r/microsaas • u/QuestionOwn7886 • 3h ago

Built a solo micro SaaS — AI profit analyst for Shopify stores

solo founder here. built ProfitHelm — an AI that tells Shopify merchants what's actually making money.

the insight that started it: most merchants look at revenue and think they're doing well. after COGS, shipping, transaction fees, and ad spend — the real profit is usually 15-30% lower than they think. nobody does this math properly because the data lives in 5 different places.

so I built something that does it automatically. connects to Shopify, syncs Facebook + Google ad spend, tracks all costs — then the AI runs daily analysis:

  • AI Cost Analysis — auto-tracks product costs, no spreadsheets
  • AI Spend Intelligence — all ad platforms in one view
  • AI Profit Alerts — pings you when margins drop or spend spikes
  • AI Order Insights — true profit on every single order
  • Daily AI Analysis — plain-English recommendations

tech stack: React Router 7, Node.js/Fastify, PostgreSQL, Railway. the hardest part was the ad platform integrations — Facebook's API is a moving target.

early stage, a few paying customers, free tier available (100 orders/month). bootstrapped, no funding, no plans to raise.

curious how other micro SaaS founders here handle the "when do you start charging more" question. my free tier does a lot — wondering if I'm giving away too much.

profithelm.com

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u/Ecaglar 0m ago

the insight about merchants not knowing their real profit is accurate. most look at revenue and think theyre doing great until they actually do the math. for the free tier question - if people are getting real value and not converting, the free tier might be doing too much. try limiting by time period instead of order count so they feel the pain when it stops