$423,237 in sales, 24 refunds, and $11,017 a month in subscriptions
My real numbers: $423,237 in sales with 24 refunds, and $11,017 a month in subscriptions with 1.53% revenue churn. What the numbers mean and how to track yours.
Jacob PegsFounder of SwipefastTwo numbers decide whether a digital product business feels calm or stressful: how much comes back as refunds, and how much renews on its own each month. Here are mine, from the ThriveCart account I sold through before I built Swipefast.
Refunds
| All time | |
|---|---|
| Gross revenue | $423,237 |
| Refunds | 24 |
| Refunded | $5,776 |
| Transactions | 3,651 |
| Refunds per transaction | 0.66% |
| Refunded share of revenue | 1.4% |
Two ways to say the same thing: 24 refunds in 3,651 transactions is 0.66%, and $5,776 out of $423,237 is about 1.4% of revenue. Refunds skew towards bigger orders, which is why the share of money is higher than the share of transactions. Quote whichever you mean, and say which it is.
Subscriptions
332 subscriptions have started through that account, and they've renewed 1,358 times between them, about four renewals each on average. Today those products bring in $11,017 a month, about $132,000 a year at that rate. Revenue churn sits at 1.53%.
| Subscriptions | |
|---|---|
| Subscriptions started | 332 |
| Renewals collected | 1,358 |
| Monthly recurring revenue | $11,017 |
| Revenue churn | 1.53% |
That $11,017 is only the products sold through this one account. I have other recurring revenue elsewhere, but adding it here would muddy the picture.
What to track in your own business
- Refunds per transaction and refunded share of revenue, side by side.
- Renewals per subscription: total renewals divided by subscriptions started.
- Monthly recurring revenue, from products you actually still sell.
- Revenue churn: how much monthly revenue you lose to cancellations and failed cards.
Where Swipefast helps
Failed card payments are a quiet source of churn. Swipefast retries a failed renewal every three days, up to four times, and emails the buyer each time, so a card that fails once doesn't end a membership. Refunds and renewals show up in your sales and reports as they happen, and Claude or ChatGPT can answer “What did I refund this month?” if you've connected them.
Questions people ask before choosing
What's a normal refund rate for digital products?
Mine is 24 refunds in 3,651 transactions (0.66%), or about 1.4% of revenue. Yours depends on your offer, your guarantee and your price. Track both the count and the money.
How do I work out revenue churn?
Take the monthly recurring revenue you lost in a month to cancellations and failed payments, and divide it by your recurring revenue at the start of that month. Mine is 1.53%.