Netto vs TrueProfit: Bookkeeping vs Profit Analytics
Important context: Netto and TrueProfit are not direct competitors — they are different categories of software. This page explains what each tool does so you can decide which one (or both) you need.
TrueProfit is a profit analytics tool. It estimates your profitability in real time by pulling Shopify revenue data and combining it with ad spend from Facebook, Google, and other platforms. It is designed for marketing and operational decisions. Netto is a Shopify bookkeeping app. It converts Shopify payout data into GAAP-compliant journal entries and accurate financial records, with QuickBooks Online or Xero sync included from Starter ($29/mo). Netto is designed for bookkeeping, tax filing, and accountant-ready financial records.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Netto | TrueProfit |
|---|---|---|
| Double-entry journal entries | ✓ | ✗ |
| QuickBooks Online integration | ✓ (all plans) | ✗ |
| Xero integration | ✓ (all plans) | ✗ |
| GAAP-compliant accounting records | ✓ | ✗ |
| Suitable for tax filing | ✓ | ✗ |
| Real-time profit estimates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Ad spend attribution (Facebook, Google) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Profit dashboard in Shopify Admin | ✓ | Separate dashboard |
| Data source | Actual Shopify payouts | Estimates + ad spend |
| Purpose | Accounting & tax records | Marketing decisions |
What TrueProfit Does Well
TrueProfit's core strength is real-time profitability visibility that incorporates marketing spend. By connecting to Facebook Ads, Google Ads, and other advertising platforms alongside Shopify, TrueProfit can show estimated profit per product, per order, or across your whole store — including the cost of customer acquisition.
This is genuinely valuable for marketing-driven decisions: which products are profitable after ad spend, which campaigns are driving net-positive sales, and where to allocate ad budget. These are operational decisions where estimated data, delivered in real time, is more useful than accounting records that may be weeks behind.
TrueProfit is designed for merchants who are actively managing ad spend and want a fast feedback loop on marketing profitability. It serves that use case well — and it is the category leader in that specific problem space.
What Netto Does
Netto addresses a different problem: formal accounting records. Every business that files taxes needs a general ledger with debits and credits. TrueProfit's estimates cannot fulfill this function — they are not suitable for tax filing, cannot be reviewed by an accountant, and do not reconcile to your bank statements.
Netto converts each Shopify payout into a double-entry journal entry — debits equal credits, entries are dated to the payout date, and each component (gross sales, refunds, Shopify fees, taxes collected) is posted to the correct account. From Starter ($29/mo) onward, the output can post to QuickBooks Online or Xero for accountant review and satisfies standard accounting requirements. CSV export is always available from Netto as well.
Netto's profit dashboard shows metrics derived from actual transaction data, not estimates. Gross revenue, net revenue, COGS, and margin are calculated from your payout history. This differs from TrueProfit's estimated profitability, which may differ from your accounting records because estimates don't account for returns processing timing, fee adjustments, or other line items that appear in the actual payout data.
Can You Use Both Tools?
Yes. Netto and TrueProfit serve different purposes and do not overlap in functionality. A merchant could use TrueProfit for day-to-day marketing performance decisions — which ad campaigns are profitable, which products to scale — while using Netto for formal bookkeeping: balanced journal entries in Netto on Starter ($29/mo), or pushed journal entries in QuickBooks Online or Xero on Growth ($59/mo) and above.
The data sources differ: TrueProfit works from Shopify order data plus ad platform data; Netto works from Shopify payout data. Because payouts net out fees and taxes, the numbers will differ slightly. This is expected and not a data quality issue — they measure different things.
Which Tool Do You Need
Use TrueProfit if:
- You run paid advertising and want real-time feedback on ad spend profitability
- You need to understand contribution margin per product including acquisition cost
- You want fast, estimated profit data for operational decisions
- You already have accounting software and need marketing analytics on top
Use Netto if:
- You need journal entries in QuickBooks Online or Xero for tax filing (Growth $59/mo and above)
- Your accountant needs organized, GAAP-compliant records to review
- You want a profit dashboard based on actual payout data (not estimates) inside Shopify Admin
- You're replacing manual payout recording or spreadsheet-based bookkeeping
Comparison Questions
What is the difference between Netto and TrueProfit?
Netto and TrueProfit are different categories of software. Netto is a bookkeeping app: it converts Shopify payouts into double-entry journal entries and accurate financial records suitable for tax filing and accountant review. TrueProfit is a profit analytics tool: it estimates profitability by combining Shopify revenue data with ad spend from platforms like Facebook and Google. TrueProfit does not create accounting records and cannot replace bookkeeping software.
Can TrueProfit replace accounting software?
No. TrueProfit provides profit estimates and marketing performance analytics but does not create journal entries, does not integrate with QuickBooks Online or Xero, and does not produce records suitable for tax filing. An accountant cannot use TrueProfit output as source data for financial statements. TrueProfit and Netto serve different purposes and can be used together.
Can Netto and TrueProfit be used together?
Yes. A merchant could use TrueProfit for real-time marketing performance decisions (ad spend efficiency, product contribution margin including ad costs) and Netto for formal bookkeeping records: balanced journal entries and financial records in Netto on Starter ($29/mo), or pushed journal entries in QuickBooks Online or Xero on Growth ($59/mo) and above. The two tools do not overlap in function — TrueProfit estimates, Netto records.
Does TrueProfit show accurate profit if I don't enter ad spend?
TrueProfit's profit estimates depend on ad spend data from connected advertising platforms. Without ad spend data, TrueProfit shows revenue and estimated COGS but cannot calculate true net profit. Netto's profit dashboard uses actual payout data and does not estimate ad spend — it shows financial results from transactions only, which is what formal accounting requires.
Need Accounting Records for Your Shopify Store?
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