Small Business Money Basics: Free Course

Free course · 6 modules · 27 lessons · 6 quizzes

Start Here: Welcome to Small Business Money Basics

This course gives you a practical, step-by-step way to understand and manage the money side of a small business, in plain English and without accounting jargon. Read the lessons in order or jump to the topic you need; each one stands on its own.

Who this course is for

• Owners of service businesses, shops, trades, studios and online stores who want to know their numbers.
• New owners setting up bank accounts, bookkeeping and tax savings for the first time.
• Consultants and advisers who want a structured, plain-English guide to share with clients.

What you will learn

• Module 1: The Money Words That Matter. Revenue, Income and Profit: The Three Numbers Every Owner Must Know, Gross Profit, Net Profit and the Cost of Goods Sold, Fixed vs Variable Costs, Cash vs Accrual: When Money Counts
• Module 2: Pricing Math That Protects Your Profit. Markup vs Margin: The Difference That Costs Owners Money, Contribution Margin: What Each Sale Really Adds, Pricing Your Services: Find Your Hourly Floor, Pricing Products: From Landed Cost to Shelf Price, Raising Prices Without Losing Sleep
• Module 3: Cash Flow: Keeping Money in the Bank. Cash Flow vs Profit: Why Profitable Businesses Run Out of Cash, Build a Simple 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast, Getting Paid Faster: Invoices, Terms and Receivables, Working Capital and Your Cash Cushion
• Module 4: Break-Even, Runway and Smart Decisions. Break-Even Point: How Much You Must Sell, Burn Rate and Runway: How Long Your Cash Will Last, Use Break-Even Math to Make Better Decisions, Return on Investment and Payback for Everyday Decisions
• Module 5: Money Systems: Accounts, Books and Taxes. Separate Business and Personal Money, Paying Yourself: Owner's Draw vs Salary, Bookkeeping Basics: A 30-Minute Weekly Routine, Receipts, Invoices and Records to Keep, Setting Money Aside for Taxes (U.S. Basics), A Simple Allocation System for Every Dollar
• Module 6: Reading Your Numbers and Tracking KPIs. Reading a Simple Profit and Loss Statement, The Balance Sheet in Plain English, The KPIs That Matter for a Small Business, Your Monthly Money Review and Final Checklist

How each lesson works

• A direct answer at the top, so you get the main point in seconds.
• A clear explanation with the formulas spelled out, and a worked example with example numbers.
• Built-in calculators in key lessons. Type your own numbers and see the result instantly.
• Copy-paste templates and spreadsheet formulas with a copy button. Replace the [brackets] with your details.
• Do this now: one action step you can finish today.
• Key takeaways and links to in-depth MagnÜron articles.

Each module ends with a three-question quiz. Mark lessons complete as you go; your progress bar and checkmarks are saved in this browser only, so nothing is sent anywhere. Tax and legal topics are general, U.S.-oriented education as of November 2026, not tax or legal advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Small Business Money Basics course free?

Yes. The whole course is free to use on MagnÜron, with no payment. Enter your email once to unlock every lesson and receive the printable Money Basics Workbook. Your lesson progress, quiz results and checklist are saved in your own browser.

Do I need an accounting background to take this course?

No. The course is written for owners with no finance training. Every formula is explained in plain English with a worked example, and the built-in calculators do the math for you.

Is this course tax or legal advice?

No. The tax and legal sections give general, U.S.-oriented education, with facts dated as of November 2026. Rules change and depend on your situation, so confirm decisions with a qualified tax professional or attorney.

Do the calculators save or send my numbers?

No. The calculators run in your browser and nothing you type into them is sent anywhere. Only your lesson progress and checklist ticks are saved, in your own browser.

How long does the course take?

Most lessons take about 5 to 10 minutes to read, and the whole course can be read in a few sittings. The final lesson turns it into a one-hour monthly money review you can repeat every month.

Module 1 · Lesson 1 · About 4 min

Revenue, Income and Profit: The Three Numbers Every Owner Must Know

Revenue is all the money customers pay you for what you sell. Profit is what is left after you pay every cost of running the business. Income is a looser word that can mean either one, so always ask which number someone means. Owners who watch revenue alone can grow busy and broke at the same time.

Revenue: the top line

Revenue (also called sales or the top line) is the total amount you bill customers for products and services in a period, before any costs come out. If you cleaned 40 homes this month at $150 each, your revenue is $6,000, whether or not every customer has paid yet. Revenue tells you how much demand you have. It does not tell you whether the business is healthy.

A few things are not revenue, even though money lands in your bank account:

• Sales tax you collect. It belongs to the state; you are holding it until you send it in.
• Loans and credit lines. Borrowed money has to be paid back, so it’s a liability, not a sale.
• Money you put in yourself. An owner contribution is equity, not revenue.
• Refunds you reverse. Returned sales come off revenue.

Profit: the bottom line

Profit is revenue minus costs. Because there are different kinds of costs, there are a few layers of profit, and you’ll meet each one in this course:

• Gross profit = revenue − the direct cost of what you sold (materials, products, direct labor). Lesson 2 covers it.
• Operating profit = gross profit − overhead such as rent, software, insurance and marketing.
• Net profit = what’s left after everything, including interest and (for some business types) taxes. This is the true bottom line.

Income: the word that causes confusion

“Income” is used loosely. On an income statement, “net income” means net profit. In everyday talk, “we brought in $50,000 of income” usually means revenue. On a personal tax return, your business income is generally your net profit. When a lender, partner or accountant says “income,” ask: before or after costs?

Why the difference matters

Revenue is the easiest number to brag about and the easiest to misread. A business can double its revenue by taking on low-priced work and end up with less profit, because every extra job adds costs. The habit to build is simple: whenever you look at revenue, look at profit in the same breath, and express profit as a percentage of revenue (your profit margin). A 15% net margin means you keep 15 cents of every dollar you sell.

Net profit margin = net profit ÷ revenue × 100

Margins vary widely by industry, so compare yourself with your own past months first and with industry figures second.

Copy-paste templates

MONTH: [month / year]

Revenue (all sales billed):            $[ ]
Direct costs (materials, products,
  direct labor):                       $[ ]
Gross profit (revenue - direct costs): $[ ]
Overhead (rent, software, insurance,
  marketing, admin wages):             $[ ]
Net profit (gross profit - overhead):  $[ ]
Net profit margin (net / revenue):     [ ]%

Compared with last month:  up / down by $[ ]
One thing that explains the change: [ ]

A2: Revenue        B2: [amount]
A3: Direct costs   B3: [amount]
A4: Gross profit   B4: =B2-B3
A5: Overhead       B5: [amount]
A6: Net profit     B6: =B4-B5
A7: Net margin     B7: =IF(B2=0,0,B6/B2)   (format as %)

Module 1 · Lesson 2 · About 4 min

Gross Profit, Net Profit and the Cost of Goods Sold

Gross profit is revenue minus the direct costs of what you sold, called the cost of goods sold (COGS). Net profit subtracts everything else too: overhead, interest and other expenses. Gross profit tells you whether your pricing works; net profit tells you whether the whole business works.

What counts as cost of goods sold

COGS (for service businesses it’s often called cost of sales or direct costs) includes only the costs that rise and fall with each sale:

• Product businesses: the purchase price of goods, raw materials, inbound shipping and packaging.
• Service businesses: wages for the people doing the billable work, job materials, subcontractors and supplies used on the job.
• Restaurants and food: food and beverage costs, and often kitchen labor.

Overhead items like rent, office staff, insurance, software and advertising are not COGS. They’re operating expenses, because you pay them whether you make one sale or one hundred. Read the full breakdown in Cost of Goods Sold explained.

Gross profit and gross margin

Gross profit = revenue − COGS

Gross margin % = gross profit ÷ revenue × 100

Gross margin is the most useful pricing health check you have. If your gross margin is thin, no amount of cutting overhead will fix it; you need higher prices, lower direct costs or a better mix of work. As a rough guide, many service businesses run gross margins of 50% or more, while many retailers and restaurants run much lower, so compare against your own trend and your industry.

From gross profit to net profit

All amounts are example numbers.

How to use the two margins together

• Gross margin falling, overhead steady: a pricing or job-costing problem. Look at discounts, rising supplier prices, wasted materials or jobs that run over on hours.
• Gross margin healthy, net margin thin: an overhead problem. Look at rent, subscriptions, admin staff and marketing that doesn’t bring in customers.
• Both healthy but no cash: a cash flow problem, covered in Module 3.

A common mistake: leaving your own labor out

Many owner-operators do the billable work themselves and leave their own time out of COGS. That makes gross margin look great until the business needs to hire someone to do the work. When you estimate costs, include a fair wage for the hours you personally spend on jobs, even if you pay yourself through owner’s draws.

Copy-paste templates

For each cost, ask: "If I made zero sales this month, would I still pay it?"

YES -> Operating expense (overhead)
NO  -> Cost of goods sold (direct cost)

Cost                       Zero sales, still pay?   Category
[e.g. job materials]       No                       COGS
[e.g. rent]                Yes                      Overhead
[ ]                        [ ]                      [ ]
[ ]                        [ ]                      [ ]

B2: Revenue
B3: COGS
B4: Gross profit       =B2-B3
B5: Gross margin %     =IF(B2=0,0,B4/B2)
B6: Operating expenses
B7: Operating profit   =B4-B6
B8: Interest / other
B9: Net profit         =B7-B8
B10: Net margin %      =IF(B2=0,0,B9/B2)

Module 1 · Lesson 3 · About 4 min

Fixed vs Variable Costs

Fixed costs stay roughly the same each month no matter how much you sell, like rent, insurance and software. Variable costs rise and fall with every sale, like materials, card fees and shipping. Knowing which is which is the key to break-even, pricing and every growth decision you’ll make.

