FYI: There is another 2/3rds of the Institute available only to Members!

Get Some Perspective. Gain Some Insight!

As an independent retailer, you have to get through all kinds of challenges. And trying to measure your progress can be elusive.

That's why The ROI has developed these key financial assessment tools; tools that provide quick feedback for busy retailers.

Ready? Take advantage of these online self-assessment tools. Free!

Gain important perspective.
Identify growth opportunities.
Make needed adjustments in "retail time."

And maybe discover that you are stronger than you realized!

Out-of-control Inventory?

What's your inventory's SALES Potential?
Given your annual sales plan, do you have enough inventory?

Or...too much?

Most retailers know their average inventory over the year. But the question is this: What are the likely sales from that much inventory?

Here's how to find out. Use our Index of Sales Potential calculator. See what sales volume other retailers achieve. Find out now

Retail Growth Rater

Is there a cash crunch in your near future?!

Here is a fast, simple, and extremely telling measure of a retailer's financial viability!

Use The ROI's unique GMROI Growth & Bankability Rater.

Quick • Verifiable • Sophisticated • Uniquely Retail

The ROI "BUCKETIZER"

Where are your profits hiding?

The typical accounting package lists expenses in alphabetical order. From Advertising, to Auto Expenses, then Bank Charges, and so on. Lines and lines of separate expense items, all detailed to the penny. How useful is that?!

But, there IS a simple trick that will let you make sense of all that data: simply re-organize the individual expenses on your P&L into 5 "buckets" of expenses.

That simple step transforms all that accounting data into management information. At The ROI, we call this process the PROFIT Finder!

Go here to use The ROI's Retail Expense "Bucketizer." It's free!

Measure Your Stores' Vital Signs

KEY RETAIL RATIOS C alculator

In seconds, generate 7 key ratios particularly useful for retailers. Auto-magically!

And then, immediately compare your performance to the benchmarks for your retail segment.

Go here. How are your "vital signs"?

Rate Your FINANCIAL STRENGTH

How resilient is your business?

The real measure of your business's readiness to withstand adversity is found on your Balance Sheet. Especially the trend of your key ratios.

That's why The ROI has developed this specialized FINANCIAL STRENGTH Rater for retailers. That means you can get a rather sophisticated assessment – for FREE! Are you trending up, down or sideways? And what does that mean?

The Store Rater

See – and rate – your stores the way your shoppers do!

The ROI's STORE RATER

Now, you can rate your stores like the shoppers do.

Easy. Quick. Insightful. And fun for everybody!

Go here to get started.

Stages of Decline

Retailers: Are Your Stores "In Decline"?!

The ROI has developed this succinct tool for quickly assessing retail operations on 8 key indicators.

Now, you can use this tool to evaluate your own stores. Quickly identify where your business might be at risk. Focus your efforts there first.

Being "in decline" is not the problem. But...being in denial IS a problem!

Monitor Your Results

Download two performance tracking tools: The RETAIL OWNER'S DASHBOARD and the PROFITS TREND TRACKER

Compare Monthly Sales to Last Year

How are your comp store sales versus last year?

How do your results compare?

Monthly Retail Sales Trend Charts

See sales results compared to the same month in the prior year,

for the trailing six months.

Quickly compare your sales trends to others in your retail sector.

Gain valuable perspective! go here

Quick Quizzes for Retailers • Retail Financial Basics

Free • Online • Retail Finance Basics

Just ten questions each.

Confidential. Results for your eyes only.

Take one. Or take them all. Anytime.

Free! And they're fun.

PROFITS & DEBT MANAGEMENT

1. How well do you know the P&L?

take the Profits quiz

2. How about the Balance Sheet?

take the Balance Sheet quiz

👀 The RETAIL PROFITS section at The ROI

Resources for managing profits and debt.

INVENTORY CONTROL

3. How ready are you to be a true merchant?

take the quiz on Inventory Management & Open-to-Buy

👀 See the INVENTORY CONTROL section at The ROI:

How-to resources for managing inventory and Open-to-Buy plans

CASH FLOW

4. Ready to manage the life blood of your business?

take the Cash Flow quiz

👀 Go to the CASH FLOW CONTROL section at The ROI.

Tools and resources for managing cash flow in your stores.

The Retail Owners Institute^® has been empowering retailers since 1999 to "Turn on their financial headlights!"
Our tools and resources are trusted by thousands of store owners to help grow profitable, resilient businesses.