One Year of Building in Public - ezInvoices Metrics Revealed

Most "building in public" posts cherry-pick the good numbers. This isn't one of those posts.

Here's every metric from ezInvoices' first year - the good, the bad, and the educational.

Complete Transparency: All Our Numbers

The Headlines

• Installs: 1,171
• Uninstalls: 584
• Active merchants: 587
• Revenue: $735.66
• Reviews: 9 (all 5-star)
• Retention rate: ~50%
• Languages supported: 8
• Built for Shopify: Achieved ✓

The Timeline

• July 2024: Launched quietly for internal use
• October 2024: Started forum marketing
• November 2024: First 5-star review
• April 2025: Introduced billing
• June 2025: Built for Shopify approved

The Metrics That Actually Matter

1. Retention Rate: The 50% Reality

With 1,171 installs and 584 uninstalls, our retention sits at about 50%. This sounds terrible until you understand why merchants uninstall:

• Test stores evaluating Shopify
• Developers checking out the competition
• One-time needs (made their invoice and left)
• Free-tier hunters who left when billing arrived

The merchants who stayed? They're the ones who actually run businesses and need invoicing.

2. The Support Story Nobody Tells

I don't have exact ticket counts, but here's what I do know:

• Response time goal: Same day
• Actual response time: Often within hours
• Feature requests implemented: Usually within 24-48 hours

Here's a real example from my support emails:

Feb 20, 7:48 PM: Feature request received
Feb 21, 11:32 AM: Feature delivered
Feb 21, 1:47 PM: Second request completed

This level of responsiveness isn't scalable forever, but in year one, it created passionate advocates.

3. Review Distribution: Quality Over Quantity

9 reviews, all 5-star. Here's how they happened:

• Never asked for reviews (until recently adding a subtle button)
• Most came after support interactions
• Each review boosted installs noticeably
• Review #5 unlocked Built for Shopify eligibility

The lesson: Great support naturally leads to great reviews.

Month-by-Month Journey: The Real Growth Story

Phase 1: The Quiet Launch (Jul-Oct 2024)

• Hovering under 30 merchants
• No marketing, just internal use
• Learning and iterating

Phase 2: The Forum Effect (Oct 2024-Mar 2025)

• Found high-traffic threads about invoice problems
• Shared my story of building a solution
• Steady growth from 30 to ~400 merchants

Phase 3: The Billing Transition (Apr-May 2025)

• Install rate dropped significantly
• But uninstalls actually decreased
• Revenue finally started

Phase 4: The BFS Boost (Jun-Jul 2025)

• Built for Shopify approved
• Noticeable uptick in installs
• Increased credibility

Lessons from 584 Uninstalls

The uninstall graph tells an interesting story - uninstalls decreased after introducing billing. Why?

Before Billing: High uninstalls from tire-kickers
After Billing: Lower uninstalls from committed merchants

Key insight: "All the feedback I've ever received on my app were from stores that would eventually sign up for a subscription."

Free users rarely engage. Paying users drive product direction.

What Building in Public Really Means

The Victories

• First install notification (texted my wife!)
• First 5-star review (actually freaked out)
• 100th merchant milestone
• Built for Shopify approval
• First paying customer

The Struggles

• Months hovering at 30 merchants
• Server costs eating into personal budget
• Procrastinating on BFS requirements
• The billing introduction anxiety
• Watching installs drop post-billing

The Reality

• $735.66 isn't life-changing money
• 587 merchants isn't viral growth
• 50% retention isn't exceptional

But it's real. It's sustainable. And it's mine.

Tools and Decisions That Shaped Year One

What Worked

• Shopify Managed Pricing: Dead simple billing setup
• Multi-language support: 8 languages from day one
• Forum marketing: Zero cost, high impact
• Fast support: Created word-of-mouth growth

What I'd Do Differently

• Introduce billing by month 3, not month 9
• Apply for Built for Shopify sooner
• Focus on paying customers earlier
• Build fewer features, polish more

Year 2: Building on the Foundation

Now that the foundation is set:

• 587 merchants who trust the product
• Proven billing model
• 5-star reputation
• Built for Shopify credibility

Year 2 goals:

• Improve retention to 70%
• Double revenue (shouldn't be hard from $735!)
• Add features paying customers actually want
• Continue building in public

The Value of Transparency

Why share these numbers?

1. Real data helps real developers - Not everyone builds a unicorn
2. Sustainable growth is valid - Not everything needs to be exponential
3. Learning matters more than revenue - Year one is education
4. Community over competition - Rising tide lifts all boats

Your Takeaways

If you're building a Shopify app:

• Expect 50% retention - It's normal
• $0 revenue for months - Also normal
• Introduce billing early - Learn from my mistake
• Focus on support - It drives everything else
• Share your journey - Building in public creates accountability

The Bottom Line

After one year:

• Would I do it again? Absolutely
• Was it profitable? Not yet
• Was it worth it? Without question

Building ezInvoices taught me more about product development, customer service, and the Shopify ecosystem than any course could. The $735.66 is just a bonus.

The real value? 587 merchants trust my code to run their business. That's the metric that matters.

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Thanks for following the ezInvoices journey. Year two starts now.

Read the full series:

• Part 1: My Shopify App After One Year - Where it all began
• Part 2: How I Grew My Shopify App to 587 Merchants - Growth strategies
• Part 3: Is Built For Shopify Worth It? - The BFS impact
• Part 4: Do Shopify Apps Make Money? - Revenue reality

Want to try ezInvoices? Check it out on the Shopify App Store ↗

Have questions about building Shopify apps? Find me in the forums (where else?) or at ezApps.io