Start with five separate amounts
Write down gross sales, the amount refunded to customers, fees originally charged, fees returned to you, and other expenses. Cash result equals gross sales minus customer refunds minus original fees plus returned fees minus other expenses. Keeping those amounts separate avoids assuming every fee disappears with a refund.
A complete small example
Imagine twenty $10 orders: gross sales are $200. Two customers receive full $10 refunds, reducing revenue by $20. Assume original fees total $26 and $2 of those fees are returned. Add $15 of monthly software costs. Cash left is $200 − $20 − $26 + $2 − $15 = $141 before tax. Every amount here is hypothetical; it is not a Gumroad or Payhip fee quote.
A retained fee can change the result
Gumroad's refund documentation currently distinguishes its own fee returned on the refunded portion from an underlying processing component that may remain. It also describes different treatment for connected Stripe or PayPal accounts. Check the route used by the actual transaction. A simple statement that 'all fees come back' would miss these distinctions.
Partial refunds need amounts, not only counts
If one buyer receives $3 back and another receives $10, two refunds do not tell you the total adjustment. Record $13 as the refunded amount, and use the provider's fee adjustment for each transaction. Do not subtract the refunded order from gross revenue and then subtract its refund again. Match the sales and adjustments to the same reporting period where practical.
Then add your time
Suppose the hypothetical $141 result required six active hours creating, promoting and supporting the product. That is $23.50 per active hour before taxes, with no assumption of future sales. Use the real hourly pay calculator with $141 as received cash and avoid subtracting the same costs twice. The digital product calculator is useful for a no-refund scenario; this worksheet explains the extra adjustments.
What to save each month
Keep a transaction export, refund amounts, fee adjustments, subscription invoices and a time log. A payout date may fall in a different month from the original sale. Cash flow and period profit answer different questions, so label your worksheet clearly rather than mixing bank deposits with a sales dashboard total.
Sources & verification
Official sources where available. Guides without a source list are original planning or arithmetic, not reports of earnings. No hands-on test is implied.