Where should every dollar actually go?
Enter five numbers you already know. In seconds you’ll see the Profit First split for your revenue — Profit, Owner’s Pay, Tax, Operating — next to what you do today, your biggest fixable gap, and the one move to make this week. Your numbers, a named method, no sign-up to see it.
- Free · instant
- No email to see your split
- Built on the Profit First method
REAL REVENUE
$400,000
Revenue minus materials & subs — the money your business actually keeps to split. Profit First splits this, not your top line.
PROFIT LEFT OVER TODAY
$50,000
Right now profit is whatever’s left after you, the tax man, and the bills. Profit First takes it first — here’s the split for your revenue.
Your biggest fixable gap
You’re $20,000/yr under target on Owner’s Pay. That’s the account to close first.
START THIS WEEK
Don’t leap to the full split. Open a separate Profit account and move $333/mo — just 1% of real revenue — into it every time you get paid. Step it up next quarter.
Target percentages are the published Profit First table (Mike Michalowicz), keyed to your Real Revenue band. Tax varies by entity and state — treat 15% as a starting point and confirm your real rate with your accountant. Every figure is computed from your own numbers.
Profit shouldn’t be what’s left over
Most trades owners run their business bank account like one big bucket: money comes in, bills go out, and profit is whatever survives — usually nothing. Profit First flips the order. Here’s what that changes.
01
Pay profit first, on purpose
Take a set percentage off every deposit into a separate account before you touch it. Profit becomes a habit, not an accident — the same way withholding makes you "afford" taxes.
02
See the gaps you can’t feel
Busy-but-broke almost always means Owner’s Pay is too low and Operating Expenses are too high. The allocation bars put a dollar figure on each gap so you know exactly where the leak is.
03
Start small, so it sticks
You don’t jump to the full split overnight. The tool gives you a 1%-this-quarter starting move you can actually live with, then you step it up — the way the method is meant to be run.
The four accounts, in plain English
Every dollar of Real Revenue lands in one of four places. The Profit First targets shift as you grow — bigger shops carry more overhead and pay the owner a smaller share because a real salary is baked in.
- Profit
- Your reward for owning the risk. Taken first, banked separately, distributed quarterly.
- Owner’s Pay
- A real wage for the work you personally do — not the same thing as profit.
- Tax
- Set aside so tax season is a non-event. Rate depends on your entity — confirm with your accountant.
- Operating Expenses
- Everything it takes to run the shop. The account most owners quietly let swell.
Get your Allocation Plan as a printable one-pager
The split above is yours to keep. Want the detailed version — every account’s target dollars, the gap you’re closing, your quarter-by-quarter glide path, and the first move to make this week — laid out to print or hand to your bookkeeper? Drop your email and it’s yours.
- Target dollars per account, monthly and annual
- Your biggest fixable leak, in plain numbers
- A start-small glide path you can actually stick to
Straight answers
Is this really free? What’s the catch?
The allocator is free and your split shows on the page — no email needed to see it. We only ask for an email to send the detailed printable Allocation Plan, and even that is delivered instantly. Most trades owners have never seen their money split the Profit First way against what they actually do; that one picture changes how you run the business.
What is "Real Revenue" and why not just use my revenue?
Real Revenue is your top-line revenue minus materials and subcontractors — the pass-through costs of doing the job. Profit First allocates off Real Revenue because that is the money the business actually keeps to run on. Splitting your top line would flatter the numbers and hide the truth.
Where do the target percentages come from?
They are the published Profit First Target Allocation Percentages from Mike Michalowicz, keyed to your Real Revenue band. We did not invent them and we do not claim to — we simply apply that public framework to your own numbers. The method is credited on the How it works page.
The tax percentage — is that my real tax rate?
No. The 15% tax line is the Profit First starting point, not your actual rate. Your real number depends on your entity type, your state, and your situation. Treat it as a placeholder and confirm the right figure with your accountant.
My profit came out negative. Is my business broken?
No — it means that at these numbers there is nothing left over once you, taxes, and the bills are paid. That is exactly the problem Profit First is built to fix: by taking a small profit first, before the money can disappear into operating expenses. The tool shows it plainly instead of hiding it.
Do you guarantee I’ll make more money?
No. We never promise income, savings, or results — anyone who does is selling you something. This tool just applies a named method to your own numbers, transparently, so you can decide what to change.