💵 Money & Profits
When money is tight, guessing is the expensive part. Ten minutes with your real numbers changes every decision after it.
Quick win · 10 minutes · today
Know three numbers.
Open your sales system (Square, Clover, whatever you use). Find your busiest day, your slowest day, and your top 3 sellers. Write them on one card and put it by the register. You now know more than most owners.
What actually works
- Busiest / slowest day. Staff for the busy one; aim your promotions at the slow one.
- Top sellers. Feature them, don't bury them. Make sure they're priced right — that's where your profit lives.
- Average ticket. The number to nudge up gently — with a pairing or an add-on, not a discount.
- A weekly 10-minute money look. Same day, same time. Cash in, cash out, what's due. Surprises come from not looking.
- Separate business and personal. One account for the business. It's the single biggest bookkeeping fix.
AI prompt
I run a [type of business]. My busiest day is [day], my slowest is [day], and my top 3 sellers are [items]. My average sale is about $[amount]. In plain language: what do these numbers tell me about staffing, what should I feature, and what's ONE realistic way to raise my average sale without discounting?
Templates — ready to use
The one-card numbers sheet
BUSIEST DAY: ________ SLOWEST DAY: ________
TOP 3 SELLERS: 1.________ 2.________ 3.________
AVERAGE SALE: $______ (update monthly)
Weekly 10-minute money check
☐ Cash/sales in this week: $____
☐ Bills due in the next 7 days: $____
☐ Anything overdue? ____
☐ One thing that surprised me: ____
☐ One thing to fix this week: ____
Simple break-even
Monthly fixed costs (rent, payroll, utilities, insurance) = $____
÷ average profit per sale (price − what it costs you) = $____
= the number of sales you need each month just to break even: ____
Everything above that number is yours.
Raising a price — what to say
Starting [date], [item] will be $[new price]. Our costs went up and we'd rather keep the quality than cut corners. Thank you for understanding — and for keeping us here.
Examples
Illustrative examples — not promises. Your results depend on your business.
Café: discovered the bestseller was priced below cost after a supplier increase. A 50-cent raise nobody noticed added real profit every single day.
Salon: "Add a deep-conditioning treatment for $15?" asked at every appointment. Average ticket rose 12% with zero new customers.
Contractor: a Friday 10-minute money check caught two unpaid invoices that had quietly aged 60 days. Cash flow problem solved in one phone call.
Related
Next step
Fill in the one-card numbers sheet this week. Tape it by the register.
Back to all modulesA goodwill resource from Cambium Commercial · separate from your lease · entirely optional. · Tell us how it went · Terms of usePowered by 