Fixed costs

Fixed costs are the bills that arrive whether you have a great month or a terrible one: rent, loan payments, insurance, salaried staff, phone and internet, accounting fees, software subscriptions and the minimum you pay yourself. They’re not fixed forever (rent goes up, you add software), but they don’t move with each sale.

Variable costs

Variable costs scale with volume. Sell one more unit or do one more job, and you spend a little more on:

• Materials, products and packaging
• Card processing fees (typically a percentage of each sale plus a small fixed fee)
• Shipping and delivery
• Commissions and marketplace fees
• Hourly labor scheduled only when there’s work
• Fuel and mileage for jobs

Semi-variable (mixed) costs

Some costs are part fixed, part variable. A phone plan with a base fee plus overage charges, a delivery van (fixed payment, variable fuel), or a staff member with guaranteed hours plus overtime. Split them: put the base in fixed and the part that moves with sales in variable. Rough is fine; you’re building a decision tool, not a tax return.

Why the split matters

• Break-even: you can’t calculate how much you need to sell without separating the two (Module 4).
• Pricing: every price must cover its variable costs with room to spare, and the “room to spare” across all sales must cover fixed costs (Lesson 6).
• Risk: high fixed costs make a business fragile in slow months. Before you sign a lease, hire salaried staff or take on a big subscription, ask how many extra sales it takes to pay for it.
• Growth: once fixed costs are covered, most of each additional sale’s contribution becomes profit. That’s why profit can jump quickly in busy months.

Operating leverage in plain English

A business with mostly fixed costs (a gym, a software company, a studio with rent) earns a lot from each extra sale once it’s past break-even, but loses fast when sales drop. A business with mostly variable costs (a reseller, a subcontracting service) earns less per extra sale but bends instead of breaking in slow months. Neither is wrong; just know which one you are.

Copy-paste templates

FIXED COSTS (monthly)
Rent / workspace:         $[ ]
Insurance:                $[ ]
Software & subscriptions: $[ ]
Phone & internet:         $[ ]
Salaried staff:           $[ ]
Loan payments:            $[ ]
Owner base pay:           $[ ]
Other:                    $[ ]
TOTAL FIXED:              $[ ]

VARIABLE COSTS (per sale or per job)
Materials / product:      $[ ]
Card fees (~[ ]% of price): $[ ]
Shipping / delivery:      $[ ]
Commission / platform fee: $[ ]
Hourly job labor:         $[ ]
TOTAL VARIABLE PER SALE:  $[ ]

Module 1 · Lesson 4 · About 4 min

Cash vs Accrual: When Money Counts

Cash accounting records income when money arrives and expenses when money leaves. Accrual accounting records income when you earn it and expenses when you incur them, even if no cash has moved. Many very small businesses use the cash method for simplicity, but accrual gives a truer picture of monthly profit.

The cash method

With cash accounting, your books follow your bank account. A customer pays an invoice in March for work done in February? That’s March income. You buy a year of insurance in January? It’s all a January expense. It’s simple, it matches what you see in the bank, and it’s how most sole proprietors start.

The downside: monthly profit swings with the timing of payments rather than the work you actually did. A big prepaid order can make one month look amazing and the next look terrible.

The accrual method

Accrual accounting matches income and expenses to the period they belong to. You record revenue when you complete the work or deliver the product, even if the customer pays later (that’s an account receivable). You record an expense when you receive the bill, even if you pay it later (an account payable). Annual costs like insurance are spread across the months they cover.

Accrual takes more work, but it shows whether each month’s work was actually profitable, which is what you need for pricing and planning.

Which one should you use?

For tax purposes in the U.S., many small businesses are allowed to use the cash method, while larger businesses and some businesses that carry inventory may be required to use accrual or a hybrid. The rules and thresholds change over time, so confirm with a tax professional before you choose or switch (as of November 2026). Switching methods for tax purposes can require IRS approval.

For management, you can get the best of both: keep simple cash-basis books if that’s what you file, and use a simple accrual view when you judge monthly performance. Most accounting software can show either view with a toggle. Lesson 10 explains why the bank balance and the profit figure so often disagree.

Practical tips

• Whatever method you use, use it consistently. Comparing a cash-basis month with an accrual-basis month gives misleading results.
• Track unpaid invoices separately even on the cash method, so you know what’s owed to you.
• Spread big annual bills (insurance, licenses, software) into monthly amounts when you plan, so a single month doesn’t look like a disaster.

Copy-paste templates

MONTH: [ ]

Cash-basis profit from your books:          $[ ]
+ Work completed this month, not yet paid:  $[ ]
- Payments received this month for
  work done in earlier months:              $[ ]
- Bills received this month, not yet paid:  $[ ]
+ Payments made this month for bills
  from earlier months:                      $[ ]
- Monthly share of annual costs paid
  in other months:                          $[ ]
+ Annual costs paid in full this month,
  less this month's share:                  $[ ]
= Approximate accrual profit:               $[ ]

Module 2 · Lesson 5 · About 4 min

Markup vs Margin: The Difference That Costs Owners Money

Markup is profit as a percentage of cost; margin is profit as a percentage of the selling price. A product that costs $60 and sells for $100 has a 66.7% markup but only a 40% margin. Mixing the two up is one of the most common and expensive pricing mistakes in small business.

The two formulas

Markup % = (price − cost) ÷ cost × 100

Margin % = (price − cost) ÷ price × 100

Both start from the same dollar profit (price minus cost). The only difference is what you divide by. Because price is always bigger than cost when you’re making money, margin is always the smaller percentage.

Why the confusion costs money

Say you want a 40% margin and you “add 40%” to a $60 cost. You price at $84. Your real margin is $24 ÷ $84 = 28.6%, not 40%. On $200,000 of sales, that gap is worth about $22,900 of gross profit you thought you had. To get a true 40% margin, divide cost by (1 − margin): $60 ÷ 0.60 = $100.

Price for a target margin = cost ÷ (1 − target margin)

Price for a target markup = cost × (1 + target markup)

Markup to margin conversion table

To convert: margin = markup ÷ (1 + markup), and markup = margin ÷ (1 − margin), using decimals (50% = 0.5).

Which one should you use?

• Use margin to judge results. Your P&L reports gross margin, lenders and buyers talk in margins, and margin tells you what share of each sales dollar you keep.
• Markup is fine as a pricing shortcut as long as you know the margin it produces. Many trades and retailers price with a standard markup on materials.
• Write the word down. On every price list or quote template, label the percentage “markup” or “margin” so nobody on your team mixes them up.

For more worked examples, read Markup vs Margin on MagnÜron, or use the full set of business calculators.

Copy-paste templates

B2: Cost per unit
B3: Selling price
B4: Profit per unit        =B3-B2
B5: Markup %               =IF(B2=0,0,B4/B2)
B6: Margin %               =IF(B3=0,0,B4/B3)
B7: Target margin %        [e.g. 0.45]
B8: Price for target margin =B2/(1-B7)
B9: Markup that gives B7   =B7/(1-B7)

PRICING RULE FOR THIS PRICE LIST
Method: [MARGIN / MARKUP]  Target: [ ]%
Formula used: [price = cost / (1 - margin)] or [price = cost x (1 + markup)]
Checked by: [ ]   Date: [ ]

Module 2 · Lesson 6 · About 4 min

Contribution Margin: What Each Sale Really Adds

Contribution margin is the price of a sale minus its variable costs. It’s the amount each sale contributes toward paying your fixed costs and, after those are covered, toward profit. It’s the single most useful number for break-even, discounts and deciding which products to push.

The formulas

Contribution margin per unit = price − variable cost per unit

Contribution margin ratio = contribution margin ÷ price × 100

Contribution margin is a close cousin of gross margin. The difference: gross margin subtracts COGS as it appears in your books, while contribution margin subtracts every cost that moves with the sale, including card fees, commissions, shipping out and marketplace fees that may sit in overhead on your P&L.

Why it matters more than revenue

Two products can bring in the same revenue and contribute very different amounts. If you sell a $100 item with $70 of variable costs and a $100 item with $35 of variable costs, the second one contributes more than twice as much toward rent, wages and profit. When you choose what to promote, what to bundle and where to spend your time, compare contribution, not sales.

Using contribution margin for quick decisions

• Discounts: a 20% discount on a product with a 40% contribution ratio wipes out half its contribution. You’d need to sell twice as many to stand still (Lesson 9 shows the formula).
• Special orders: if you have spare capacity, a lower-priced order can still be worth taking as long as its price is comfortably above variable cost and it doesn’t undercut your regular customers.
• Dropping a product: a product that covers its variable costs and adds contribution may still be helping pay the rent, even if it looks unprofitable after you allocate overhead to it.
• Break-even: fixed costs ÷ contribution margin per unit = units you must sell (Lesson 14).

Contribution for service businesses

For services, think per job or per hour. Price per job minus job labor, materials, travel and card fees equals contribution per job. Many service owners discover that small jobs, once travel time is counted, contribute far less per hour than large ones, which is why minimum charges and trip fees exist.

All amounts are example numbers; contribution per hour is rounded.

