DEV Community: Small Tools Studio

3PL Invoice Check

Small Tools Studio — Sat, 14 Nov 2026 12:12:34 +0000

Shopify merchants outsourcing fulfillment to 3PLs (ShipBob, ShipMonk, ShipHero) receive monthly invoices with pick, pack, postage and storage lines. Matching charges to actual shipments is tedious in spreadsheets — overcharges often go unnoticed.

Reconcile your Shopify orders against 3PL billing: drop your Shopify Orders CSV + 3PL itemised billing CSV, set column mappings once, and the tool flags exceptions: billed shipments with no Shopify record, duplicate pick/pack per tracking, postage above rate card threshold. Results export as CSV for dispute emails. 100% in-browser, nothing uploaded or stored.

Try it

Stop trusting your Amazon payout number: check the settlement report line by line in Google Sheets

Small Tools Studio — Mon, 02 Nov 2026 16:03:44 +0000

Amazon pays you one number per settlement period. Getting from the lines in the report to that number takes a few checks, and you can do them in a spreadsheet without logging in anywhere else.

1. Download one settlement report

In Seller Central go to Finance > Finance reports > Settlement statement reports and download one settlement as a .txt file. It is tab-separated, one row per transaction.

2. Check that the payout adds up

Import the file into a blank sheet (File > Import, "Replace data at selected cell"). Sum the amount column over every row and compare it with the total payout the report states. If they differ, you have a line the summary does not show.

3. Total by transaction type

A pivot table on transaction type and amount-description shows where the money went: sales, FBA fees, referral fees, refunds, storage, adjustments. Anything you do not recognise is worth a look.

4. Compare fees for the same SKU

For each SKU, the FBA fulfilment fee per unit is normally the same across orders in one settlement. Group by SKU and flag rows where the fee is above the usual value. The same works for the referral fee rate (fee divided by item price).

5. Look at refund administration fees

When a refund is issued, Amazon can keep an administration fee. Check the amount against Amazon's published rule for your marketplace; flag anything above it.

Want it ready-made?

We built a free Google Sheet that does these checks. You copy it to your own Drive, import one Settlement report, and a Findings tab lists each flagged line with the estimated difference. It runs in your Google account, with no Seller Central login and no add-on. The amounts are estimates to take to Seller Support, not a ruling on what Amazon owes you.

https://payoutsheet.pages.dev/?src=devto-11022000

We are a small team building spreadsheet tools, so if a check is missing or wrong for your marketplace, tell me in the comments. Which check would you drop, and which one do you think matters most?

5 Inventory Challenges Shopify Sellers Face (And How Automation Helps)

Small Tools Studio — Mon, 19 Oct 2026 12:01:04 +0000

5 Inventory Challenges Shopify Sellers Face (And How Automation Helps)

Running a Shopify store means juggling inventory across platforms. Here are five challenges sellers mention—and automation approaches that help.

Challenge #1: Forgetting which products are out of stock

You update Shopify, but inventory sits at zero for days before you notice. Customers still find the listing and can't check out.

Fix: Set up an automated digest that summarizes your restocking needs daily. One email instead of logging into Shopify every morning.

Challenge #2: Tracking which products are losing money

You're focused on bestsellers, but your slow-moving stock quietly loses margin. You miss this until you check numbers yourself.

Fix: Automate threshold alerts. Tell your inventory system: "Alert me when Product X drops below Y units." Watch both volume and margin.

Challenge #3: Losing sync across channels

One product on Shopify, Amazon, and your own site. You update one place but forget the others. Customers get frustrated when they're double-booked.

Fix: Centralize your inventory data. Export regularly and cross-check across channels. Tools like Restock Digest automate this—no manual exports needed.

Challenge #4: Reordering without a clear schedule

You reorder when you remember, not on a schedule. This creates feast-or-famine cycles.

Fix: Set a weekly or bi-weekly check-in. Automate the data summary (one daily email) so you only spend 5 minutes deciding.

Challenge #5: No view of inventory history

You can't easily see patterns: "How often does Product X sell out?" or "What's our typical inventory rotation?"

Fix: Keep a simple log. Export weekly snapshots from your Shopify app and watch for seasonal patterns. Adjust orders based on what you see.

Inventory management is work, but automation makes it faster. Your morning shouldn't be logging into Shopify—it should be reading one clear digest email.

Try Restock Digest free for 14 days. Test it on your real data and see if it saves you time.

What's your biggest inventory pain point right now? Drop a comment—we're building this for makers like you.