Profit and finance guides
Plain-English guides to profit, margin, pricing and tracking your money. Every one keeps the jargon out, works through a real example, and gives you the formula so you can run the numbers yourself. Written for sellers and anyone who wants to keep more of what they earn.
Profit basics
What the core numbers mean and how to read them with confidence.
How to calculate net profit
Net profit is what you keep after every cost. Get the formula, a worked monthly example with real numbers, and how it differs from gross profit and revenue.
Read guideGross margin vs net margin
Gross margin measures pricing, net margin measures the whole business. Get both formulas, a worked example on one month, and when to use each.
Read guideWhat is cost of goods sold (COGS)?
Cost of goods sold is what the things you sold cost you to make or buy. What counts, what does not, the formula, and a worked example for product sellers.
Read guideCash flow vs profit
The plain-English difference between cash flow and profit. Why a profitable month can still drain the bank, how receivables, payables, and inventory shift the timing, and a worked example.
Read guideHow to read a profit and loss statement
A plain-English guide to the P&L, or income statement. What revenue, COGS, gross profit, operating expenses, operating income, and net profit mean, with a worked example.
Read guideProfit and finance glossary
Revenue, gross profit, net profit, COGS, margin, markup, cash flow, EBITDA and more, each defined in plain English with a small worked example where it helps.
Read guidePricing and margin
Set prices on purpose and widen the margin you keep.
What is a good profit margin?
There is no single good profit margin. What gross, operating, and net margin each tell you, why benchmarks mislead, and four steps to judge your own.
Read guideHow to improve your profit margin
Eight practical ways to widen your profit margin without gimmicks: price with care, cut COGS, reduce returns, trim low-ROAS ad spend, renegotiate fees, drop unprofitable SKUs, bundle, and lower overhead. Each with a worked example.
Read guideHow to price a product
Price a product on purpose: build your true per-unit cost, set a target margin, use price = cost / (1 - margin), then sanity check against the market.
Read guideE-commerce profit margin explained
Gross, contribution and net margin explained, with a worked example showing where ad spend, platform fees and shipping land, plus five ways to improve it.
Read guideTracking and budgeting
Simple systems to track what comes in, what goes out, and what is left.
How to track business expenses
Track business expenses properly: the categories to use, what a deductible record needs, how to stop mixing personal spend, and how to keep a clean tax year.
Read guideHow to track personal spending
Track personal spending with eight categories, a five minute weekly tidy-up and a ten minute monthly review. Covers cash, shared bills and the habit.
Read guideThe 50/30/20 budget rule explained
What the 50/30/20 rule means, what counts as a need versus a want, how to set it up in five steps, and a worked example on a $4,000 monthly take-home.
Read guideHow to budget with an irregular income
Freelance income never arrives evenly. Budget from your lowest month, pay yourself a fixed salary, and let a buffer absorb the swing, with an example.
Read guideStop guessing at your profit
The guides show you the math. TrueProfit runs it on your real sales and costs, then shows your true profit and margin by month and by category, automatically. Free to start, Pro is $19 a month and Business is $49 a month.
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