Financial Literacy 101

Topic: The 3 numbers on your P&L that actually matter Most business owners can tell you last month's revenue off the top of their head. Fewer can tell you their net margin. That gap is where a lot of "profitable on paper, broke in the bank account" businesses live. Three numbers to anchor on every month: → Revenue: what came in → Gross margin: revenue minus the direct cost to deliver (COGS/labor tied to the job) → Net margin: what's left after operating expenses, taxes, everything Revenue answers "are we busy?" Margin answers "are we actually making money?"

If you only track one of these, you're flying with half the instrument panel. What's the one number you check first when you open your financials — and is it time to add a second?