Copy-paste templates

PRODUCT / SERVICE: [ ]
Price:                         $[ ]
Variable costs per sale:
  Materials / product          $[ ]
  Direct labor                 $[ ]
  Packaging / supplies         $[ ]
  Shipping or travel           $[ ]
  Card / platform fees         $[ ]
  Commission                   $[ ]
Total variable cost:           $[ ]
Contribution margin ($):       $[ ]   (price - total variable)
Contribution ratio:            [ ]%   (contribution / price)
Hours per sale (services):     [ ]
Contribution per hour:         $[ ]

Module 2 · Lesson 7 · About 4 min

Pricing Your Services: Find Your Hourly Floor

Your hourly floor is the lowest rate that covers your own pay goal and your business overhead, based on the hours you can actually bill. Divide your yearly pay goal plus overhead by your realistic billable hours, then add a profit margin. Most new service owners underprice because they assume every working hour is billable.

Step 1: Set your pay goal

Start with what you need to earn personally in a year, before income tax. Include what an employee would get from an employer: a salary, plus money toward health insurance and retirement. If you’re self-employed in the U.S., remember you’ll also owe self-employment tax (Lesson 22), so build that into the goal or into your tax set-aside.

Step 2: Add up your yearly overhead

Use your fixed cost list from Lesson 3: insurance, software, phone, vehicle costs not billed to jobs, accounting, marketing, training and equipment. Multiply monthly costs by 12. Don’t include job materials you bill back to customers; those go on top of your rate.

Step 3: Count your real billable hours

This is where most owners go wrong. A year has 52 weeks, but you’ll take holidays, vacation and sick days. And not every working hour is billable: quoting, travel, admin, marketing, bookkeeping and learning all eat into it. Many solo service owners bill somewhere between 50% and 75% of their working hours.

Billable hours per year = working weeks × hours per week × billable %

Step 4: Calculate the floor, then add profit

Hourly floor = (pay goal + yearly overhead) ÷ billable hours

Target rate = hourly floor ÷ (1 − profit margin)

The floor only pays you and the bills. Profit is what lets the business save for slow months, replace equipment and grow, so add a margin on top. Below the floor, you’re paying to work.

Step 5: Check against the market

Your floor is a cost-based minimum, not your price. Compare it with what competitors charge and with the value you deliver. If the market pays well above your floor, charge closer to the market. If your floor is above what the market pays, you need to cut overhead, raise billable hours, specialize in higher-value work or price by the project instead of the hour. The MagnÜron guide How Much Should I Charge for My Services? covers value pricing and project pricing in depth.

Turning the rate into project prices

Customers often prefer a fixed price. Estimate the hours, multiply by your target rate, add materials with your standard markup, and add a contingency (often 10% to 15%) for jobs that tend to run long. Track actual hours on every job so your estimates get sharper.

Copy-paste templates

Yearly pay goal (before income tax):  $[ ]
Yearly overhead (monthly x 12):       $[ ]
Total to cover:                       $[ ]

Working weeks per year:               [ ]
Hours worked per week:                [ ]
Billable share of hours:              [ ]%
Billable hours per year:              [ ]   (weeks x hours x billable %)

Hourly floor:                         $[ ]  (total / billable hours)
Profit margin to add:                 [ ]%
Target hourly rate:                   $[ ]  (floor / (1 - margin))

Market range for this service:        $[ ] to $[ ]
My chosen rate:                       $[ ]

B2: Pay goal       B3: Overhead
B4: Weeks          B5: Hours per week
B6: Billable %     B7: Profit margin %
B8: Billable hours =B4*B5*B6
B9: Hourly floor   =(B2+B3)/B8
B10: Target rate   =B9/(1-B7)

Module 2 · Lesson 8 · About 4 min

Pricing Products: From Landed Cost to Shelf Price

To price a product, start with its landed cost: the purchase price plus every cost to get it ready to sell. Then set the price that gives your target margin, check it against the market and round it to a sensible price point. Card fees, shipping and returns must be covered too, or they’ll quietly eat your margin.

Step 1: Find your landed cost

Landed cost is everything it takes to get one unit onto your shelf or ready to ship:

• The supplier price per unit
• Inbound freight, divided across the units in the shipment
• Duties or import fees, if any
• Packaging, labels and inserts
• Any assembly or prep labor

Then list the costs of selling each unit: card or marketplace fees (often a percentage of the sale), outbound shipping you pay, and an allowance for returns, damage and shrinkage.

Step 2: Set a target margin

Your target gross margin has to be big enough that, across all your sales, it pays your fixed costs and leaves a profit. Many retailers aim for 50% or more on gifts, apparel and accessories and less on commodity items, but your fixed costs decide what you need. A quick way to work it out: required gross margin ≈ (monthly fixed costs + target monthly profit) ÷ expected monthly sales.

Price = landed cost ÷ (1 − target margin)

“Keystone” pricing, doubling the cost, gives a 50% margin. It’s a common starting point, not a rule.

Step 3: Account for percentage fees

If a marketplace takes 15% and card processing takes about 3%, those come off the price, not the cost. To keep your target margin after percentage fees, use:

Price = landed cost ÷ (1 − target margin − fee %)

Fee rates vary by provider and plan and change over time, so check your current statements (as of November 2026).

Step 4: Check the market and round

• Look at what similar products sell for at competitors and online. If your formula price is far above the market, look for a cheaper supplier, a bigger order discount, a bundle or a better-quality positioning that justifies the price.
• Round to a price point your customers expect. Prices like $24.99, $29 or $45 feel natural in different markets; pick a style and use it consistently.
• Recheck the margin after rounding. Rounding down by a few dollars can cost several points of margin.

Step 5: Plan for discounts before you need them

If you know you’ll run sales, wholesale orders or loyalty discounts, set the regular price high enough that the discounted price still clears your minimum margin. Write down your lowest acceptable price for each product so nobody discounts below it in a busy moment.

For the difference between retail, wholesale and list prices, read What Is Retail Price?

Copy-paste templates

PRODUCT: [ ]
Supplier price per unit:       $[ ]
Inbound freight per unit:      $[ ]
Duties / import fees per unit: $[ ]
Packaging & labels:            $[ ]
Prep / assembly labor:         $[ ]
LANDED COST:                   $[ ]

Percentage fees (card + platform): [ ]%
Target margin after fees:          [ ]%
Formula price = landed / (1 - margin - fees): $[ ]
Market range:                  $[ ] to $[ ]
Chosen price (rounded):        $[ ]
Margin after fees at chosen price: [ ]%
Lowest acceptable sale price:  $[ ]

B2: Landed cost   B3: Target margin %   B4: Fee %
B5: Formula price            =B2/(1-B3-B4)
B6: Chosen price             [your rounded price]
B7: Margin after fees        =(B6*(1-B4)-B2)/B6

Module 2 · Lesson 9 · About 4 min

Raising Prices Without Losing Sleep

A price increase usually adds more profit than the customers it costs you, because every extra dollar of price is pure margin. With a 40% gross margin, a 10% price rise keeps the same gross profit even if you lose 20% of your sales volume. Discounts work the other way: a 10% discount at the same margin needs about 33% more sales just to break even.

The math of a price increase

When you raise prices, your costs per unit don’t change, so the whole increase drops to gross profit. That’s why even small increases have a big effect on profit.

Sales volume you can lose and still earn the same gross profit = price increase % ÷ (gross margin % + price increase %)

In practice, most small businesses lose far fewer customers than this after a reasonable, well-explained increase, so the extra profit is real.

The math of a discount

Extra sales volume needed to earn the same gross profit = discount % ÷ (gross margin % − discount %)

At a 40% margin, a 10% discount needs 33.3% more sales; a 20% discount needs 100% more, double the volume. If the discount is equal to or bigger than your margin, no amount of volume can make it up. Use discounts deliberately: to clear old stock, win a strategic customer or reward loyalty, not as a reflex.

Signs your prices are too low

• You’re booked solid but still short of cash or profit.
• Almost nobody pushes back on your quotes.
• Your costs have risen since you last set prices.
• You’re below the hourly floor from Lesson 7.
• Your gross margin has slid for three months or more.

How to raise prices well

1. Do the math first. Know your margin and how much volume you can afford to lose.
2. Give notice. 30 days is common for existing customers and retainers; new customers can simply see the new price.
3. Explain briefly, without apologizing. Rising costs, better service, or simply “our first increase in two years” is enough.
4. Offer a choice. A smaller package or a longer commitment at a better rate gives price-sensitive customers somewhere to go besides away.
5. Review regularly. Small yearly increases are easier on customers than a big jump every five years.

Copy-paste templates

Current price:          $[ ]
Current gross margin:   [ ]%
Proposed change:        [+ / -] [ ]%

If raising: volume I can lose = increase / (margin + increase) = [ ]%
If discounting: extra volume needed = discount / (margin - discount) = [ ]%

Customers today:        [ ]
Break-even customers after change: [ ]
My honest estimate after change:   [ ]

Subject: An update to our pricing from [date]

Hi [name],

Thank you for being a customer of [business]. From [date], our [service/product] price will change from $[old] to $[new]. This is our first change since [year], and it lets us keep [what you protect: quality, response times, trained staff].

Your current booking(s) before [date] stay at the current price. If you'd like to talk about options, such as [smaller package / longer plan], just reply to this message.

Thanks again,
[name], [business]

Module 3 · Lesson 10 · About 4 min

Cash Flow vs Profit: Why Profitable Businesses Run Out of Cash

Profit is what you earn on paper over a period; cash flow is the money that actually moves in and out of your bank account. A business can be profitable and still run out of cash when customers pay late, inventory ties up money or loan payments come due. You need to watch both, because profit keeps you in business long term and cash keeps you open this week.

