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Get started in 5 minutes

This guide will walk you through running RTO Profit Simulator locally and performing your first profitability analysis.
1

Clone and install

First, clone the repository and install dependencies:
git clone <repository-url>
cd rto-profit-simulator/source
npm install
2

Start the development server

Launch the application in development mode:
npm run dev
The application will open at http://localhost:5173 (Vite’s default port).
3

Review default metrics

Upon opening the app, you’ll see the dashboard with default values:
  • Monthly orders: 10,000
  • Average order value: ₹1,500
  • COD percentage: 60%
  • RTO percentage: 30%
  • Forward shipping cost: ₹60 per order
  • Return shipping cost: ₹60 per RTO
  • Product cost: ₹500 per order
These defaults represent a typical Indian e-commerce business with a high RTO problem.
4

Input your business metrics

In the Business Inputs card on the left sidebar, enter your actual business data:
  1. Monthly Orders - Your average monthly order volume
  2. Average Order Value - Mean transaction value in ₹
  3. COD Percentage - What % of orders are Cash on Delivery?
  4. RTO Percentage - What % of COD orders get returned?
  5. Shipping Costs - Your forward and return shipping costs per order
  6. Product Cost - Average cost of goods per order
All metrics update in real-time as you type. The calculator automatically recalculates financial impact, break-even RTO percentage, and AI insights.
5

Analyze your results

The Financial Impact Overview section displays six key metrics:
  • Total Revenue - Gross revenue from all orders
  • COD Orders - Number of COD orders placed
  • RTO Orders - Failed deliveries (shown in red)
  • Total RTO Loss - Complete financial loss from RTOs
  • Realized Revenue - Actual revenue after accounting for RTOs
  • Net Profit (Post-RTO) - Your bottom line after RTO losses
Pay special attention to the Break-even RTO % indicator below these metrics. This shows the maximum sustainable RTO rate before your business becomes unprofitable.
If your current RTO percentage exceeds the break-even threshold, you’re losing money on every order processed. This requires immediate attention.
6

Review AI-powered insights

Scroll to the AI-Powered Business Insights section to see intelligent recommendations:
  • Critical RTO Alert - Warns if RTO exceeds 25%
  • Unprofitable Operation Alert - Triggers when RTO exceeds break-even
  • Partial COD Strategy - Suggests advance payment for high-risk orders
  • Prepaid Incentive Opportunity - Calculates profit improvement from COD-to-prepaid conversion
These insights adapt dynamically based on your inputs.
7

Simulate optimization scenarios

The What-If Scenarios: RTO Reduction Impact section lets you model improvements:
  • See potential savings from reducing RTO by 5%, 10%, or 15%
  • Each scenario shows saved orders and profit improvement
  • Use these projections to justify investments in fraud prevention, NDR management, or address verification
Example: If reducing RTO from 30% to 20% saves ₹3.72L monthly, you can justify spending up to that amount on prevention tools.
8

Explore visual analytics

Scroll to the charts section to see:
  • Financial Composition - Bar chart comparing Total Revenue, RTO Loss, and Net Profit
  • Impact of 10% RTO Reduction - Side-by-side comparison of current vs optimized performance
These charts are interactive - hover over bars to see exact values.
9

Toggle annual projections

Use the Monthly View / Annual Projection toggle in the header to see yearly impact:
  • All metrics multiply by 12 for annual view
  • Helps stakeholders understand long-term financial impact
  • Annual loss banner appears at the top showing total yearly RTO cost
Example: A monthly RTO loss of ₹11.16L becomes ₹1.34 crore annually - much more impactful for C-level presentations.
10

Export your report

Click the Export Report button in the top-right corner to generate a PDF containing:
  • Business inputs summary table
  • Financial impact overview with all KPIs
  • Optimization projections for 5%, 10%, and 15% RTO reductions
The PDF is professionally formatted and ready to share with stakeholders.

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Example: Calculate your RTO impact

Let’s walk through a realistic example:

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Scenario: Fashion e-commerce brand

Business profile:
  • Selling apparel and accessories in Tier 2/3 cities in India
  • Strong COD preference among customers
  • Struggling with fake orders and delivery rejections
Input metrics: 
monthlyOrders: 8000
averageOrderValue: 1200
codPercentage: 70  // High COD due to Tier 2/3 focus
rtoPercentage: 35  // Poor address verification
forwardShippingCost: 50
returnShippingCost: 50
productCost: 400

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Results

Financial Impact:
  • Total Revenue: ₹96,00,000
  • COD Orders: 5,600
  • RTO Orders: 1,960 (35% of COD)
  • Total RTO Loss: ₹9,80,000 monthly
  • Net Profit (Post-RTO): ₹13,20,000 monthly
Break-even RTO: 63.3%

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AI Insights triggered:

  1. Critical RTO Alert - 35% RTO is dangerously high
  2. Partial COD Strategy - Recommend ₹100-200 advance for unverified addresses
  3. Prepaid Incentive Opportunity - Converting 10% COD to prepaid saves ₹2.38L monthly

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Optimization scenarios:

  • Reduce RTO to 30% (-5%): Save ₹2.50L monthly
  • Reduce RTO to 25% (-10%): Save ₹5.00L monthly
  • Reduce RTO to 20% (-15%): Save ₹7.50L monthly

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Actionable next steps:

  1. Implement OTP verification for all COD orders (cost: ₹1-2 per order)
  2. Block high-risk pin codes or mandate partial payment
  3. Offer 5% discount on prepaid orders to shift payment mix
  4. Partner with logistics provider for better NDR management
Even implementing basic OTP verification and blocking the top 10% riskiest pin codes could reduce RTO by 5-10 percentage points, saving ₹2.5-5L monthly with minimal investment.

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What’s next?

Installation guide

Set up a development environment and customize the simulator

Understanding calculations

Learn how metrics are calculated and break-even analysis works

Features overview

Explore all features including simulation, charts, and PDF export

Customization guide

Modify default values, add new metrics, or change branding

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