When spend controls are on, every order has to count for something in dollars. Unit value is the per-unit number Merch uses for that math. You'll see it on each product's Budget Tracking section.
#What it is
A reference price per variant, used only to decrement your spend caps. It doesn't show up on invoices or anywhere a recipient can see — it exists for your budget tracking and nothing else.
An order of 3 t-shirts with a $14.50 unit value deducts $43.50 (plus shipping and fees) from your campaign, team, user, and account caps.
#Where the number comes from
For a variant you've never ordered before, Merch averages the published price tiers on the catalog page and uses that as the default.
Once you place a real sales order at a negotiated price, future spend-controls math uses that price instead. The number stays grounded in what you actually pay.
#When to override
Most accounts never need to. Set it manually only when your real pricing is meaningfully different from the catalog average — usually for custom-priced products. Edit it from the product's Budget Tracking section; saving locks the variant so the auto-update doesn't overwrite you. Unlock it whenever you want auto-updates to resume.
#Already-placed orders
Each order takes a snapshot of unit value at the moment it's created. Later changes don't reach orders already in flight — your accounting stays consistent.