For CPAs • CFOs 

Accountants 

Senior Advisors

Specifically for those who wish to grow advisory services with retailers

Do you drive your car at night, on the highway, in the dark, without the headlights on?!

Of course not!

That's no way for a retailer to "drive" their business, either.

But sadly, most do.

Thanks to our proprietary financial modeling tools, retailers no longer have to drive in the dark.

This Retail STRATA:G^® site provides state-of-the-art projecting calculators and other resources specifically for retail financial modeling (what retailers call "What if...?").  

Non-threatening, but very effective. When used in working sessions with clients, these calculators are powerful. And an opportunity to grow your consulting role.

(see Tools of Engagement)

"I have ideas; which one is the most financially viable?"

"Actually, I'm concerned. My store(s) need to do better. How can I do that?!"

When faced with strategic business questions, retailers welcome the help of trusted advisors. Not to tell them what to do, but to help them compare and understand the financial implications of their choices. That's how relationships are built. 

Finally! With these tools and your experience, you can help retailers everywhere "Turn on their financial headlights!"

(see Conversation Starters) 

The dynamics and rapid changes in retailing require ready access to looking ahead with "what if...?" financial planning. The 8% – 12% annual failure rate "begs" for this solution.

• Whether comparing growth opportunities, preparing a loan request, considering an acquisition, or developing a business plan, retailers need to better compare the financial implications of their choices. 
• Like any other business, retailers need objectivity, perspective, and fully integrated financial projections.

Yet to date, only the largest publicly-held retailers can afford the systems and people to accomplish this.

Why? Financial modeling templates that do exist for "small businesses" are not adequate, nor accurate, for retailers with inventory.

• Inventory represents 65-80% of the typical retailer's total assets;
• It is only the inventory that makes money for a retailer, and/or creates losses;
• Yet, basic financial modeling templates do not integrate the complexities of inventory management. But now...

Recognizing that existing financial modeling templates are stymied by the complexities of inventory management, Outcalt & Johnson: Retail Strategists, LLC developed proprietary online tools to produce a fully-integrated retail financial projection: monthly P&L, plus the inventory buying plan, plus the resulting cash flow projection. All integrated!

• Developed by expert retail strategists. 
• Proven value used by retailers for 20+ years, no matter the merchandise they sell. 
• The need is universal and, given the volatility in retailing, ever-present. 
• Applicable to all retail businesses, from $2 million to $2 billion, whether online or bricks-and-mortar.

To our knowledge, nowhere else are there pro forma calculators or software that...

• Accurately merge the components of retail inventory management (fluctuating margins, inventory turns, and seasonal sales) into an accurate cash flow. Only the Retailer's 3-in-1 Integrated Calculator can do this. 
• Quickly produce monthly inventory buying budgets based on planned sales, gross margins, and inventory turns, showing the targeted ending inventory each month and GMROI. Only the Multi-Department Open-to-Buy Calculator can do this.   

Where are middle market retailers getting financial advisory services now? Sadly, not from their CPA firm. Instead, they are turning to their POS providers, inventory management consulting services, payment processors, fintech companies, "the internet."

And much of that financial "information" is either error-prone, or complex and arduous; usually expensive; and often accompanied by a conflict of interest. Retailers deserve better!

Expand and deepen your advisory capability to your present retail clients. Gain a new competitive edge to attract new ones.

All the tools you'll need are here! Engage with retailers. Enable them to see the financial implications of their choices.    

Get 24/7 access to the Retail STRATA:G^® financial modeling expertise. (That's "strategy." Every retailer needs one!)

• Retail STRATA:G^® Consulting Calculators - Proprietary online calculators for integrated retail financial projections
  Tools of Engagement

• Benchmarks, Key Retail Ratios – Prompt a meeting, start a discussion, provide perspective, inform goal setting, enhance loan requests

Benchmarks