Retailers · Shops and showrooms
Fractional CFO for retailers
A retailer pays for stock months before it sells, and the margin depends on what sells at full price and what goes out on markdown. We help you read the real margin on each range, roster to the sales you expect and know what the business is worth when the time comes to sell.
What retail owners are deciding
Rules and rates are stated in general terms. Your legal adviser or tax adviser can confirm how they apply to your business.
How much stock to carry into Christmas
An order placed in winter sets the Christmas margin, and what does not sell ties up cash into the new year.
What the roster costs as junior rates step up
Under the General Retail award, junior rates for staff aged 18 and 19 with more than six months service rise in steps from 1 December 2026.
How to price after the card surcharge ban
Since 1 October 2026 the card fees sit inside the shelf price, because a surcharge can no longer cover them.
What the business is worth to a buyer
A buyer values a shop on the profit left once someone is paid to run it, so the hours the owner works change the price.
Illustrative example · Retailer · Brisbane
What a shop is worth once the owner is paid
A retailer reports a profit of $380,000. The owner works full time in the shop and draws no wage, and a manager to replace them would cost $95,000 a year plus super of 12 per cent, or $106,400. Last year also carried a one off legal bill of $18,000.
A buyer pays the manager and adds back the one off bill, so the maintainable earnings are $291,600. At an illustrative multiple of 2 to 3 times, the business is worth $583,200 to $874,800. Valued without paying a manager, the same shop would appear to be worth $796,000 to $1,194,000.
$380,000
Reported profit
$291,600
Maintainable earnings
$583,200 to $874,800
Value at 2 to 3 times
Up to $319,200
Value the unpaid owner hours carry
The right multiple depends on the business, and stock is often added at value on top of the price. A valuation shows both before you meet a buyer.
Illustrative, modelled on a retailer of this size. Not a client engagement.
Method: maintainable earnings as reported profit less the cost of a manager with super, plus one off costs; value as maintainable earnings times an illustrative multiple. Worked in code on 22 October 2026.
How an engagement runs
Every engagement starts with discovery and a diagnostic in the first two weeks. We get under your numbers, from sales and markdowns by range and the last stocktake to the roster, rent and supplier terms, and surface the issues and opportunities that matter most to a retailer.
In weeks three and four we set up clean reporting, a cash flow forecast and the rhythm of reviews. The first decisions land in the second month, in pricing, cash or cost, and from the third month we are part of how the business runs, alongside your accountant and bookkeeper. The fractional CFO service page sets out the full scope.
Tools to start with
Free tools on the ProfitPulse tools site for the questions retail owners ask most, each with its result on screen straight away.
Reading for retail owners
Common questions
Do you replace our accountant?
No. Your accountant keeps the tax returns, BAS and year end accounts, and your bookkeeper keeps the books. We add the forward looking work: cash forecasts, margin by range and the stock it ties up, and the numbers behind decisions on prices, rosters, stock and selling the business. We share what we find with your accountant, so everyone works from the same figures.
What does it cost?
The fractional CFO partnership starts from $3,750 a month, billed month to month with no long term lock in. When you need a figure for the business, before a sale or a handover, an indicative valuation starts from $4,500 and a comprehensive valuation from $13,500. Each of these is a starting price.
How is the fee sized?
Engagements usually stay at the starting price. Some need closer oversight or a deeper assessment, and the scope and fee rise to match. Find your fit confirms your price based on the characteristics of your business, and the pricing page explains how everything is sized.
Do you work with retailers outside Brisbane?
Yes. We work with retailers across Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, and further afield across Australia. Most of the monthly work happens over video calls and shared reports, with visits to you as each engagement needs, so distance changes little. The locations we serve page has the detail.
What do you need from us to start?
Read only access to your accounting software and point of sale or inventory system, the last two years of financial statements, your last stocktake, sales and markdowns by range, the roster and your lease terms. A first meeting with you covers how the shop buys, sells and staffs across the year. Nothing needs to change in your systems before we start.
Talk it through with us
A 45 minute discovery call is complimentary. Bring your last stocktake and a year of sales by range.