Prepaid Discount vs COD Calculator

A prepaid discount moves some buyers off cash on delivery, but it also goes to customers who would have paid online anyway. Enter your order value, COD share, RTO rate and discount to see whether it saves more than it costs, per 100 orders and per month.

Another way to cut RTO without a discount: confirm COD orders by phone before you ship.

Your orders today

Rs.
%
%
Rs.

Shipping both ways, packaging and damage. The COD / RTO calculator works this out.

Prepaid discount

%
%

Your guess or a test result. The calculator can't know this for your store.

Usually true: a checkout discount applies to every prepaid order.

Confirmation calls instead

Rs.

Example. Work out yours with the COD confirmation call cost calculator.

Per 100 orders

The prepaid discount costs more than the RTO it saves.

RTO saved by the discount

₹525

14.0 COD orders switch to prepaid

Cost of the discount

₹2,200

44.0 discounted orders

Net effect of the discount

₹-1,675

positive = saves money

Per month (1,000 orders)

  • RTO saved by the discount:₹5,250
  • Cost of the discount:₹22,000
  • Net effect of the discount:₹-16,750
  • Confirmation calls on all COD orders:₹1,575

Confirmation calls on your 70 COD orders per 100 would cost ₹157.50. They pay for themselves if they stop 1.1 RTO parcels per 100 orders, which is 6.0% of the 17.5 you have today. Calls and a discount can also run together.

Prepaid orders are treated as having no RTO, so the discount's saving errs on the high side. It also assumes buyers who switch were as likely to refuse a COD parcel as other COD buyers. Often they were less likely, which makes the real saving smaller.

Features

  • RTO saved vs discount cost, per 100 orders

  • Monthly totals for your order volume

  • Option to give the discount to all prepaid orders or only to switchers

  • Break-even for COD confirmation calls on the same orders

  • All inputs editable; nothing leaves your browser

Who it's for

D2C brands

Decide whether a prepaid discount is worth running before you set it at checkout.

Growth and finance teams

Put a rupee number on the discount against the RTO it prevents.

Sellers testing offers

Plug in the switch rate from an A/B test to see the real effect.

Ops teams

Compare the discount with confirming COD orders by phone.

How to use the calculator

Step 1

Enter your orders

Average order value, monthly orders, the share that is COD and your RTO rate on COD.

Step 2

Add your RTO cost

The cash you lose on each returned parcel. The COD / RTO calculator works it out.

Step 3

Set the discount

The discount percentage and how many COD buyers you expect to switch to prepaid.

Step 4

Read the verdict

Positive net effect means the discount saves more in RTO than it gives away.

How the comparison works

For every 100 orders:

  • COD orders = 100 x COD share. RTO parcels today = COD orders x RTO rate.
  • Switched orders = COD orders x the share who switch to prepaid. Their RTO is assumed to go away.
  • RTO saved = switched orders x RTO rate x cash lost per RTO parcel.
  • Discount cost = discounted orders x order value x discount. If the discount is shown at checkout, it goes to every prepaid order, including the ones that were prepaid already.
  • Net effect = RTO saved - discount cost.

The discount often looks cheap until you count the customers who were going to pay online anyway. That is usually what decides it.

Confirmation calls as the alternative

A confirmation call costs a little on every COD order and doesn't give money away on prepaid orders. The calculator shows how many RTO parcels per 100 orders the calls must stop to pay for themselves. See how COD confirmation calls work.

Cut RTO without discounting every order

Edesy calls each COD customer before dispatch: press 1 to confirm, 2 to cancel, with the answer written back to your store. Pay as you go from a prepaid wallet; share your volume for pricing.

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Prepaid Discount vs COD - Frequently Asked Questions