What do you mean by my "real" or "true" margin? +
Gross margin is the sale price minus what the goods cost you. It leaves out most of what it really takes to make that sale happen. We add the rest: getting goods in and out, card fees, refunds and markdowns, the cost of money tied up in stock, and a share of your running costs. What's left is what the order actually put in the bank: usually well below gross, and sometimes below zero on a product you thought was a winner. Most of that gap is just real cost; the part worth chasing is the bit you can win back, and that's what we point you to.
Isn't a "true margin" just a matter of how you split the costs? +
No, and that's the bit people usually get wrong. We don't spread your overheads across products. Each product's margin counts only the costs tied to that product: what it cost to buy, to get in and out, and the fees on its own sales. Your running costs and the cost of holding stock sit at the whole-business level, where they belong, never carved up and pinned onto individual lines. So there's no argument to have about how the shared costs should be divided up, because we never divide them across products in the first place. The per-product number is simply what that product really contributes; the all-in figure is a separate, whole-business number.
Where do the cost numbers come from, and how do you avoid guessing? +
The figures that change with each sale come straight from your own data: what each order was worth and what got refunded. The costs that stay fairly steady (card fees, getting goods in and out, the cost of money tied up in stock, your running costs) we set with you at the start from your own numbers: your processor's published rate, carrier invoices, your accounts. We use a rough benchmark only where you have no figure to hand, label every one of those in the report, and swap in your real number the moment it's available.
Why notes on my phone, not a dashboard? +
Because a dashboard is one more thing to log into and figure out. We'd rather do the work and send you the answer: a short heads-up each week, and a fuller look each month. You read it in a couple of minutes and get on with your day. Nothing to learn, nothing to chase.
How do you get my numbers each week? +
One small setup at the start. Most systems can email or export a weekly sales report on a schedule, which we set up with you; some you simply forward once with a rule; and where a system can't send on its own, it's a two-minute weekly export. We watch for anything that doesn't arrive and chase it, so keeping the data flowing is our job, not a weekly chore for you. We only ever need the sales report, never your customers' details.
What if your numbers disagree with my accounts, MYOB or Xero? +
We expect small differences and reconcile to them rather than ignore them. Your accounts group sales into whole periods and close each one off; we work out the margin on each product as its sale lands, so the timing alone creates small gaps. At onboarding we reconcile our totals back to your management accounts and explain each variance. And if a difference can't be accounted for, that's usually a finding worth having.
Is my data secure, and how does this work under the Privacy Act? +
You send exports, so there's no live connection into your systems. We technically cannot change anything, touch your prices, or move money. We only ever need your product and sales figures, never your customers' personal details. Any data you send is handled under the Australian Privacy Principles, kept and processed here in Australia, used only on your instructions, and deleted whenever you ask.
Do you guarantee I'll make more money, and will you change my prices? +
No, and deliberately not. We never touch your prices or your systems. Every figure is a recommendation to test, and the decision is always yours. No honest analyst can guarantee how your customers will respond to a change. When we suggest a pricing move we frame it around your breakeven and recommend a controlled test: change one line, hold the rest, run it for a defined window, and measure before rolling it wider.
How is this different from my accountant, or from Xero? +
Your accountant and Xero tell you what happened to the business as a whole, after the period closes; they're the system of record. We look at each product, and at what to do next rather than what already happened. Which products are quietly leaking margin, which stock to clear, and what to do about it this month. We're not your bookkeeper or accountant and we don't touch your statutory accounts or tax. We turn the numbers they keep into decisions, and complement the accounts rather than replace them.
What do I have to provide, and what does it cost? +
A product/cost list and a few months of sales exports, plus about an hour at the start to pin down your real costs. After that it stays hands-off: your sales reach us on a simple weekly schedule we set up with you, and we chase anything that doesn't arrive. The first report is free, with no setup fee, so you see the value before you pay anything. If you become a client, pricing is three monthly tiers by turnover (Watch $299, Watch+ $599, Command $999), billed by direct debit, cancel anytime. There's a one-off $399 to get your costs pinned down and your reporting running, which is on us when you commit to three months.