Profit per unit = Selling Price (SP) − Cost Price (CP). Margin% = Profit/SP × 100. Markup% = Profit/CP × 100. The two are linked: markup = margin / (1 − margin), and margin = markup / (1 + markup). Always confirm which one your supplier, competitor or industry benchmark is quoting - 'we make 50%' could mean either, and the difference is meaningful.
Cost price should always include landed cost, not just the supplier invoice. Add shipping, customs duty (for imports), warehousing, packaging, GST that's not input-credited, and any per-unit handling cost. For e-commerce, also add platform commission, payment-gateway fee, and reverse-logistics provision (typical 5-15% return rate for apparel, 1-3% for electronics). Without these, the headline margin will be 5-15 percentage points higher than the real margin.
Gross margin is the starting point for understanding unit economics, but net margin (after rent, salaries, marketing, tax) is what actually flows to the bottom line. A grocery store at 5% gross might have 1% net; a software business at 70% gross might have 25% net. Always compute both for any pricing or stocking decision.