Where profit and cash split apart

Your profit and loss statement (P&L) and your bank balance tell different stories because of timing and because some cash movements never appear on the P&L at all:

The four classic cash traps

• Slow-paying customers. You’ve done the work and paid the costs, but the money sits in receivables. Lesson 12 is about fixing this.
• Growing fast. Growth usually means paying for materials, staff and inventory before customers pay you. The faster you grow, the more cash you need up front.
• Inventory. Every product on the shelf is cash you can’t spend. Slow-moving stock is the worst kind.
• Big lumpy payments. Annual insurance, quarterly taxes, equipment and loan balloons can drain a healthy account in a day if you don’t plan for them.

The opposite case: cash rich, profit poor

Cash can also make things look better than they are. Customer deposits, prepaid packages, unpaid bills and collected sales tax all sit in your account but aren’t yours to spend freely yet. If you treat a big pile of deposits as profit, you can end up unable to pay for the work you’ve already promised.

Watch three numbers every week

1. Bank balance (cash on hand, minus any money set aside for taxes).
2. Money owed to you (accounts receivable), and how much of it is overdue.
3. Bills due in the next 30 days, including payroll, rent, loan payments and taxes.

If cash on hand plus what’s likely to be collected in 30 days is less than the bills due in 30 days, you have a cash gap to solve now, before it becomes a crisis. Read more in Cash Flow vs Profit and Small Business Cash Flow Problems.

Copy-paste templates

WEEK OF: [date]

Bank balance today:                       $[ ]
- Money set aside for taxes:              $[ ]
= Usable cash:                            $[ ]
+ Receivables likely to arrive in 30 days: $[ ]
- Bills due in 30 days (payroll, rent,
  loans, suppliers, card balance):        $[ ]
= 30-day cash position:                   $[ ]

If negative, my action this week: [chase invoice / delay purchase / ask for deposit / talk to lender]

Module 3 · Lesson 11 · About 4 min

Build a Simple 13-Week Cash Flow Forecast

A 13-week cash flow forecast lists the cash you expect to receive and pay each week for the next three months, so you can see a shortfall coming weeks ahead. Start with today’s bank balance, add expected receipts, subtract expected payments and carry the ending balance into the next week. Update it every week in about 20 minutes.

Why 13 weeks?

Thirteen weeks is one quarter. It’s long enough to catch quarterly tax payments, slow seasons and big annual bills, and short enough that your estimates stay realistic. Weekly columns matter, because a monthly view can hide a week in the middle where payroll lands before customers pay.

The structure

Each week’s column has the same rows:

1. Opening cash: last week’s closing cash (week 1 uses today’s bank balance).
2. Cash in: customer payments you expect (by invoice due date, adjusted for how late each customer usually pays), card sales deposits, deposits on new jobs, other receipts.
3. Cash out: payroll, rent, suppliers, loan payments, card payments, software, insurance, tax set-aside transfers, owner’s pay, planned purchases.
4. Net cash flow: cash in − cash out.
5. Closing cash: opening cash + net cash flow.

Add one more row: your minimum cash balance, the lowest you’re comfortable going (for example, two weeks of payroll and rent). Any week where closing cash drops below it gets highlighted.

Filling it in, step by step

1. Start with the payments you’re sure of: payroll dates, rent, loan payments, subscriptions, insurance. These are the easiest and most important.
2. Add receipts from invoices you’ve already sent, placed in the week you realistically expect payment, not the due date.
3. Estimate new sales based on recent weeks and your pipeline. Be conservative: assume new money arrives later and smaller than you hope.
4. Add lumpy items: quarterly estimated taxes, annual renewals, equipment, holiday slowdowns.
5. Each week, replace last week’s estimates with actual numbers, roll forward one week and add a new week 13.

What to do when you spot a gap

• Speed up cash in: send invoices on completion, chase overdue invoices, ask for deposits, offer a small discount for payment upfront on large jobs (check the math from Lesson 9 first).
• Slow down cash out: ask suppliers for longer terms, move non-urgent purchases, pause discretionary spending.
• Arrange backup early: a line of credit is far easier to get before you need it than during a crunch. Compare costs carefully and borrow only to cover timing gaps, not ongoing losses.

The point of a forecast isn’t to be perfectly right. It’s to give you weeks, not days, to react.

Copy-paste templates

Row  Item                     Wk1   Wk2   Wk3   ...  Wk13
1    Opening cash             [bank] =C7  =D7
2    Customer payments        [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
3    Deposits / other in      [ ]   [ ]   [ ]
4    TOTAL CASH IN            =SUM(B2:B3)
5    TOTAL CASH OUT           =SUM(B10:B20)
6    Net cash flow            =B4-B5
7    Closing cash             =B1+B6
8    Minimum cash balance     [ ]
9    Below minimum?           =IF(B7<B8,"YES","")
10   Payroll                  [ ]
11   Rent                     [ ]
12   Suppliers                [ ]
13   Loan payments            [ ]
14   Card payments            [ ]
15   Software / insurance     [ ]
16   Tax set-aside transfer   [ ]
17   Owner's pay              [ ]
18   Planned purchases        [ ]
19   Other                    [ ]
20   Quarterly tax payment    [ ]

Module 3 · Lesson 12 · About 4 min

Getting Paid Faster: Invoices, Terms and Receivables

The fastest cash flow fix in most small businesses is collecting money that’s already owed. Invoice the day work is done, use clear payment terms, make paying easy and follow up on a set schedule. Track days sales outstanding (DSO) to see how long customers take to pay.

Accounts receivable in plain English

Accounts receivable (AR) is money customers owe you for work you’ve already delivered. It’s an asset, but you can’t pay payroll with it. Every day an invoice sits unpaid, you’re giving the customer a free loan.

Measure it: days sales outstanding

DSO = accounts receivable ÷ revenue for the period × days in the period

If you have $18,000 owed to you and you billed $30,000 in the last 30 days, your DSO is $18,000 ÷ $30,000 × 30 = 18 days. Track it monthly. A rising DSO is an early warning that customers are slipping or invoicing is falling behind.

Also run an aging report (most bookkeeping software has one) that groups unpaid invoices into current, 1 to 30 days late, 31 to 60, 61 to 90 and over 90. The older an invoice, the less likely you’ll ever collect it.

Ten ways to get paid faster

1. Invoice the same day the work is done or the order ships. Late invoices get paid late.
2. Take deposits on larger jobs and custom orders, commonly 25% to 50%.
3. Use progress billing for long projects: bill at each milestone instead of at the end.
4. Choose shorter terms. “Due on receipt” or net 15 instead of net 30 where your industry allows it. See Net 30 payment terms for how terms work.
5. Make paying easy: a pay-now link for card or bank transfer on every invoice.
6. Put the due date in the subject line and at the top of the invoice, not just the terms.
7. Use automatic reminders: a few days before the due date, on the due date and at 7, 14 and 30 days late.
8. Call after 30 days. A friendly phone call often fixes what five emails didn’t (wrong contact, missing purchase order, lost invoice).
9. State late fees in your terms if you’ll use them, and follow local rules on late fees.
10. Stop new work for accounts that are badly overdue until they’re brought current.

What a clear invoice includes

• Your business name and contact details, and the customer’s
• Invoice number and date, and the due date in bold
• A clear description of what was delivered, quantities and prices
• Sales tax, if applicable, shown separately
• How to pay, with a payment link
• Your payment terms and any late-fee policy

Invoices and receipts are different documents; see Invoice vs Receipt.

Copy-paste templates

Subject: Invoice [number] for $[amount] was due [date]

Hi [name],

A quick reminder that invoice [number] for [job / order] ($[amount]) was due on [date]. You can pay in a minute here: [payment link]

If it's already on its way, thank you, and please ignore this. If anything on the invoice needs a fix, reply and I'll sort it out today.

Thanks,
[name], [business]

Day -3:  Automatic friendly reminder
Day 0:   "Due today" reminder with pay link
Day 7:   Personal email (template above)
Day 14:  Phone call; confirm contact, PO and payment date
Day 30:  Second call; pause new work until current
Day 45:  Written notice of late fee (if in your terms)
Day 60+: Payment plan offer or formal collection steps

Module 3 · Lesson 13 · About 4 min

Working Capital and Your Cash Cushion

Working capital is your current assets (cash, receivables, inventory) minus your current liabilities (bills, card balances and debts due within a year). It measures whether you can cover short-term obligations. A cash cushion, often one to three months of fixed costs, protects you from slow months and surprises.

Working capital

Working capital = current assets − current liabilities

Current ratio = current assets ÷ current liabilities

• Current assets turn into cash within a year: cash, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses.
• Current liabilities must be paid within a year: accounts payable, credit card balances, payroll owed, sales tax collected, the next 12 months of loan payments.

A current ratio above 1 means you have more short-term assets than short-term bills. Many lenders like to see 1.2 to 2 or higher, but it depends on the industry. A business that collects cash at the counter can run with a lower ratio than one that waits 45 days for customers to pay.

Watch the quality of the assets, too. Working capital that’s mostly old inventory or receivables that are 90 days overdue is much weaker than working capital in cash.

The cash conversion cycle in one sentence

It’s the number of days between paying for materials or stock and getting paid by the customer. Shortening it (sell inventory faster, collect faster, pay suppliers on agreed terms rather than early) frees cash without borrowing.

How big should your cash cushion be?

A common rule of thumb is one to three months of fixed costs (including your own base pay), held in a separate savings account. Lean toward the higher end if:

• Your sales are seasonal or lumpy
• One or two customers make up a large share of revenue
• You have employees, a lease or loan payments
• Your industry is sensitive to the economy

Build it gradually: transfer a fixed percentage of every deposit (Lesson 23 shows a simple system) until you reach the target. Keep it separate from the operating account so it isn’t spent by accident.

