Know what a container actually costs you
Most importers price against a number built from the purchase order. It is wrong every time a shipment arrives short. This worksheet gives you the number that is true — and the one rule that changes it.
- The 7-line formula, in Excel, with the estimate and the actual side by side
- Per-SKU allocation by value, weight, volume or units
- English and Spanish in one file — no second copy to keep in sync
Send me the worksheet
We email you a private download link. It works for 30 days.
A worksheet you will actually reopen
Built from the way import files really behave: the costs arrive over weeks, and the last ones arrive after everyone has stopped looking.
Estimate and actual, side by side
Enter the estimate when you order and the actual when the invoices land. The gap between them is what tells you whether your forwarder's quotes are honest.
The divisor done right
It divides by units received, not units ordered, and shows you both so you can see what the difference is costing you.
Per-SKU allocation
Spread freight, duty, brokerage and drayage across the products in the container by value, weight, volume or unit count.
Incoterm and short-shipment checks
The file warns you when a CIF shipment is about to have freight added twice, and when units ordered and received do not match.
A worked example
A reefer of produce from Santo Domingo to Miami, costed line by line, so you can check your own numbers against something complete.
Bilingual in one file
Every label in English and Spanish against one set of formulas. Your ops lead and your accountant read the same cells.
Seven lines, then one division
Add these seven. Then divide by what actually arrived.
- Goods — the confirmed proforma value, not the original quote
- Ocean freight — only if the Incoterm makes it yours
- Insurance — same test as freight
- Duty — customs value × your classification's rate
- Customs brokerage — the broker's fee plus entry charges
- Inland delivery — drayage, and unloading if billed separately
- Late charges — demurrage, detention, storage, amendments
Divide by the units you received, not the units you ordered. You can only sell what arrived, and every short shipment quietly erodes a margin you believe you have.
We will be at the Americas Food & Beverage Show
September 14–16, 2026, Miami Beach Convention Center. If you move containers between the US and Latin America, book a slot and we will walk your real numbers through Clasto — your containers, your costs, not a canned demo.
Book a time with us