Stock & Margin Review
Not every line on your shelves earns its place equally. This quarterly review gives you a clear, category-by-category look at where your margin really comes from — and where stock may be sitting without contributing much.
What this delivers
This isn't an audit and it isn't a set of buying instructions. It's a plain, quarterly look at how your stock is performing by category — which lines are carrying strong margins, which are selling slowly, and where your money is sitting on shelves longer than it needs to. What you do with that information stays entirely with you.
Category-level clarity
Margin and stock turn shown by category, not just as a blended total across the whole range.
Findings, not instructions
We present what the data shows. Buying and pricing decisions remain with you.
Quarterly cadence
Delivered four times a year so you can track how your product mix is shifting over time.
The challenge with stock
A busy category isn't necessarily a profitable one. Some lines move quickly but at thin margins. Others sit quietly on a shelf for months, tying up cash that could be working harder elsewhere. From the outside, both can look like normal trading.
Without a regular look at margin by category alongside stock levels, it's hard to tell which parts of your range are genuinely contributing and which are just taking up space and cash. Most shop owners sense this — they have a feel for which areas seem less profitable — but rarely have the figures to back that intuition up clearly.
That gap between instinct and evidence is where this service sits.
Situations where clearer stock insight tends to help:
A range has grown organically over time and you're not sure which parts still earn their shelf space.
Cash feels tighter than the sales figures suggest it should be.
You're buying ahead of season and want a clearer view of which categories justify larger orders.
You want something more considered than gut feel when deciding where to invest in stock.
How we work through it
We start from your sales records and stock data — whatever format you currently have them in — and organise them into categories that make sense for your business. We then calculate margin and stock turn at that category level, rather than just across the whole range.
The review looks at which categories are contributing the most margin relative to the stock investment they require, which lines are moving slowly, and how that compares to the prior quarter. We present this as a written summary with supporting figures, in plain language.
We don't make recommendations about what to buy or what to cut. The data is yours and the decisions are yours — we just make sure the picture is clear enough to inform them properly.
Margin by category
Gross margin shown at category level so you can see where profitability is concentrated — not just a blended average.
Stock turn analysis
How quickly each category is moving relative to the amount of stock held — identifying where cash may be sitting idle.
Quarter-on-quarter view
Each review sits alongside the prior quarter so you can see whether category performance is shifting in any direction.
Written plain-language summary
The findings are written up in ordinary language, not as a spreadsheet dump. Clear enough to share with a business partner or use in a buying meeting.
What working together looks like
We agree on categories and data
A short conversation at the start to agree how your range is categorised and what data you can share. We work with whatever stock and sales records you have — there's no required format.
We do the analysis
At the end of each quarter you send us the relevant data. We work through it and calculate margin and stock turn at the category level. This takes around two weeks from data receipt.
You receive the written review
A plain-language summary with supporting figures, showing how each category performed and how that compares to the prior quarter. Written to be read, not filed.
You decide what to do with it
The findings are yours. Use them in a buying conversation, share them with your team, or simply keep them as context for the next quarter. We're available if you want to talk through anything in the report.
The investment
The Stock & Margin Review is priced at $480 per quarter. That covers the full analysis — data processing, margin and stock turn calculations by category, quarter-on-quarter comparison, and the written summary report.
There are no additional fees for follow-up questions about the report. If something in the findings needs clarifying or you'd like to talk through a specific category, that's part of the service.
You can commission individual quarters without committing to a full year, though most clients find the quarter-on-quarter comparison valuable enough that they continue. Either way, the choice is yours.
If you also use our bookkeeping or consolidated reporting services, the underlying data is often already available — which can simplify the data-sharing step considerably.
What's included
Full category-level margin analysis for the quarter
Stock turn calculation per category
Quarter-on-quarter comparison (from the second review onwards)
Written plain-language summary report
Supporting data tables included alongside the summary
Follow-up questions about the report answered at no additional charge
Flexible commitment — commission per quarter or continue across the year
$480 / quarter
Full category review · No annual commitment required
The approach behind it
A blended gross margin figure across the whole business doesn't tell you much. A 42% overall margin could mean one strong category is carrying three weaker ones, or it could mean the range is fairly balanced. You can't tell without going deeper.
Our approach disaggregates that figure by category — and then looks at stock turn alongside it. A high-margin category that moves slowly might not contribute as much as it appears, because the stock investment required is large relative to the return. That nuance is what makes the analysis genuinely useful for buying decisions.
4×
Quarterly reviews per year for ongoing product mix clarity
2 wks
Typical turnaround from data receipt to completed review
12+
Years of retail finance experience behind the methodology
Plain
Every report written for the person running the shop, not an auditor
Our commitment
If the first review isn't clear and useful — if the categories don't reflect your business properly, or the findings don't make sense when you read them — we'll work through it with you and produce a revised version at no extra cost.
Getting the category framework right at the start is important, and occasionally it takes a small adjustment after seeing the first output. That kind of refinement is part of the process, not an extra charge.
As with all our services, there's no obligation before we begin. A conversation first — and if it doesn't seem like the right fit for your business at this point, we'll say so.
First review quality commitment
If the first report isn't clear and useful, we revise it together — category framework included — at no additional charge.
Honest initial conversation
We'll tell you openly whether a stock and margin review is likely to be useful for your business right now.
No annual commitment needed
Commission individual quarters or continue across the year — whichever suits your planning cycle.
How to get started
You don't need your stock data in any particular format to reach out. We've worked with spreadsheets, till reports, and basic inventory records. The first conversation is mainly about understanding your range and what you'd find most useful to see.
Step 1
Get in touch
Use the contact form on the homepage. Let us know roughly what your range looks like and what you're hoping to understand better.
Step 2
We talk through the setup
We'll come back within one working day. We'll agree on the category structure and what data you'll need to share at the end of each quarter.
Step 3
First review within two weeks
Send us the quarterly data when the period closes. We'll produce the written review and supporting figures within approximately two weeks.
The fee for each review is confirmed in writing before any work begins. No surprises.
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If you'd like to understand your margins by category and see where your stock is and isn't working hard, get in touch. We'll come back within one working day and take things from there, at whatever pace suits you.
Send us a message