Profit Analyzer

What is this?

The Profit Analyzer breaks down your profitability across different dimensions -- by price range, vendor vs. non-vendor SKUs, department, class, or velocity code. It shows you where your margins are strong and where they need attention, helping you make informed pricing decisions.

Opening the Profit Analyzer

• Toolbar: Click the "Show Profit Analyzer" button (right side of toolbar)
• Menu: Accessible via the toolbar buttons

Understanding the View

1. Sitting Margins · 2. Margin Filter Thresholds · 3. Detail Level · 4. Data grid

Detail Level Filter

At the top, a "Detail Level" dropdown controls how the data is grouped:

Tabs

When analyzing multiple stores or store groups, the Profit Analyzer creates one tab per store or group. Tab headers show "Store " or "Group " depending on your configuration. When multiple tabs exist, a TOTAL summary tab is automatically inserted as the first tab, aggregating data across all stores/groups.

If you are analyzing a single store, only one tab appears.

Data Grid

Each tab shows a grid with these columns:

A TOTALS summary row at the bottom shows:

• Count of groups
• Sum of Sales, COGS, and Gross
• Overall margin and gross percentage

Sitting Margins

A "Sitting Margins" section shows:

• Current Margin -- The margin based on current retail prices (percentage, read-only)
• Future Margin -- The margin based on calculated future prices (percentage, read-only)

The difference between Current and Future margin reflects the impact of your price changes -- COGS stays the same, only the price changes. If a SKU has no Future Price set (zero), its Current Price is used in the future calculation as well.

Note: "Using cost and inventory information provided" -- margins are weighted by 12-month sales history.

Margin Filter Thresholds

A "Margin Filter Thresholds" section lets you exclude outliers:

Help text: "Items with margins outside the upper and lower established limits will be excluded from the calculations. Typically, these are items with cost and/or retail errors!"

Tip: Use the margin thresholds to filter out data entry errors. An item with a 99% margin or -50% margin is likely a cost or price error, not a real product.

Exporting to Excel

Click "Send to Excel" to export the current tab's data. The export includes:

• Row 1: Main Table Name
• Row 2: Analysis header text
• Row 4: SQL WHERE clause used
• Row 6: Current Sitting Margin
• Row 7: Future Sitting Margin
• Row 9+: Data grid contents

The file is saved to: {ExportPath}\Excel\ProfitAnalyzer_{TabName}_{DateTime}.xlsx

After export, you'll be asked: "Would you like to open this file in Excel?"

Buttons

Common Questions

Q: Why do my margins look wrong? A: Check the margin filter thresholds. If set too wide, outlier products with data errors can skew the averages. Also verify that cost data is current.

Q: What's the difference between "Margin" and "% of Gross"? A: Margin is the profit percentage for that group (Gross/Sales). % of Gross is how much of your total gross profit comes from that group. A group can have high margins but low % of Gross if its sales volume is small.

Q: Can I analyze just a subset of my products? A: Yes. Apply selections/filters in the main window before opening the Profit Analyzer. It analyzes the currently filtered dataset.

Q: How often should I run the Profit Analyzer? A: Before and after executing a pricing strategy. Compare the sitting margins to see the impact of your price changes.