Business Margin

Profit margin calculator

Cost of goods
Selling price
Profit margin 50 %
ThinModestHealthyStrong
(100 − 50) ÷ 100
Gross profit 50
Markup on cost 100 %
Price multiplier
Cost as a share of price 50 %
Gross margin only · net subtracts everything else

What counts as healthy depends entirely on the trade — grocery lives at 3%, software at 80%.

Advertisement
320 × 100

Profit margin is profit divided by selling price. A product costing 50 and selling at 100 has a 50% margin and a 100% markup — the same 50 of profit, divided by two different numbers. To hit a target margin, divide cost by one minus that margin.

How to calculate profit margin

1 Enter the cost of goods and the selling price.
2 Read the margin, and the markup next to it.
3 Switch to the second tab to price backwards from a target margin.
4 Remember to use ex-VAT figures on both sides.

This page calculates gross margin — revenue minus the direct cost of goods. It is deliberately not net margin, which subtracts everything else: rent, wages, marketing, payment fees, returns and tax. A retailer running a 45% gross margin can easily end up at 4% net, and it is the net figure that determines whether the business survives. Gross margin is still the right number for a pricing decision on one product, because it is the only part of the chain that product controls.

Questions

Subtract cost from selling price, divide by the selling price, multiply by 100.

UK Companies House — reading a profit and loss account
Advertisement
300 × 250
Was this tool any good?
INTERNAL SIGNAL ONLY · WE USE IT TO FIND TOOLS WORTH REBUILDING