Cushion vs credit line

A line of credit is useful backup for timing gaps, such as a large job you must fund before you’re paid. It is not a replacement for a cushion, because the bank can reduce or freeze a line just when business gets tough, and interest adds to your costs. Ideally you have both: a cushion for surprises and a credit line arranged while things are going well.

Copy-paste templates

CURRENT ASSETS
Cash (all accounts):                 $[ ]
Accounts receivable (under 90 days): $[ ]
Inventory (at cost, sellable):       $[ ]
Prepaid expenses:                    $[ ]
TOTAL CURRENT ASSETS:                $[ ]

CURRENT LIABILITIES
Accounts payable:                    $[ ]
Credit card balances:                $[ ]
Sales tax collected, not yet paid:   $[ ]
Payroll and payroll taxes owed:      $[ ]
Loan payments due in 12 months:      $[ ]
TOTAL CURRENT LIABILITIES:           $[ ]

Working capital (assets - liabilities): $[ ]
Current ratio (assets / liabilities):   [ ]
Monthly fixed costs:                 $[ ]
Cash cushion target ([1-3] months):  $[ ]

Module 4 · Lesson 14 · About 4 min

Break-Even Point: How Much You Must Sell

Your break-even point is the amount you must sell to cover all your costs, with zero profit and zero loss. Divide your monthly fixed costs by your contribution margin per unit to get break-even units, or by your contribution margin ratio to get break-even revenue. Everything you sell above break-even contributes to profit.

The formulas

Break-even units = fixed costs ÷ (price − variable cost per unit)

Break-even revenue = fixed costs ÷ contribution margin ratio

Units for a target profit = (fixed costs + target profit) ÷ contribution margin per unit

You’ll need your fixed costs from Lesson 3 and your contribution margin from Lesson 6. If you sell many different products or services, use break-even revenue with your average contribution margin ratio across all sales.

Turning break-even into daily targets

A monthly break-even number becomes useful when you break it down. If you need 250 sales a month and you’re open 25 days, that’s 10 sales a day. A service business that needs $20,000 of revenue a month at an average job of $400 needs 50 jobs, about 12 a week. Daily and weekly targets turn an abstract number into something your team can track on a whiteboard.

Margin of safety

Margin of safety = (actual sales − break-even sales) ÷ actual sales

If you sell $26,000 a month and break even at $20,000, your margin of safety is about 23%. Sales could fall 23% before you start losing money. A thin margin of safety is a signal to lower fixed costs, improve contribution or build a bigger cash cushion.

Limits of break-even analysis

• It assumes your price and variable cost stay the same at every volume. In reality, bulk discounts, overtime and promotions change them.
• Fixed costs aren’t fixed forever. Past a certain volume you’ll need more space, staff or equipment, which creates a new, higher break-even point.
• Break-even is about profit, not cash. You can be above break-even and still short of cash because of timing (Module 3).

See a full worked case in Break-Even Analysis Example.

Copy-paste templates

Monthly fixed costs:              $[ ]
Average price per sale:           $[ ]
Variable cost per sale:           $[ ]
Contribution per sale:            $[ ]   (price - variable)
Contribution ratio:               [ ]%   (contribution / price)

Break-even sales (units):         [ ]   (fixed / contribution)
Break-even revenue:               $[ ]  (fixed / ratio)
Target monthly profit:            $[ ]
Sales needed for target:          [ ]   ((fixed + target) / contribution)

Open days per month: [ ]  -> Sales needed per day: [ ]
Actual sales last month: [ ] -> Margin of safety: [ ]%

B2: Fixed costs   B3: Price   B4: Variable cost   B5: Target profit
B6: Contribution        =B3-B4
B7: Contribution ratio  =IF(B3=0,0,B6/B3)
B8: Break-even units    =ROUNDUP(B2/B6,0)
B9: Break-even revenue  =B2/B7
B10: Units for target   =ROUNDUP((B2+B5)/B6,0)

Module 4 · Lesson 15 · About 4 min

Burn Rate and Runway: How Long Your Cash Will Last

Burn rate is how much cash your business loses each month when spending is higher than income. Runway is how many months your current cash will last at that burn rate: cash on hand divided by monthly net burn. If you’re not yet profitable, or sales dip, runway tells you how much time you have to fix it.

Gross burn vs net burn

• Gross burn is your total monthly cash spending: payroll, rent, suppliers, software, loan payments and owner pay.
• Net burn is gross burn minus the cash you bring in each month. It’s the amount your bank balance actually shrinks.

Net burn = monthly cash out − monthly cash in

Runway (months) = cash on hand ÷ net burn

If cash in is higher than cash out, you have no burn; you’re cash-flow positive and your runway isn’t limited by burn. Use an average of the last three months rather than one month, because single months swing.

Who needs to watch runway?

• New businesses living on savings or a loan while sales ramp up.
• Seasonal businesses getting through the off-season.
• Any business in a slump, after losing a big customer or during a downturn.
• Owners planning a big investment, such as a new hire or location, that will burn cash before it pays off.

Rules of thumb for runway

Fundraising startups often aim for 12 to 18 months or more after raising money. For a self-funded small business, the question is simpler: do you have enough months to reach break-even with room to spare? If your plan says you’ll be profitable in six months, nine to twelve months of runway gives you a buffer for the plan being late, which plans usually are.

Extending your runway

1. Cut the burn: pause subscriptions, renegotiate rent, delay hires, reduce owner pay temporarily.
2. Raise cash in: collect receivables, take deposits, sell prepaid packages, raise prices (Lesson 9).
3. Add cash: owner investment, a loan or a line of credit, best arranged while you still have months of runway, not weeks.

Set a trigger: for example, “If runway falls below six months, we cut discretionary spending; below three, we act on the bigger list.” Deciding in advance prevents panic decisions later. Read more in Runway and Burn Rate.

Copy-paste templates

Month: [ ]
Cash on hand (excluding tax set-aside): $[ ]
3-month average cash in:               $[ ]
3-month average cash out (gross burn):  $[ ]
Net burn (out - in):                    $[ ]
Runway (cash / net burn):               [ ] months

Runway triggers
Below [6] months: [actions]
Below [3] months: [actions]

Expected months to break-even: [ ]
Buffer (runway - months to break-even): [ ] months

Module 4 · Lesson 16 · About 4 min

Use Break-Even Math to Make Better Decisions

Before you add a cost, ask how many extra sales it takes to pay for it: divide the new cost by your contribution margin per sale, or by your contribution margin ratio to get extra revenue. This one calculation answers most hire, rent, equipment and advertising questions in a minute. If you can’t realistically make the extra sales, don’t add the cost yet.

The decision formula

Extra sales needed = new monthly cost ÷ contribution margin per sale

Extra revenue needed = new monthly cost ÷ contribution margin ratio

It’s the break-even formula from Lesson 14 applied to one decision. It works for any new fixed cost: a hire, a bigger space, a vehicle, software, a marketing retainer.

Decision 1: Hiring

Use the fully loaded cost, not just the wage. In the U.S., payroll taxes, workers’ compensation insurance, paid time off and any benefits often add a meaningful percentage on top of wages; the exact amount varies by state and role, so get a quote from your payroll provider or accountant. Then ask: how much extra revenue will this person make possible (by doing billable work or freeing your time to sell), and how soon?

Decision 2: Rent and equipment

A $1,500-a-month rent increase at $48 of contribution per sale needs about 32 more sales every month, forever. A $15,000 piece of equipment financed at $450 a month needs about 10 extra sales a month at the same contribution, or the equivalent in time saved (Lesson 17).

Decision 3: Advertising

Ads should pay back their cost through contribution, not revenue. If an ad campaign costs $1,000 and each new customer’s first purchase contributes $48, you need 21 new customers just to break even on the first purchase. If customers come back (see customer lifetime value in Lesson 26), you can justify spending more, but measure it.

Decision 4: Taking on a discount deal

If a big customer asks for 15% off, the contribution on their orders drops. Use the discount formula from Lesson 9 to see how much more volume you need, and check whether you have the capacity.

Questions to ask before saying yes

1. What’s the full monthly cost, including setup, training and hidden extras?
2. How many extra sales or how much extra revenue does it need?
3. Is that realistic, based on your recent sales and capacity?
4. How long until it pays off, and do you have the runway to wait?
5. What’s the downside if it doesn’t work, and can you undo it (month-to-month vs long contract)?

Copy-paste templates

Proposed cost: [hire / rent / equipment / ads / software]
Full monthly cost (incl. taxes, fees, setup spread): $[ ]
My contribution per sale: $[ ]   Contribution ratio: [ ]%

Extra sales needed per month:   [ ]  (cost / contribution per sale)
Extra revenue needed per month: $[ ] (cost / ratio)

Recent monthly sales: [ ]   Capacity for extra sales? [yes / no]
Realistic extra sales it creates: [ ]
Months to pay off any upfront cost: [ ]
Can it be undone? [month-to-month / contract until ____ ]
Decision: [yes / no / test for ___ months]

Module 4 · Lesson 17 · About 3 min

Return on Investment and Payback for Everyday Decisions

Return on investment (ROI) compares what you gain from spending money with what it cost: gain minus cost, divided by cost. Payback period tells you how many months it takes to earn the money back. Together they help you choose between equipment, software, training and marketing when you can’t afford everything.

The formulas

ROI % = (gain − cost) ÷ cost × 100

Payback period = upfront cost ÷ monthly gain

“Gain” can be extra contribution (not extra revenue), costs saved or time saved valued at a realistic hourly rate. Always state the period: “300% ROI in the first year” is meaningful; “300% ROI” alone is not.

