August Numbers On the Brink

Excel had this August running $32 ahead of LY as this week began. One year ago, Sunshop got a version upgrade and I switched to the "responsive" template that I'm still using. That change set off a big drop in sales and a corresponding chance to make up a little ground this year. Normal sales this week should have put August $200-300 in the black, and indeed I'm $83 to the good right now. So what does QuickBooks say about that?


August

Total income: -2.2%
Total COGS: -0.6%
Payroll: -1.4%

Marketing: +22.4%
Net Income (Profit) vs LY: -31.5% (-$68)

Actual Profit/Loss: +$148

Year to Date

Total income: -7.3%
Total COGS: -4.5%
Payroll: -6.5%

Marketing: -7.5%
Net Income (Profit) vs LY: -14% (-$233)

Actual Profit/Loss: -$1,897

This is why I can't have nice things. The next day and a half might still deliver the 92 bucks that would nudge QuickBooks' top line into the black, but I'm going to call it a win based on Excel's version of reality. 

Long-time readers might remember my surprised disappointment when the aforementioned template change dragged all of September down; sure, change is usually for the worse, but I was looking for a small bump from the new mobile-friendly look anyway. Well, what goes around comes around: Last September's slump makes this year's target numbers look easy.

Looks can deceive, though. This September has its own set of challenges that I'll complain about next week.