Unit Health Check
Six numbers, sixty seconds. Every cost line in your unit is scored against benchmarks for your sector, and the gaps are ranked by what they cost you per year — so you know which one to fix first.
What this calculates
A fast triage rather than a deep audit. Six figures — revenue and the main cost lines — are scored against sector expectations, and the gaps are ranked not by how far off they are in percentage points but by what each one costs you per year in cash. A two-point gap on a large line beats a five-point gap on a small one.
What you will need
Six numbers from one period. All from the same period, all net of sales tax. Mixing a good month's revenue with an average month's costs produces a flattering and useless result.
Your sector. Cost structures differ enormously between food service, retail and service businesses, and scoring against the wrong sector will mislabel a normal line as a problem.
How to read the result
Work the ranked list from the top, because it is ordered by annual cash impact rather than by how alarming the percentage looks. Treat the result as a direction to investigate rather than a verdict: a single period can be distorted by a stock count, a seasonal swing or a one-off repair. If the same line ranks first across two or three periods, it is real and it is where your attention belongs.
Questions about this tool
Why rank by cash rather than by percentage gap?
Because a small percentage on your largest cost line is worth more than a large percentage on a small one. Ranking by annual cash impact puts your effort where the money actually is.
One period or several?
Start with one for direction, then repeat. Consistency across periods is what separates a genuine structural gap from a month with an unusual stock count or a one-off cost.
How does this differ from Prime Cost?
Prime Cost examines goods and labour in depth. This scans every major line at once to tell you which one to examine — use it to choose where to look, then go deeper with the specific tool.
For reference only; not legal, tax, or investment advice. Results depend entirely on the figures you enter — check them against your own quotes and your franchise agreement before acting on them.