Three kinds of gains

• More sales: use extra contribution margin, because extra sales come with extra variable costs.
• Lower costs: use the direct savings, such as lower fuel, less waste or a cheaper supplier.
• Time saved: hours saved × the value of an hour. Only count it if the time is actually used for paid work, selling or something you value.

Payback is often the better small business test

ROI shows how good an investment is; payback shows how quickly you get your cash back, which matters more when cash is tight. A common approach for small purchases is to prefer things that pay back within 12 months, and to be more careful with anything that takes longer, because estimates further out are less reliable.

Comparing options

All amounts are example numbers. The redesign isn’t necessarily a bad idea, but it’s the least certain and slowest to pay back, so it goes last or gets tested in smaller steps.

Common ROI mistakes

• Using revenue instead of contribution as the gain.
• Leaving out running costs: maintenance, subscriptions, training time.
• Counting time saved that never turns into anything.
• Not checking afterward. Write down the expected gain, then compare it with actual results after three months.

For more on ROI, read the MagnÜron ROI guide.

Copy-paste templates

Option:                 [ ]
Upfront cost:           $[ ]
Ongoing monthly cost:   $[ ]
Monthly gain (contribution, savings or valued time): $[ ]
Net monthly gain (gain - ongoing cost): $[ ]
Payback (upfront / net monthly gain):   [ ] months
First-year ROI ((12 x net gain - upfront) / upfront): [ ]%
Confidence in estimate: [high / medium / low]
Check-back date: [ ]

Module 5 · Lesson 18 · About 4 min

Separate Business and Personal Money

Keep business money in its own bank account and use a business card for business spending only. Separation makes bookkeeping faster, makes tax time easier, gives you a true picture of profit and helps protect the liability shield of an LLC or corporation. It’s the first money system every business needs, and it can be set up in an afternoon.

Why mixing money causes problems

• You can’t see your real profit. When groceries and supplier bills come out of the same account, nobody knows what the business actually earns.
• Bookkeeping takes far longer. Every transaction has to be sorted into business or personal, and mistakes creep in.
• Tax time gets harder and riskier. Clear records make it easier to support your deductions if the IRS ever asks questions.
• It can weaken liability protection. If you run an LLC or corporation and treat its money as your own, a court may be more willing to “pierce the corporate veil” and hold you personally liable. Separate accounts are a basic step to keep the business legally separate.

The setup checklist

1. Choose and register your business structure if you haven’t. A sole proprietorship needs little paperwork; an LLC is registered with your state. See Sole Proprietor vs LLC.
2. Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN). It’s free from the IRS and many banks ask for one to open a business account (as of November 2026, you can apply online on the IRS EIN page). Beware of websites that charge for this.
3. Open a business checking account. Compare monthly fees, minimum balances, deposit limits and how well it connects to bookkeeping software.
4. Get a business credit or debit card and use it only for business costs.
5. Send all customer payments to the business account, including card processor deposits and payment apps.
6. Pay yourself by transfer, on a schedule, from business to personal (Lesson 19).
7. Consider a separate savings account for taxes and your cash cushion (Lessons 13, 22 and 23).

What if you already mixed them?

Don’t panic, just stop now. Pick a start date, move all business activity to the new accounts from that day, and go back through earlier statements to tag business transactions. If you paid a business expense personally, record it as an owner contribution or reimburse yourself from the business account with a note and receipt. If you used business money personally, record it as an owner’s draw. A bookkeeper can help clean up a year or more of mixed records quickly.

Payment apps and personal accounts

If customers pay you through a payment app, use a business profile connected to your business account. Payment apps and card processors may issue tax forms to the IRS based on the payments you receive, so mixing personal transfers into a business profile creates confusion. Reporting thresholds have changed in recent years, so check the current rules (as of November 2026) with a tax professional.

Copy-paste templates

[ ] Business structure chosen and registered: [sole prop / LLC / other]
[ ] EIN received (free from IRS.gov): [date]
[ ] Business checking opened at: [bank]
[ ] Business card issued: [card]
[ ] Card processor / payment apps deposit to business account
[ ] Recurring business bills moved to business account/card
[ ] Owner's pay transfer scheduled: $[ ] on [day]
[ ] Tax savings account opened
[ ] Start date for clean books: [date]
[ ] Old mixed transactions tagged back to: [date]

Module 5 · Lesson 19 · About 4 min

Paying Yourself: Owner's Draw vs Salary

How you pay yourself depends on how your business is set up. Sole proprietors, partners and most single-member LLCs take an owner’s draw, which is a transfer of profit, not a business expense. Owners of S corporations and C corporations who work in the business are generally paid a salary through payroll, and S corporation owners may also take distributions.

Owner’s draw

If you’re a sole proprietor, a partner or a single-member LLC taxed as a sole proprietorship (the default in the U.S.), you don’t pay yourself wages. You take money out as a draw. A draw:

• Is not a business expense and doesn’t reduce your business profit
• Doesn’t change your taxes. You’re taxed on the business’s net profit whether you take it out or leave it in.
• Has no tax withheld, so you must set money aside and pay estimated taxes yourself (Lesson 22)

Salary through payroll

If your business is taxed as an S corporation or C corporation and you work in it, you’re generally an employee. You’re paid wages through payroll, with income tax and payroll taxes withheld, and the salary is a business expense. The IRS expects S corporation owner-employees to pay themselves reasonable compensation for the work they do before taking distributions. What counts as reasonable depends on your role, hours and industry, so get advice from a tax professional (as of November 2026).

This is general education, not tax advice. Rules depend on your situation and can change.

How much to pay yourself

Whatever your structure, the practical question is the same: how much can the business afford to pay you without starving itself of cash?

1. Start with profit, not revenue. Look at the average monthly net profit over the last three to six months.
2. Set aside taxes first if you’re on draws.
3. Leave some profit in the business for the cash cushion and growth.
4. Pay a steady base amount on a schedule (for example, the 1st and 15th), rather than grabbing cash whenever the account looks full.
5. Add a quarterly bonus when profit beats the plan.

Steady pay makes both your personal budget and the business’s cash flow more predictable. See Owner’s Draw vs Salary for more detail.

Copy-paste templates

Business structure: [ ]
How I'm paid: [draw / salary + distributions / salary]
Average monthly net profit (last [3-6] months): $[ ]
- Tax set-aside ([ ]%):        $[ ]
- Keep in business ([ ]%):     $[ ]
= Available for owner pay:     $[ ]
Base pay per month:            $[ ]  (paid on [dates])
Quarterly bonus rule: if profit beats $[ ], take [ ]% of the extra
Review date: [ ]

Module 5 · Lesson 20 · About 4 min

Bookkeeping Basics: A 30-Minute Weekly Routine

Bookkeeping means recording every dollar that comes in and goes out, sorted into categories, so you can produce a P&L and balance sheet you trust. A 30-minute weekly routine of categorizing transactions, matching receipts and following up on invoices keeps your books current. A monthly reconciliation checks that the books match the bank.

What you need

• A system. A spreadsheet works for very small businesses. Bookkeeping software (for example QuickBooks, Xero, Wave, FreshBooks or Zoho Books) connects to your bank, imports transactions and produces reports automatically. Compare features and current pricing yourself; plans change often.
• A simple chart of accounts. This is just your list of categories. Keep it short: 15 to 25 categories is plenty for most small businesses.
• Separate business accounts (Lesson 18). Without them, bookkeeping is twice the work.

A starter chart of accounts

Use the categories your tax preparer prefers if they have a list; it makes year-end faster.

The weekly 30-minute routine

1. Categorize new transactions (10 minutes). Software suggests categories; check them, especially transfers and owner draws.
2. Match receipts (5 minutes). Snap photos of paper receipts and attach them to transactions.
3. Send invoices for completed work (5 minutes).
4. Check receivables and send reminders (5 minutes, Lesson 12).
5. Update the cash forecast (5 minutes, Lesson 11).

The monthly routine (about an hour)

1. Reconcile every bank and card account: confirm the ending balance in your books matches the statement, and investigate any difference.
2. Review the P&L for odd numbers, such as a category that doubled or a missing regular bill.
3. Move tax set-asides to the tax account (Lesson 22).
4. Run your monthly money review (Lesson 27).

Do it yourself, or hire help?

Many owners do their own books at first. Consider a bookkeeper when you’re spending more than a few hours a month on it, you’re more than a month behind, you have employees or inventory, or you simply don’t trust the numbers. Even then, keep reviewing the reports yourself. A bookkeeper records; you decide. Repetitive admin like receipt sorting can also be sped up with the tools covered in AI for bookkeeping and admin, with a person checking the results.

Copy-paste templates

WEEK OF: [ ]   Time spent: [ ] min
[ ] Categorize all new bank and card transactions
[ ] Check transfers and owner draws are not coded as expenses
[ ] Attach receipts to transactions over $[ ]
[ ] Send invoices for all work completed this week
[ ] Review receivables; send reminders (Lesson 12 schedule)
[ ] Update 13-week cash forecast
Notes / questions for bookkeeper or accountant: [ ]

MONTH: [ ]
[ ] Reconcile business checking
[ ] Reconcile business savings / tax account
[ ] Reconcile each credit card
[ ] Review P&L vs last month and same month last year
[ ] Transfer tax set-aside: $[ ]
[ ] Record any cash or out-of-pocket expenses
[ ] Monthly money review done (Lesson 27)

Module 5 · Lesson 21 · About 4 min

Receipts, Invoices and Records to Keep

Keep records that show what you earned, what you spent and why: invoices, receipts, bank and card statements, payroll records, mileage logs, contracts and tax returns. Digital copies are generally fine if they’re clear and complete. In the U.S., the IRS says to keep most records for at least three years after filing, and longer in some situations.

