Estimate landed cost before the stock arrives

What is landed cost?

Landed cost is the true per-unit cost of importing a product, including the product price, freight, duties, clearance, and exchange rate impacts. Many businesses calculate landed cost incorrectly by excluding costs or spreading them inaccurately across units.

• Product cost from supplier
• Freight (air or sea)
• Duties and clearance
• Exchange rate effects
• Total units imported

Example: calculating landed cost for an import shipment

For example, if you import products with a supplier cost of R500,000, freight of R80,000, and duties and clearance of R40,000 across 1,000 units, the true landed cost per unit is not the supplier price — it's the total landed cost divided by units.

Total cost = R620,000
Units imported = 1,000
Landed cost per unit = R620.00

This calculator gives you a quick estimate. FlowIQ applies this logic automatically across shipments, SKUs, and currencies.

For a deeper explanation, see how we calculate true landed cost and why spreadsheets often get this wrong.

When a Shipment Average Is Not Enough

A quick average helps with planning, but different products may need different cost allocations.

A full costing workflow in FlowIQ goes beyond this quick estimate to handle:

• Mixed SKUs in one shipment
• One freight invoice across many products
• Duties and clearance charged at shipment level
• FX differences across multiple payments

The public calculator shows a shipment-wide average. Use the authenticated FlowIQ workflow for allocation across individual SKUs.

Costs to Review in a Full Shipment Workflow

When moving beyond this estimate, review:

• Supplier product cost
• International and local freight
• Customs duties
• Clearance and port charges
• Insurance
• FX differences between payments

This public tool adds only the supplier, freight, and combined duty/clearance amounts you enter. Insurance and FX differences are not calculated separately here. FlowIQ's full shipment workflow supports per-SKU allocation.

How Costing Works Inside FlowIQ

In the authenticated app, FlowIQ treats each shipment as a cost container. This is separate from the free estimate above.

Steps:

1. Capture total shipment costs
2. Choose an allocation method (CBM, weight, or value)
3. Distribute costs proportionally across SKUs
4. Calculate landed cost per unit
5. Apply landed cost to inventory on receipt

The result is a landed cost number you can trust.

Full Workflow Formula (Beyond This Estimate)

FlowIQ performs this calculation automatically and consistently — without spreadsheets or manual rework.

When to Move Beyond a Spreadsheet Estimate

Consider a connected workflow when your spreadsheets:

• Use averages instead of allocation
• Lose track of FX differences
• Require manual reconciliation
• Cannot audit changes per shipment
• Do not update inventory automatically

Costing inside FlowIQ connects to inventory and margin reporting. This public estimate does not send values to your inventory.

From Calculator to Inventory and Margins

This free calculator is a standalone planning tool. It creates no shipment, stock receipt or accounting entry.

With the authenticated FlowIQ shipment workflow:

• Landed cost flows directly into inventory
• Stock is valued correctly on receipt
• Margins update automatically
• Historical shipments remain auditable

No copying. No re-entering numbers. No disconnect between costing and stock.

Who This Landed Cost Calculator Is For

This tool is ideal for:

• Importers seeking a quick shipment-wide average
• Businesses exposed to freight and FX volatility
• Teams currently using spreadsheets for costing
• Teams evaluating whether they need a full costing workflow

Frequently Asked Questions