Set one flat shipping rate that covers your real costs
It tests a flat rate, a free-shipping threshold and two tiers against your own past orders, with the math shown.
Published . Steps as of November 2026.
How do I pick a flat shipping rate for my small business?
Paste your recent orders, with weight, region and real shipping cost, into Gemini and have it test a few flat-rate options against them. If your orders already live in Google Sheets, the Ask Gemini side panel (as of November 2026) can read them in place, but it needs a paid Google AI or Workspace plan. If you'd rather not, copy the columns into ChatGPT or Claude and use the same prompt. More orders give a fairer answer.
A picture made with AI to show the idea.
Your prompt
Fill in your details. Skip any you like.
ChatGPT and Claude open with your prompt already typed in. Gemini can't be filled in from a link, so its button copies your prompt: paste it into the new chat.
The prompt that gets copied
I run [YOUR BUSINESS, e.g. a handmade soap shop] and my shipping costs swing too much. Below are my last [NUMBER OF ORDERS, e.g. 90] orders with order total, package weight, destination region and what shipping really cost me: [YOUR ORDER DATA]. Please: 1) show my average, lowest and highest real shipping cost, and how it changes by weight and region, 2) suggest one flat rate that covers my cost on at least 90 percent of orders, plus what I'd have gained or lost over these orders at that rate, 3) test two other options: a lower flat rate with a free-shipping threshold, and two tiers by order size, 4) put all three in one table with what customers pay and what I keep, and 5) recommend one in plain words and tell me what to watch next month. Show your math.
Give Gemini your recent orders with weights and real shipping costs, and get three flat-rate options compared side by side, with what customers pay and what you keep.
Step by step
- Open your orders sheet in Google Sheets.
- Click Ask Gemini in the top right to open the side panel.
- Paste the prompt and point it at your order columns, or paste the data into any chat.
- Pick the option you like and update the rate at checkout.
What you'll get
A side-by-side table of three shipping options tested on your real orders, plus a plain recommendation and the math behind it.
Gemini in Google Sheets needs Google AI Pro or Ultra, or a Workspace Business plan. Pasted data works in any tool.
- Made for
- Small business owners, Creators
- Works in
- Gemini, ChatGPT, Claude
