
When Should You Fire a Customer? Run the Numbers Before You Walk Away
Customer profit equals net revenue minus direct costs minus cost to serve — rank every account, reprice the tail, and release what will not pay.
#pricing-strategies
Develop effective pricing strategies for profitability

Customer profit equals net revenue minus direct costs minus cost to serve — rank every account, reprice the tail, and release what will not pay.

US tariffs added about $5 to every blank garment. Bill setup fees separately, amortize digitizing files across units, and reprice quotes from landed cost.

A US spray-drone business needs Part 107, a Section 44807 exemption, a Part 137 certificate, and a state commercial license before its first paid acre.

Pet treats are animal feed, not cottage food: budget the feed license, AAFCO labels, per-bag labor cost, and shrinkage before your first market day.

Price freezer beef per pound of hanging weight, sell the live animal — not the meat — at custom-exempt lockers, and beat the sale barn on paper first.

A museum crate often costs more than the miles it travels — cost builds like manufacturing jobs and price transport per mile, or one subsidizes the other.

5K entry fees are deferred revenue until race day. Price bibs from per-runner cost, tier sponsors like inventory, and hold a weather reserve for year two.

Skateboard decks earn 30-40% margin while accessories hit 50-65% — track each category's COGS separately or every buying decision is half-blind.

Grant writers can't take contingency fees under GPA ethics or 2 CFR 200.442. Bill hourly, flat or retainer, book deposits as liabilities, and track IRS 1099s.

Hunting leases now pay $8–$50+ per acre a year, but charging for access can void your recreational-use liability shield — write the lease, require insurance.

Quote wallpaper per roll or square foot, cost prep separately, allow 10–25% pattern waste, and book deposits as unearned revenue — not income.

A $2.50 taco lives on pennies: cost it at cooked-protein yield, log salsa-bar waste, and price delivery apps 30% higher to keep a taqueria profitable.