Lifetimely: How to Set Up Your Account, A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

If you're new to Lifetimely, this guide will walk you through the key setup steps to make sure your profit and performance reports are accurate from day one.

Your data is already importing

When you first install Lifetimely, you'll see a Welcome to Lifetimely banner at the top of your screen — your historical Shopify data is already syncing in the background. Depending on the size of your store, the initial import takes anywhere from 30 minutes to 24 hours. You can monitor progress in the import bar at the top of your screen.

⚠️ Note: Advanced reports like LTV and Customer Retention require additional processing after the initial sync. Allow up to another 24 hours for these to populate after your orders have imported. → Shopify Data Sync: What to Expect

The in-app setup checklist

Once your data has imported, look for the Lifetimely setup checklist in the top-right corner of your screen (showing 0/5). This guides you through five quick steps to get the most out of Lifetimely:

• Connect integrations — link your ad platforms and data sources
• Invite team members for free — add colleagues at no extra cost
• Activate benchmarks — compare your performance to industry standards
• Do you have multiple stores? — connect additional Shopify stores
• How did you hear about us? — helps us improve onboarding

You can also work through the steps below independently at any time.

Step 1: Enter your costs

Accurate cost data is what makes Lifetimely's profit reporting meaningful. Go to Costs & expenses in the left navigation to set up:

• Product costs — what you paid for each item you sell. → Product Costs Explained
• Shipping costs — what you pay your shipping provider per order. → Shipping Costs Explained
• Transaction fees — payment processor fees (e.g. Shopify Payments, PayPal). → How to Set Up Transaction Costs

💡 Tip: If you don't have exact costs on hand, set a default COGS margin as a temporary placeholder — this prevents your reports from showing inflated profit while you gather the data. You'll find this option under Costs & expenses → Default gross margin.

Step 2: Connect your marketing integrations

To see accurate CAC, ROAS, and contribution margin in your reports, connect your ad platforms under App integrations in the left navigation. Supported platforms include Meta, Google, TikTok, Pinterest, Snapchat, Bing, Klaviyo, and more.

→ Integrations Setup Walkthrough

Step 3: Connect other data sources (optional)

Optionally, connect tools that enrich your reporting further:

• ReCharge — for subscription LTV and churn metrics. → How to Connect ReCharge
• QuickBooks Online — to automatically sync your expenses. → Getting Started with QuickBooks Online
• ShipStation / ShipBob — to auto-import actual shipping costs. → Shipping Costs Explained

Step 4: Invite your team

Add teammates under Settings → Team members. All invited members get full access to the same store data. There is no per-seat charge — inviting your team is free.

→ How to Add Members to Lifetimely

Step 5: Explore your reports

Once your costs are entered and integrations connected, your reports will be fully populated. Good places to start:

• Profit & loss → Income Statement — your store's financial performance at a glance. → Income Statement: Metric Definitions
• Lifetime value → LTV Cohort Report — how customer value grows over time. → LTV Cohort Report Overview
• Attribution — which marketing channels are actually driving profit. → How to Use Attribution Reports

What's next?

• Shopify Data Sync: What to Expect — understanding sync times and report availability
• Account Setup FAQs — common questions after first install