Invoices vs receipts

An invoice asks for payment: it lists what you delivered and what’s owed. A receipt proves payment was made. You’ll send invoices to customers, issue receipts when they pay, and collect invoices and receipts from suppliers for your own expenses. See Invoice vs Receipt for examples.

What a good expense record shows

• Who you paid and when
• How much, and how you paid
• What you bought
• The business purpose, if it isn’t obvious (for example, a meal with a client and what you discussed)

A bank statement alone shows that money moved but not what it was for. For larger purchases, keep the itemized receipt or invoice.

Records most small businesses should keep

• Sales records: invoices, sales reports, card processor and payment app statements
• Expense records: receipts, supplier invoices, bills
• Bank, savings and credit card statements
• Payroll records, if you have employees, and contractor payment records
• Vehicle mileage logs, if you deduct business driving
• Asset records: purchase receipts for equipment and vehicles (needed for depreciation and when you sell them)
• Loan documents, leases and major contracts
• Sales tax returns and payment confirmations
• Copies of filed tax returns

How long to keep them

The IRS’s general guidance, as of November 2026, is to keep records that support items on your tax return for at least three years from the date you filed, with longer periods in some cases: six years if income was underreported by more than 25%, seven years for certain losses, at least four years for employment tax records, and records for property and equipment until the period for the year you sell or dispose of it has passed. Read the IRS page How long should I keep records? and ask your tax preparer. Lenders, insurers and your state may have their own requirements.

Many owners simply keep everything for seven years, and keep tax returns and asset records permanently.

A simple digital filing system

• One folder per year, with subfolders for Sales, Expenses, Bank, Payroll, Taxes, Assets and Contracts.
• Name files consistently: 2026-11-04 Supplier Name 245.80.pdf.
• Attach receipts directly to transactions in your bookkeeping software where you can.
• Back up to a second location, such as cloud storage plus an external drive.

Copy-paste templates

Business Records/
  2026/
    01 Sales (invoices, processor statements)
    02 Expenses (receipts, supplier bills)
    03 Bank & Cards (monthly statements)
    04 Payroll & Contractors
    05 Taxes (estimates paid, sales tax, returns)
    06 Assets (equipment & vehicle purchases)
    07 Contracts & Loans
    08 Mileage log
File name format: YYYY-MM-DD Vendor Amount.pdf

Date | Start location | End location | Business purpose | Miles
[ ]  | [ ]            | [ ]          | [client / supplier / job] | [ ]
Monthly total miles: [ ]   Odometer start of year: [ ]  End of year: [ ]

Module 5 · Lesson 22 · About 5 min

Setting Money Aside for Taxes (U.S. Basics)

If you’re self-employed in the U.S., no one withholds tax from your profit, so you need to set money aside from every payment and usually pay estimated taxes four times a year. Many owners move a set share of profit, often 25% to 35%, into a separate tax account. This lesson is general education, not tax advice; a tax professional can set the right percentage for you.

What taxes you may owe

Depending on your structure and location, a profitable small business owner in the U.S. may owe:

• Federal income tax on business profit, at your personal tax rates if you’re a sole proprietor, partner, single-member LLC or S corporation owner.
• Self-employment tax, which is Social Security and Medicare for the self-employed. As of November 2026, the rate is 15.3% (12.4% Social Security plus 2.9% Medicare), generally applied to 92.35% of net self-employment earnings. The Social Security part applies only up to a yearly earnings limit, which is $184,500 for 2026. Higher earners may also owe an additional 0.9% Medicare tax. See the IRS self-employment tax page.
• State and local income taxes, which vary widely, and some states have none.
• Sales tax you collect from customers, which isn’t your money at all; it’s held for the state.
• Payroll taxes if you have employees.

Estimated tax payments

The U.S. tax system is pay-as-you-go. If you expect to owe a meaningful amount when you file (generally $1,000 or more for individuals), you’re usually expected to make quarterly estimated payments. As of November 2026, the usual due dates for individuals are April 15, June 15, September 15 and January 15 of the following year, moved to the next business day if they fall on a weekend or holiday. See IRS estimated taxes.

To avoid an underpayment penalty, a common safe-harbor approach is to pay, through withholding and estimates, at least 90% of this year’s tax or 100% of last year’s tax (110% if last year’s adjusted gross income was over $150,000). Your tax preparer can confirm what applies to you.

A simple set-aside system

1. Open a separate savings account just for taxes. Don’t count it as available cash.
2. Pick a percentage of profit to set aside. A common rough starting range is 25% to 35% of net profit, depending on your income, state and deductions. Ask a tax professional to refine it after your first year.
3. Transfer it on a schedule: with every deposit, every week or at your monthly close.
4. Pay quarterly estimates from that account.
5. Keep sales tax separate too, and file and pay it on your state’s schedule.

Common mistakes

• Spending the tax money in a slow month, then facing a big bill in April.
• Forgetting self-employment tax, which surprises many first-year owners.
• Treating collected sales tax as revenue.
• Skipping quarterly payments and owing penalties and interest.
• Not keeping records to support deductions (Lesson 21).

Copy-paste templates

Business structure: [ ]   State: [ ]
Set-aside % of net profit: [ ]%   (confirmed with tax pro? [yes / no])
Tax savings account: [bank / account nickname]
Transfer schedule: [every deposit / weekly / monthly close]

Quarterly estimate amounts (from tax pro or last year):
Q1 due [Apr 15]: $[ ]   Paid: [ ]
Q2 due [Jun 15]: $[ ]   Paid: [ ]
Q3 due [Sep 15]: $[ ]   Paid: [ ]
Q4 due [Jan 15]: $[ ]   Paid: [ ]

Sales tax: filing frequency [ ]  Next due: [ ]

1. What percentage of my profit should I set aside, including state tax?
2. How much should my quarterly estimated payments be this year?
3. Does a safe-harbor approach apply to me?
4. Which records do you need from me, and in what format?
5. Is my business structure still the right one at my current profit?
6. Which deductions am I likely missing (home office, vehicle, equipment)?

Module 5 · Lesson 23 · About 4 min

A Simple Allocation System for Every Dollar

An allocation system splits every deposit into a few separate accounts, such as profit, owner’s pay, taxes and operating expenses, so each job’s money is protected before it’s spent. It’s the idea behind the Profit First method. Start with small percentages you can live with and adjust them every quarter.

Why allocation works

Most owners use the formula sales − expenses = profit, and profit is whatever happens to be left over, which is often nothing. In Profit First, Mike Michalowicz flips the formula: sales − profit = expenses. You take your profit (and your taxes and pay) off the top, and run the business on what remains. Because the operating account holds less, you naturally spend more carefully. Read the MagnÜron Profit First summary for the full method.

A basic five-account setup

The percentages are examples, not recommendations. The right numbers depend on your margins and costs. Note that these are shares of deposits, not of profit, so a tax share of deposits will be a smaller number than the 25% to 35% of profit discussed in Lesson 22. Check that your tax share of deposits produces enough to cover your estimated payments.

Service businesses with high gross margins often use the deposits directly. Businesses with large material or product costs often allocate from gross profit (deposits minus direct costs) instead, or keep a separate account for materials.

Running the system

1. Set up the accounts, often at the same bank so transfers are instant. Nickname them clearly.
2. Allocate on a rhythm, such as the 10th and 25th of each month. Move each percentage from Income to the other accounts.
3. Pay bills only from Operating Expenses. If it runs short, that’s information: costs are too high or prices too low.
4. Pay yourself only from Owner’s Pay and taxes only from Tax.
5. Each quarter, take part of the Profit account as a reward and leave the rest as a reserve.
6. Raise the profit percentage by a point or two each quarter as you trim costs.

When the operating account runs short

Don’t quietly raid the tax or profit accounts. Look at the cost list from Lesson 3, cancel what isn’t earning its keep, check your pricing against Lessons 5 to 9 and review receivables (Lesson 12). The point of the system is to surface these problems early.

Copy-paste templates

Deposits this period:   $[ ]
(If high material costs: minus direct costs = $[ ] to allocate)

Profit       [ ]%  = $[ ]
Owner's pay  [ ]%  = $[ ]
Tax          [ ]%  = $[ ]
Operating    [ ]%  = $[ ]   (100% minus the others)

Check: operating allocation covers this period's bills? [yes / no]
Allocation dates: [10th] and [25th]
Quarterly profit reward taken: $[ ]  Reserve left: $[ ]

B2: Deposits
B3: Profit %   B4: Owner pay %   B5: Tax %
B6: Operating %       =1-B3-B4-B5
B7: Profit $          =B2*B3
B8: Owner pay $       =B2*B4
B9: Tax $             =B2*B5
B10: Operating $      =B2*B6

Module 6 · Lesson 24 · About 3 min

Reading a Simple Profit and Loss Statement

A profit and loss statement (P&L, or income statement) shows revenue, costs and profit for a period, usually a month, quarter or year. Read it from the top down: revenue, minus cost of goods sold equals gross profit, minus operating expenses equals operating profit, and after interest and other items you reach net profit. Then compare each line with last month and the same month last year as a percentage of revenue.

The structure, top to bottom

All amounts are example numbers.

