Free profit margin calculator & profit forecaster
This free profit margin calculator and profit forecaster is built for anyone starting a business. Enter your product cost, price and overheads to see your margin, the sales you need each month, and exactly when you'll hit your profit target.
Step 1 · Profit margin calculator
Net profit per month, after overheads, growing at your rate. The coral dot is the month you hit your target.
| Month | Sales (units) | Revenue | Gross profit | Net profit |
|---|
Starting a business
Most guides on how to start a business focus on the idea, the branding, the launch. The numbers get worked out later — usually after the stock's been ordered and the website's live. That's the wrong order. Before anything else, a business startup needs to know one thing: does this make money at the price people will actually pay?
That's what this page is for. Run your product cost and price through the profit margin calculator above to see what you actually keep per sale. Then use the profit forecaster to map how many months of trading it takes to hit a real income — not a guess, a number built from your own overheads and growth rate.
Three things worth checking before starting a business:
Step 3 · Take it with you
The calculator above is free forever. The Toolkit is the version you keep: plan multiple products, run best/worst-case scenarios, and track real months against the forecast — in the tool you already use.
£7 one-time
Instant delivery via Stripe.
Good to know
(Monthly overheads + target profit) ÷ profit per unit, rounded up. It's the number of units that covers your fixed costs and still banks your target.
It compounds your monthly sales. At 10% growth, 40 units in month one becomes 44 in month two, then 48, and so on — the forecast shows where that curve crosses your target.
Yes — free, no sign-up, no limits. The £7 Toolkit is for people who want the Excel version to plan multiple products and track real results.
No — figures are pre-tax. Use ex-VAT costs and prices if you're VAT registered. The Excel Edition includes a notes column for tax adjustments.
Yes — it's the single check that catches a business startup before it loses money at scale. A profit forecast shows whether your price and costs can realistically support you, and roughly how many months of trading that takes.
Profit margin is what one sale keeps after cost — a snapshot. A profit forecaster takes that margin and projects it across months of sales and growth, showing when overheads are covered and when your target profit is reached.
Start with your true cost per unit, including materials, packaging and fees. Then use the profit margin calculator above to test prices until the margin covers your overheads with room for a real wage — not just a break-even number.