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With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading small business management expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

This calculator is created to assist you in maximizing your margins. The first step of this calculator is to simply calculate the gross margin of an item. The second step is where you learn how to add gross margin by moving away from absolute margins. As an example, a buyer may calculate a 40% margin with the resulting answer being $13.29. However, research shows that a customer is just as likely to purchase the item if the price is $13.99 as compared to $13.29. The additional 70 cents adds several gross margin points to the price.

Any additional margin you add at this point, falls straight to the bottom line. When you realize that the average business has a single digit net profit, in many cases this exercise can greatly increase the net profit of a business.

Step One: Enter the cost and desired selling price to determine the margin, or enter the cost and desired margin to determine the selling price.
Cost of Item: $
Desired Selling Price: $
Desired Margin: (%) %
Step Two: During the presentation on pricing strategies, Tom demonstrates a technique that will allow a business to make subtle changes in the prices of products to dramatically improve the gross profit and gross margin. To obtain the rounded up price and margin, click on the "final calc" button below. To view the PowerPoint and listen to a recording from the presentation follow this link.
Rounded Up Price: $
Rounded Up Margin: (%) %
Step Three: As you click on the "final calc" button below, the two boxes below will show how much additional gross profit and additional gross margin you will have with each item sold. To further illustrate this enhancement to your price, click on this button to see the price change analysis calculator. You will see that you can sell fewer at the higher price and enjoy the same profit.
Gross Profit Increased by: $
Gross Margin Increased by: (%) %

 

 

 

 

 

Field Seven

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©1998-2026 Profits Plus Solutions, Inc.
Tom Shay
PO Box 128
Dardanelle, AR 72834
(727)823-7205

MARCH 2026
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Small Business

AdvisoriES


Every time I see the logo for Target stores, I think about small businesses and the need to know which people to target as their customers. Of course, of most importance is the person who has spent any money with your business.

 

I ask businesses if they know how much the average person spends with their business. Most offer a quick response with a dollar amount. That answer is incorrect as they are telling me what the average existing customer is spending. The average person in any community spends no money with that small business.

 

Looking for new customers without any plan of how to do so is just spending money. That is why every small business needs to know how to find and use information. Find ideas in the March Small Business Advisory.

Small Business

NewS

Top Story

Employee retention; is it important? Or is it easier to lose an employee and wait for the next applicant to walk in the door? The Small Business News for March shares some statistics of the expense you incur when you make the change instead of working to retain a current employee.

Article of the Month

It is baseball season and we use the sport as an explanation of the cost of growing your business. In Boston's Fenway Park, left field has a wall that is know as the green monster.

 

And that is what growing your business is - a monster! You can't successfully grow your business without a plan and knowing you will have the cash on hand to pay for the growth.


Book of the Month

Are you selling something or persuading the customer? With your employees are you repeatedly telling that employee or are you persuading them to excel?

 

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Ciaidini is our suggested book for March 2026. Most definitely an appropriate read.

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.
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BOOK US

With over 25 years of frontline experience Tom Shay is America's leading Small Business Management Expert. He's a "Must Have" for your next event.

Small Business

Advisories

Every time I see the logo for Target stores, I think about small businesses and the need to know which people to target as their customers. Of course, of most importance is the person who has spent any money with your business.

 

I ask businesses if they know how much the average person spends with their business. Most offer a quick response with a dollar amount. That answer is incorrect as they are telling me what the average existing customer is spending. The average person in any community spends no money with that small business.

 

Looking for new customers without any plan of how to do so is just spending money. That is why every small business needs to know how to find and use information. Find ideas in the March Small Business Advisory.

Small Business

News

 

Top Story

Employee retention; is it important? Or is it easier to lose an employee and wait for the next applicant to walk in the door? The Small Business News for March shares some statistics of the expense you incur when you make the change instead of working to retain a current employee.


Article of the Month

It is baseball season and we use the sport as an explanation of the cost of growing your business. In Boston's Fenway Park, left field has a wall that is know as the green monster.

 

And that is what growing your business is - a monster! You can't successfully grow your business without a plan and knowing you will have the cash on hand to pay for the growth.


Book of the Month

Are you selling something or persuading the customer? With your employees are you repeatedly telling that employee or are you persuading them to excel?

 

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Ciaidini is our suggested book for March 2026. Most definitely an appropriate read.

 

All this plus the Internet Tool for Your Business and a staff incentive idea for your business.