A lack of accurate Cost Estimation and Analysis results in Profits of unknown sum and often Loss.  Some Companies who are profitable still fail.  Why?  Profits are not necessarily in the form of cash, such as Accounts Receivable, which may presently be uncollectable.  Focusing just on Net Income can be a mistake unless contingent variables are considered.  It is vital that a Company sets and monitors certain Benchmarks in its Strategic Planning from which performance can be measured and tracked.

Understanding Profit Relationships and Profit Components

Net Income (Profit) = Revenue (Income) minus Expenses (Costs)

Revenue comes in the form of Cash and Accounts Receivable.

There are Two Types of Expenses:  Fixed and Variable

Fixed Expenses:  incur periodically, regardless of operational effect and include items such as Rent, Insurance and Depreciation.

Variable Expenses:  Vary according to the level of Operations.  This includes items such as Product Labor and Material, Sales Promotion and Cost of Delivery.

Types of Profit Expressions:

Gross Income = Net Sales minus Cost of Goods Sold (COGS)

Operating Profit = Gross Margin

Net Income Before Tax

Net Income After Tax

All of these different expressions of Profitability understandably show a relationship between a company’s Revenues and Expenses. Declining Profit Margin should be the sign to search for a cause, which could include: expenses going up, a discounting or pricing error, or a change in the company’s operations.

Planning for Profits

Important Fundamentals:

Liquidity provides maximum flexibility.

Income Statement is viewed in relation to the Balance Sheet and the Cash Flow Statement.

Managed, under control Growth leads to Planned Growth.

A Short and Long Range Business Plan which has clearly unified relationships between Product Development, Market Planning, Strategic Planning and Financial Management.

Profit Planning Steps:

Step 1:  Profit Goal

A target value based on the realistic, developed results of your Company’s Strategic Plan.

Step 2:  Planned Sales Volume required to make the Profit Goal.

Utilize Operating and Sales Budget Forecasts

The Forecasts influence decisions on Materials Purchasing, Production Schedules, Financial Resource Acquisition, Plant and Equipment Procurement, Personnel Enumeration, along with Employment and Inventory Planning.

Forecasts derived from well developed, realistic determinations of Market Conditions, Market Trends, Industry Trends, Competitive Analysis, Competitive Edge, Market Segmentation, Promotion Strategies, Pricing Strategies, Distribution, Inflation and so forth.

Sales Volume Forecasts which are accomplishable and accurate come from the previously prescribed development relationships between:

Product Development

Market Planning

Strategic Planning

Picking arbitrary numbers for steps 1 and 2 will result in faulty Sales Forecasts, tainting the process from the beginning.

Step 3:  Expenses Estimation for the Planned Sales Volume

Use previous years’ numbers if an existent company. For start-ups, analyze similar companies in the industry and tap published research to come up with realistic estimates of Expenses.

Adjust Expense Projections based on:

Change in Economic Conditions

Ratio of Expenses to Sales Level Change

Production Methods Improvements and Efficiencies

fair salary levels

Materials to produce your goods

Labor to produce your products

Establish a Cost of Goods and compare it to the industry average for accuracy.

Figure in expenses which vary directly with changes in Volume.

Step 4:  Estimated Profit

Estimated / Projected Sales Income minus Expected Expenses

Step 5:  Compare your Estimated Profit with your Profit Goal (step 1)

If there is a wide discrepancy between estimated profits and your profit goal, continue with the subsequent steps.

Step 6:  Determine Alternatives to Improve Profits

Change Planned Sales Income:

Increase Sales Promotion

Improve Product Quality

Improve Access to Product’s Availability

Alternative Product Uses

Analyze Unit Pricing Strategy to determine Best Pricing Policy for your defined Target Markets

Better Service

More Product dependability

More Integrity in your Sales Process

Better Updating / Upgrading Strategy

Better After-Market Sales Strategy

Decrease Planned Expenses:

Better Control Systems for Product Development

Minimize Losses

Increased Productivity of People & Machines

Product Re-Design, Re-Branding, Re-Packaging

Product Improvements

Cost decrease Analysis and the resulting integrated strategy

Better Budgeting Control Mechanisms

Reduce Unit Costs:

Add other products in the mix to offset costs

Using idle capacity and assets innovatively

Make certain parts internally if more efficient than purchasing from Vendors

Kaizen Costing:  The advanced cost targeting in all the aspects of product development, design and production. Every company division and cost unit will set specific plans for cost reduction on a quarterly expectation basis.

Subcontract Certain Work and Outsource

Step 7:  Determine how Expenses vary with Sales Volume Changes

Experiment with Expense levels in selling fewer or more units with the information obtained in Step 3, understanding the relationship of Fixed and Variable Expenses to find the optimal mix of Products and the Unit Sales of those Products.

Beware:

Analyze Limited changes in Sales Volume as High Sales Volumes are costly and expend a lot of effort and Low Sales Volumes results in extra costs due to idle capacity, lack of volume discounts, underutilized highly trained and expensive labor force, and so on.

Changing conditions:  Economic shifts, Inflation, Deflation, Customer Shifts, Competitive Products, Market Shifts and other Factors causing changes in Unit Costs.

Step 8:  Understand how Profits vary with Sales Volume Changes

Use different Sales Volumes to determine the resulting Break Even Point and the Profitability Vector.

Step 9:  Analyze Profit Alternatives

Using the information generated in Steps 6, 7 and 8 consider profit increasing alternatives, such as:

Sales Price Changes

Change Advertising / Promotion Strategy

Reduce Variable Costs

Increase / Decrease Quality of Products

Find the right mix of Products

do away with Low-Margin Products

Bundle High Margin Spare Parts with New Equipment

Step 10:  Finalize the Strategic Plan and Implement

Measure the Strategic Plan’s execution over time to keep track of your Company’s resulting Pre-Tax Return on Equity and Pre-Tax Profit Margin.

Implement Tax Savings Strategies to keep more Earnings for future Opportunities and Expansion.

About this Article Author

Frank Goley is a business adviser, business turnaround consultant and business plan consultant for ABC Business Consulting. Frank is considered an expert in writing, developing and implementing business plans, business turnaround plans, business funding plans, marketing plans, strategic plans and web marketing plans. Frank offers comprehensive business consulting, business coaching, business turnaround consulting, along with web seo, web development and web marketing consulting, to small and medium size companies.. Frank is the author of a business plan book, The Comprehensive Business Plan Workbook – A Step by Step Guide to Effective Business Planning, and he has over 50 published articles on business success strategies. He also writes the Business Success Strategies Blog.

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