A market stall packed with customers from morning to evening feels like success. But "busy" and "profitable" are not the same thing, and confusing them is one of the most dangerous mistakes a business owner can make.
Revenue is not profit
Revenue is the total amount of money that comes in. Profit is what is left after you subtract everything it cost to generate that revenue — the cost of the products you sold, your rent, your utilities, your staff, your transport, and every other expense. Many business owners in Cameroon track revenue but have no idea what their actual profit is.
The three numbers you need to know every week
- Total revenue — how much came in
- Total cost of goods sold — how much the sold items cost you to buy
- Total expenses — everything else: rent, transport, staff, utilities
Profit = Revenue minus Cost of Goods minus Expenses. ShopTrack calculates this automatically and displays it on your dashboard in real time.
What ShopTrack shows you
When you record a sale in ShopTrack, you enter the selling price. You already entered the cost price when you added the product to your inventory. ShopTrack calculates the gross profit on every sale automatically. When you add an expense, ShopTrack deducts it from your profit. Your dashboard shows your real, current profit at all times.
The INS Cameroun business census data shows that fewer than 12% of informal businesses in Cameroon track both revenue and expenses simultaneously. The World Bank identifies profit visibility as the single most important financial management practice for small business survival and growth.
ShopTrack shows your real profit live — after every sale and every expense. Free plan available at shoptrack.org.
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