Business & Productivity Calculators

ROI = (Net Profit / Investment Cost) × 100. Example: Invest $10,000 in marketing, generate $15,000 revenue with $3,000 costs. Net profit = $15,000 - $3,000 = $12,000. ROI = (($12,000 - $10,000) / $10,000) × 100 = 20%. Positive ROI means profit, negative means loss. Good ROI varies by industry: retail 15-20%, software 30-40%, real estate 8-12%. Factor in time period—20% annual ROI is excellent, but 20% over 5 years is only 4% annually. Our ROI calculator handles complex scenarios with multiple costs and timeframes.

Break-even point is where total revenue equals total costs—no profit, no loss. Formula: Fixed Costs ÷ (Price per Unit - Variable Cost per Unit). Example: $50,000 fixed costs (rent, salaries), $20 product price, $8 variable cost per unit. Break-even = $50,000 ÷ ($20 - $8) = 4,167 units. You must sell 4,167 units to cover all costs. Below this, you lose money. Above this, you profit. Use this to set sales targets, evaluate pricing changes, and assess business viability.

Gross Profit Margin = ((Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue) × 100. Net Profit Margin = (Net Income / Revenue) × 100. Example: $100,000 revenue, $60,000 COGS, $25,000 operating expenses. Gross margin = (($100,000 - $60,000) / $100,000) × 100 = 40%. Net margin = (($100,000 - $60,000 - $25,000) / $100,000) × 100 = 15%. Industry benchmarks: retail 20-40% gross, software 70-90% gross. Higher margins = more profit per sale. Track monthly to identify trends.

Calculate hourly rate: (Desired Annual Salary + Business Expenses + Taxes + Benefits) ÷ Billable Hours. Example: Want $75,000/year, $15,000 expenses, $15,000 taxes, $10,000 benefits = $115,000 total. Working 2,080 hours/year but only 60% billable (1,248 hours). Rate = $115,000 ÷ 1,248 = $92/hour. Add profit margin (20-30%) = $110-120/hour. Consider industry standards: design $75-150, consulting $100-300, development $100-200. Factor in experience level and location.

CAC = Total Marketing & Sales Costs ÷ Number of New Customers. Example: Spend $50,000 on marketing, acquire 500 customers, CAC = $100. Good CAC depends on Customer Lifetime Value (CLV). Rule: CLV should be 3x CAC or higher. If CLV = $300, CAC should be under $100. B2C CAC: $10-$50 typical. B2B CAC: $200-$500 common, enterprise $5,000+. Calculate by channel (Google Ads vs organic) to optimize spend. Lower CAC = more profitable growth.

True employee cost = Salary + Benefits + Taxes + Overhead. Typically 1.25-1.4x salary. Example: $60,000 salary + $9,000 benefits (health, 401k) + $4,500 payroll taxes (7.65% FICA) + $6,500 overhead (office, equipment) = $80,000 total. That's 1.33x salary. When billing clients, charge 2-3x salary to cover all costs plus profit. $60,000 employee should generate $120,000-$180,000 revenue. Include in pricing, budgeting, and hiring decisions.

Gross margin measures profitability before operating expenses: (Revenue - COGS) / Revenue. Net margin includes all expenses: Net Income / Revenue. Example: $1M revenue, $400k COGS, $300k operating costs, $50k interest/taxes. Gross margin = ($1M - $400k) / $1M = 60%. Net margin = ($1M - $400k - $300k - $50k) / $1M = 25%. Gross margin shows product profitability. Net margin shows overall business health. Track both—high gross but low net means high overhead.

Startup costs include: One-time costs (equipment, inventory, legal, licenses, website) + 6-12 months operating expenses (rent, salaries, utilities, marketing) + emergency buffer (10-20%). Example: $20k equipment + $10k initial inventory + $5k legal + $8k/month operating × 12 months = $131k. Add 20% buffer = $157k total. Undercapitalization is top reason startups fail. Calculate conservatively—assume 50% longer to profitability than projected. Break into phases to secure funding incrementally.

B2C companies: 7-10% of revenue for marketing. B2B: 5-8%. Startups: 12-20% for customer acquisition. Example: $1M revenue company, allocate $70k-$100k marketing budget. Divide by channel: digital ads 40%, content/SEO 25%, events 15%, tools/software 10%, creative 10%. Track ROI per channel monthly. High-growth mode? Increase to 15-20% until reaching scale. Mature businesses can reduce to 5-7%. Adjust based on customer acquisition goals and industry competitiveness.

Cost-plus: Add markup to costs (simplest). Value-based: Price based on customer value (highest profit). Competitive: Match or undercut competitors. Penetration: Low price to gain market share. Premium: High price for perceived quality. Example: Product costs $40 to make. Cost-plus: $40 + 50% = $60. Value-based: customers pay $100 for time saved. Competitive: competitors charge $75. Choose based on: market position, differentiation, customer willingness to pay. Test pricing—small changes (10-20%) significantly impact profit.