How to read it in five minutes

1. Revenue: up or down versus last month and the same month last year? Seasonal businesses should compare with last year first.
2. Gross margin: is it steady? A drop of even two or three points is worth investigating (pricing, discounts, supplier costs, job overruns).
3. Each expense as a % of revenue: which lines grew faster than revenue?
4. Operating and net profit margin: are you keeping a healthy share of each dollar?
5. Anything strange: a missing regular bill, a doubled category, a one-off item. Ask about it.

What the P&L doesn’t show

• Cash. You can be profitable and short of cash (Lesson 10).
• Owner’s draws and loan principal. They’re not expenses for most small businesses.
• What you own and owe. That’s the balance sheet (Lesson 25).

Some lenders and buyers also look at EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization), which adds back those items to compare operating performance.

Copy-paste templates

MONTH: [ ]
Revenue: $[ ]  vs last month [ ]%  vs same month last year [ ]%
Gross margin: [ ]%  (last month [ ]%, last year [ ]%)
Operating expenses: [ ]% of revenue (last month [ ]%)
Lines that grew faster than revenue: [ ]
Net profit: $[ ]  Net margin: [ ]%
Anything odd or one-off: [ ]
Question for bookkeeper: [ ]
One action this month: [ ]

In column C next to each P&L line (amounts in column B, revenue in B2):
C2: =B2/$B$2      (copy down, format as %)

Module 6 · Lesson 25 · About 3 min

The Balance Sheet in Plain English

A balance sheet is a snapshot of what your business owns (assets), what it owes (liabilities) and what’s left for the owners (equity) on a single date. It always balances: assets equal liabilities plus equity. While the P&L shows how you performed over a period, the balance sheet shows how strong your position is right now.

The equation

Assets = liabilities + equity

Everything the business owns was paid for either with borrowed money (liabilities) or with the owners’ money and retained profits (equity).

The three sections

• Assets: cash, accounts receivable, inventory, prepaid expenses (current assets), plus equipment, vehicles and property minus accumulated depreciation (long-term assets).
• Liabilities: accounts payable, credit card balances, sales tax payable, payroll owed (current liabilities), plus loans and leases due after more than a year (long-term liabilities).
• Equity: money the owners put in, plus profits kept in the business, minus owner draws or distributions.

Four quick health checks

1. Cash trend: compare cash with three months ago.
2. Current ratio: current assets ÷ current liabilities (Lesson 13). In the example, $33,000 ÷ $8,000 = about 4.1, plus the part of the loan due within a year.
3. Debt to equity: total liabilities ÷ equity. In the example, $25,000 ÷ $30,000 = 0.83. Higher means more borrowed money is funding the business.
4. Equity trend: growing equity means the business is keeping profit; shrinking equity means losses or owner draws bigger than profit.

Why owners skip it (and shouldn’t)

Many owners only look at the P&L. But the balance sheet catches problems the P&L can’t: card balances creeping up, receivables piling up, sales tax that hasn’t been paid, or draws that are eating into equity. If your bookkeeping software can produce it, look at it monthly alongside the P&L. Read more in Balance Sheet explained.

Copy-paste templates

DATE: [ ]
Total assets:           $[ ]
Total liabilities:      $[ ]
Equity:                 $[ ]   (assets - liabilities)

Cash now vs 3 months ago:          $[ ] vs $[ ]
Current ratio (current assets / current liabilities): [ ]
Debt to equity (liabilities / equity): [ ]
Equity now vs 6 months ago:        $[ ] vs $[ ]
Card balances now vs 3 months ago: $[ ] vs $[ ]
Sales tax payable up to date? [yes / no]

Module 6 · Lesson 26 · About 4 min

The KPIs That Matter for a Small Business

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the handful of numbers that tell you quickly whether the business is healthy. Most small businesses need only five to eight: revenue, gross margin, net profit margin, cash on hand or runway, days sales outstanding, customer acquisition cost, customer lifetime value and one operating number for their industry. Track them monthly on one page.

A core set of money KPIs

CLV and CAC together

The most useful pair for marketing decisions is customer lifetime value against acquisition cost. If a customer is worth $540 in gross profit over their lifetime and costs $60 to acquire, you can afford to spend more to win customers. A common rule of thumb is to aim for CLV of at least three times CAC, though it depends on how quickly customers pay back their acquisition cost. Use gross profit, not revenue, in CLV, or you’ll overestimate what you can spend.

Add one or two operating KPIs

Pick numbers that drive revenue in your type of business:

• Service businesses: billable utilization (billable hours ÷ available hours), revenue per hour, quote-to-win rate.
• Retail and e-commerce: conversion rate, inventory turnover, return rate.
• Restaurants: food cost %, labor cost %, covers per day.
• Subscriptions and memberships: monthly recurring revenue, churn, net promoter score.

Making KPIs useful

1. Keep it to one page. More than ten numbers and nobody looks.
2. Track trends, not single months. Show the last six to twelve months side by side.
3. Set a target or a range for each, such as “gross margin 55% to 60%”.
4. Assign an owner for each number if you have a team.
5. Review monthly in your money review (Lesson 27), and act on anything outside its range.

MagnÜron’s free small business dashboard tracks many of these in one place, and Small Business Dashboard KPIs explains which to choose.

Copy-paste templates

KPI                  Target      Jan   Feb   Mar   Apr   May   Jun
Revenue              $[ ]
Gross margin %       [ ]-[ ]%
Net profit margin %  [ ]%
Cash on hand         $[ ]
Runway (months)      [ ]+
DSO (days)           < [ ]
Average order value  $[ ]
New customers        [ ]
CAC                  < $[ ]
CLV : CAC            > 3:1
[Industry KPI]       [ ]

Gross margin %:  =GrossProfit/Revenue
Net margin %:    =NetProfit/Revenue
DSO:             =Receivables/Revenue*30
AOV:             =Revenue/Orders
CAC:             =MarketingSpend/NewCustomers
CLV:             =AOV*PurchasesPerYear*Years*GrossMargin
CLV:CAC ratio:   =CLV/CAC

Module 6 · Lesson 27 · About 5 min

Your Monthly Money Review and Final Checklist

A one-hour monthly money review turns everything in this course into a habit: close the books, check your P&L, balance sheet and cash, update your KPIs and decide one action. Owners who review their numbers every month spot pricing, cost and cash problems while they’re still small. Use the checklist below to set up your money systems once, then repeat the review every month.

The one-hour monthly money review

1. Close the month (15 minutes). Finish the weekly bookkeeping routine, reconcile every account and move the tax set-aside (Lessons 20 and 22).
2. Read the P&L (10 minutes). Revenue, gross margin and net margin against last month and last year (Lesson 24).
3. Check the balance sheet (5 minutes). Cash, card balances, receivables, sales tax payable and equity (Lesson 25).
4. Look ahead at cash (10 minutes). Update the 13-week forecast and your runway (Lessons 11 and 15).
5. Update KPIs (10 minutes). Fill in this month’s column and flag anything outside its range (Lesson 26).
6. Decide one action (10 minutes). One pricing, cost, collections or growth action, with a date. Write it down.

Each quarter, add three questions: Are prices still right (Lessons 7 to 9)? Are the allocation percentages still right (Lesson 23)? Are estimated tax payments on track (Lesson 22)?

Final checklist: set up your money systems

Tick each item as you complete it. Your ticks are saved in this browser.

• Open separate business checking and a business card (Lesson 18)
• Write down last month’s revenue, gross margin and net margin (Lessons 1–2)
• List your fixed and variable costs (Lesson 3)
• Check markup vs margin on your top five sellers (Lesson 5)
• Calculate contribution margin for your main products or jobs (Lesson 6)
• Work out your hourly floor or product price formula (Lessons 7–8)
• Calculate your break-even revenue and weekly sales target (Lesson 14)
• Calculate your runway, or confirm you’re cash-flow positive (Lesson 15)
• Build your 13-week cash flow forecast (Lesson 11)
• Set up invoice reminders and a collections schedule (Lesson 12)
• Set a cash cushion target and start funding it (Lesson 13)
• Set your owner pay plan (Lesson 19)
• Open a tax savings account and put quarterly due dates in your calendar (Lesson 22)
• Book a weekly 30-minute bookkeeping slot (Lesson 20)
• Set up your record folders (Lesson 21)
• Build your one-page KPI dashboard (Lesson 26)
• Book your first monthly money review

Your one-page money snapshot

Copy this snapshot into a document or spreadsheet and fill it in each month. It’s a useful summary to share with a business partner, bookkeeper, accountant or lender.

Copy-paste templates

MONTHLY MONEY SNAPSHOT: [month / year]

PROFIT
Revenue: $[ ]   Gross margin: [ ]%   Net profit: $[ ]   Net margin: [ ]%

CASH
Bank balance: $[ ]   Tax account: $[ ]   Cushion account: $[ ]
Receivables: $[ ]   Over 30 days: $[ ]   DSO: [ ] days
13-week low point: $[ ] in week [ ]   Runway: [ ] months

TARGETS
Break-even revenue: $[ ]   Margin of safety: [ ]%
Hourly floor / target margin: $[ ] / [ ]%

KPIs outside their range: [ ]

TAXES
Set aside this month: $[ ]   Next estimated payment: $[ ] due [ ]

ONE ACTION THIS MONTH
[action]   Owner: [ ]   Due: [ ]

1. Close: reconcile accounts, move tax set-aside (15 min)
2. P&L: revenue, gross margin, net margin vs last month & last year (10 min)
3. Balance sheet: cash, cards, receivables, sales tax, equity (5 min)
4. Cash: update 13-week forecast and runway (10 min)
5. KPIs: fill in this month, flag anything out of range (10 min)
6. Decide one action with an owner and a date (10 min)
Quarterly add-on: prices, allocation %, estimated taxes