) mode, it is forced to 0.
Courier fee (what the merchant pays)
The Fee (field total_fee) is what the courier charges the merchant for the parcel, also called the courier fee or delivery fee charged by the courier.
This amount:
- Is set when the parcel is booked with the courier (Pathao or Steadfast), or arrives with the first webhook.
- Changes when the parcel is updated to Delivered — Pathao sends the final fee.
- Is subtracted from profit in reports.
In the order window's money section, it is shown as:
| Status | Courier fee shown |
|---|---|
| New, Confirmed, Preparing | Not shown (no courier assigned yet) |
| Dispatched | Shown from the courier's booking response |
| Delivered | Shown as Delivery fee in the order details |
| Return Pending or Returned | Shown as the RTO cost (the fee charged for the return) |
The courier fee is not visible to the customer; it is only internal to your P&L.
Return cost (RTO: return to origin)
When a parcel fails or is returned by the courier, the order moves to Return Pending and then Returned.
The cost of the return — what the courier charged to bring it back — is stored in the total_fee field, same as a delivery fee.
In the Cash in flight dashboard panel, it is summed as Coming back as returns.
In reports (Fulfilment & Courier), it is shown as a line item: Fees on returns — the total RTO cost across all returned parcels.
How they appear in reports
In the Fulfilment & Courier report:
- Cash with couriers (sums) includes the courier fee on Dispatched parcels (the merchant's cost at risk).
- Riskiest city weights cities by return rate; returned parcels carry the RTO cost.
- Courier spend estimates the average fee per parcel and totals the estimated cost to the merchant.
- Fees on returns (sums) adds up the RTO cost on all returned parcels.
In the Financials / P&L report:
- Courier cost (gross profit deduction) is the sum of all courier fees (delivery + returns) for delivered and returned orders in the date range.
The three amounts side by side
| Amount | Paid by | Paid to | Appears as | Used in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery fee | Customer | Merchant (order total) | Shipping line on the order; Customer pays at checkout | Gross profit (revenue) |
| Courier fee | Merchant | Courier | Delivery fee in order details; field total_fee | Courier cost (gross profit deduction); Fulfilment report |
| RTO cost | Merchant | Courier | Delivery fee on Returned orders; included in total_fee | Courier cost; Fulfilment report; Cash in flight |
Example
A customer orders clothing with a delivery fee of Tk 100 inside Dhaka.
- Customer pays Tk 100 as the delivery fee.
- Omnikyo books the parcel with Pathao.
- Pathao charges Tk 60 as the delivery fee.
- The parcel is delivered. Pathao's final fee is Tk 62.
In the order:
- Shipping (customer paid) = Tk 100
- Delivery fee /
total_fee(Pathao charged) = Tk 62
In profit:
- Gross profit includes the Tk 100 (revenue).
- Gross profit deducts Tk 62 (courier cost).
If the parcel were returned instead:
- Delivery fee (RTO cost) = Tk 65 (what Pathao charged to return it)
- Gross profit deducts Tk 65.
Other ways people ask this
- delivery fee কত গ্রাহক দেয়
- courier fee আমার কাছ থেকে খরচ হয় কত
- RTO cost কি
- shipping charge customer বনাম merchant
- courier কত টাকা আমাকে চার্জ করবে
- report এ delivery fee দেখা যাচ্ছে না কেন
- returned parcel এ courier fee কত
- রিটার্ন পার্সেলে কত খরচ হয়
- pathao fee কোথা থেকে আসে
- গ্রাহক delivery পেমেন্ট এবং merchant খরচ
- profit থেকে courier fee কাটে কেন
- RTO charge কত হতে পারে
- delivery fee এবং shipping fee একই কি
- order money section e delivery fee
Related pages
- Cash on delivery, from parcel to your pocket — how COD cash moves through the courier and merchant
- Set your delivery fees — how to configure the customer-facing delivery fees
- Fulfilment & Courier report — where courier costs appear in reports
Related guides
Checked against the product on 2026-10-02.