GROSS. — free commercial calculators for UK FMCG brand teams

The P&L

See what the retailer really makes on you. A UK grocery P&L read top-down: shelf price, VAT, retailer and wholesaler margin, and what you bank per unit.

See what the retailer really makes on you. Reads top-down: shelf price, VAT, who takes what, and what you actually bank per unit.

The workings

Retailer margin in UK grocery is quoted front margin: the gap between what the retailer pays you and the shelf price ex-VAT, as a percentage of the shelf price. At a £1.25 shelf ex-VAT and a 35% margin, the retailer keeps 43.75p and pays you 81.25p. That 81.25p is your invoice price, and everything you spend — cost of goods, freight to their depot — comes out of it.

Your own gross margin is read against net revenue, not the shelf price. Net revenue less landed cost (cost of goods plus inbound logistics) is gross margin per unit; divide by net revenue for the percentage. Buyers will quote their number and yours in the same breath and they are not the same kind of number. Know which one is being discussed before you agree to anything.

A wholesaler in the chain takes their margin after the retailer's, off the price the retailer pays. It compounds. Two reasonable-sounding margins stack into one unreasonable one, which is why the wholesale route needs its own maths, not a guess.

The other calculators

Free, no sign-up. The maths is checked; the defaults are dated and sourced on The Rate Card. VAT number: not applicable. This is a website.