What is turnover in business and how do you work it out?

What is business turnover?

Turnover is the total sales made by a business in a certain period. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘gross revenue’ or ‘income’. This is different to profit, which is a measure of earnings.

It’s an important measure of your business’s performance. Knowing your turnover figure is useful throughout the whole life of your business – from planning and securing investment, through measuring performance, to valuing your company if you plan to sell.

Turnover in business is not the same as profit, though some people confuse the two. Turnover is your total business income over a set period of time. Profit, on the other hand, refers to your earnings that are left after expenses have been deducated.

It’s worth noting that there are two different ways you can measure profit. ‘Gross profit’ means sales, minus the cost of the goods or services you sell – it’s also called the ‘sales margin’. ‘Net profit’ is the figure that’s left over during a specific period after all expenses (such as administration and tax) have been deducted.

Why is turnover important?

Business owners need to understand their turnover to work out what they need to bring in to meet their target profit.

If your gross profit is low compared with your turnover, you might want to look at ways to reduce the cost of your sales – for example, by renegotiating contracts with suppliers.

If your net profit is low as a proportion of your turnover, you might look at ways to make your business more efficient. For example, are there savings you can make on administrative expenses? Or are you sure that you’re claiming all your business’s allowable expenses?

For more ways to carry out a business health check, find out how to do a balance sheet, or use our budget calculator for the self-employed.

You can also do a break even analysis to work out when you can expect to make a profit.

Are there other types of turnover in business?

There are also a few other potential definitions of turnover that don’t refer directly to your finances. For example, ‘turnover’ can also mean the number of employees that leave a business within a specific period, also sometimes known as the ‘employee churn rate’.

Or, if you offer credit to customers or clients, you might also measure ‘accounts receivable turnover’ – the length of time it takes your customers to pay.

Turnover can also be used to describe how often your inventory or stock is replaced. A low inventory turnover means sales could be slow, while a high inventory turnover could indicate a strong sales performance.

Our article discusses turnover as it relates to your business income.

How to calculate business turnover

It’s relatively straightforward to work out your turnover. If you’re keeping accurate records (which you need to do for tax purposes), it should be fairly quick to add together your total sales. Remember that turnover is measured over a specific period, for example a tax year.

• to work out gross profit, deduct the cost of your sales from your turnover
• to work out net profit, take your gross profit and deduct all other expenses – not forgetting your tax liabilities

Here’s an example calculation.

Amount
Turnover	£50,000
– Cost of goods sold (COGS)	£20,000
= Gross profit	£30,000
– Operating expenses	£15,000
= Net profit	£15,000

How late payments impact turnover

According to the 2023 Simply Business SME Insights report, (64%) of small businesses find late payments to be a problem. If customers don’t pay you on time, your annual turnover or profit could be lower than expected. In fact, 35% of businesses were owed £5,001-£20,000 in late payments at the time of our survey.

If you have customers who have several invoices over a short period of time, sending them a statement of account could remind them what they owe.

However if you have one invoice that needs paying, you’ll usually need to send a late payment letter.

Know your turnover to register for VAT

By working out your turnover, you’ll know if you need to register for value added tax (VAT).

If your business has an annual turnover above £90,000, then it’s a legal requirement to register for VAT.

Businesses that register for VAT need to:

• pay and charge VAT
• submit VAT returns
• follow Making Tax Digital
• keep accurate records

Read our VAT registration guide for more information on how it works and what you need to do.

How to record turnover

Calculating your turnover is easy if you keep a record of all your sales (whether you sell products or a service).

If you don’t have accurate records, your turnover figure won’t be correct and you could have a false sense of your business’s health.

If you’re considering doing your own accounting, read our guide to the best accounting software for small businesses. However, you may find it easier to hire an accountant.

Guides for small business owners

• What to do when a client doesn’t pay: tips for getting paid
• How to write an invoice – free invoice template (UK)
• 7 self-employed tax changes for 2023-24
• What type of business insurance do I need?