Most owner-managed businesses know their sales by channel. Very few know which channels, customers and salespeople actually make money once delivery, refunds, advertising and overheads are counted. The answer usually sits in a spreadsheet someone rebuilds by hand, if it exists at all.
We’ll build it for you, connect it to your own systems so nobody keys in data, prove it against months you’ve already reported, and train your team to refresh it whenever they need it. Fixed price, done in two weeks.
Sound familiar?
Turnover is up but profit hasn’t followed. Margin drops and nobody can say exactly why. Your biggest customer feels important, but you don’t know what they actually make you. Decisions on price, costs and growth get made on gut feel because the numbers arrive too late.
What we set up for you
Profit and loss by channel, customer and salesperson, and stock vs dropship if you have it, in four layers: gross profit, after credits and delivery, after each channel’s own costs, and net profit after a fair share of overheads.
Connected to your ERP and accounts system, so the figures come straight from your ledger and order data. Nobody types numbers in.
A planner that starts from your actual results and shows what happens if you lose a customer, raise margin by a point, cut direct costs or change fixed costs, plus your break-even sales and the sales you need to hit a profit target.
A one-line monthly refresh your team runs on demand when the month closes, with control checks that must all come out at £0.00 before anyone trusts a number.
What it showed us
A margin drop explained to the decimal point. We built this inside a multi-million-pound UK trading business. When margin fell nearly four points in a month, it was broken into six causes, and the one thing that wasn’t broken was pricing.
10% more sales was worth less than 1 point off credits. Once every lever was priced in pounds a month, the leadership team agreed a set of cost changes and a break-even plan in a single meeting.
Some “loss-making” customers were worth keeping. Fixed costs don’t leave with a customer, so next to each customer’s fully allocated profit we show the profit you’d actually lose if they went.
Your results will be different. We’ll talk through what you want to see on the free call.
Results are from one real UK business we built this in. Its name and figures are kept private.
How the two weeks work
Days 1 to 3: agree the method. A 60-minute call, by phone or video, to agree your channels, how customers and salespeople are counted and how each cost is shared out, with your accountant if you like. We look at your ERP and accounts system and agree how to connect them.
Days 4 to 8: build and connect. We connect your data, build the profit and loss by channel, customer and salesperson, and prove it against months you’ve already reported until it matches.
Days 9 and 10: planner and hand over. We set up the planner and the one-line refresh, train whoever will run it, and walk your leadership team through what the numbers show.
30 days later: check-in. A short call after your first month-end refresh to make sure it’s working and answer questions.
What it costs
£2,495 + VAT, fixed price. That covers agreeing the method, connecting your ERP and accounts system, the build, proving it against your past months, the planner, the on-demand refresh, training for your team, a leadership walkthrough, a written guide and the 30-day check-in.
Does it pay for itself? It depends on what you do with it. As a rough guide, in a business turning over £2m a year, one point of extra margin is worth about £20,000 a year. In the business we built it in, the first decisions it informed were worth more each month than the whole build.
What you put in: £2,495 + VAT, plus about 4 hours of your time over the two weeks: the 60-minute call, giving us access to your systems, checking the results against your own figures, and the training and walkthrough.
It works best for businesses with more than one sales channel, a sales team or key accounts, and an ERP or accounts system with regular month-end closes. If you sell through one channel to a handful of customers, your management accounts may be all you need, and we’ll tell you so.
Typical example only: swap in your own turnover. The value depends on your margins and what you change.
If you’re VAT registered you can normally reclaim the VAT, so the real cost is £2,495. Your AI subscription isn’t included and is paid directly to the provider. The refresh needs a paid AI plan that can read your files, so we’ll help you pick the right one before you start.
Keeping it safe
Your data stays in your own systems and your own Microsoft storage, and only your team can open the workbook. The AI only reads your accounts system: it never changes anything and never enters passwords. A person on your team signs in and approves each download. A backup is taken before every refresh. We agree with you in writing what we can access.
Questions people ask
Do I need to be technical?
No. If you can open a spreadsheet, you can run it. The monthly refresh is one line typed to your AI assistant, and we train you on it.
We already have management accounts. Is this for us?
Management accounts tell you what the business made. This tells you where it came from: which channels, customers and salespeople make money, and which cost it. Many businesses use both.
Which systems does it work with?
Most ERPs and accounting packages have a way to get data out: a built-in connection, a scheduled export, or reports that can be read on screen. We check yours on the free call before you commit.
What’s not included?
Changes to your accounts system, bookkeeping, your month-end close, and tax or accounting advice. If you want ongoing help acting on the numbers, that’s what our MD Advisory is for.
What happens after the two weeks?
The workbook, planner and refresh are yours. Your team runs it whenever a month closes, and we check in after 30 days.
Ready to see where your profit comes from?
Book a free 30-minute call with us, by phone or video. We’ll look at your systems and what you want to see, and tell you honestly whether this is worth doing for your business.
Prefer to do it yourself? Our step-by-step guide, Profit You Can See, shows exactly how we built it, for £249 + VAT, with the Profit Planner workbook. If you then book the setup within 30 days, we credit what you paid.