On this page
You run three shops. You know which one feels busiest, it’s the one where you spend the most time. You think you know which one performs best. But the busiest branch isn’t always the most profitable. And the quiet one might be making more money per sale than you realize.
Feelings aren’t data. The branch with the longest queues might have the thinnest margins because it sells high-volume, low-margin goods. The branch with fewer customers might serve wholesale buyers who order NGN200,000 at a time with healthy markups.
Until you compare your locations side by side with actual numbers, you’re guessing. And guessing means putting money into the wrong branch while ignoring problems at another.
Side-by-side: the only way to see the truth
Looking at each branch on its own tells you how that branch is doing. Putting them all on one screen tells you how the business is doing.
Here’s what that looks like:
| Location | Revenue | COGS | Profit | Margin % | Stock Value | Sales Count |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ikeja | NGN1,350,000 | NGN756,000 | NGN594,000 | 44% | NGN890,000 | 312 |
| Surulere | NGN980,000 | NGN637,000 | NGN343,000 | 35% | NGN1,200,000 | 275 |
| Yaba | NGN720,000 | NGN468,000 | NGN252,000 | 35% | NGN450,000 | 198 |
| Total | NGN3,050,000 | NGN1,861,000 | NGN1,189,000 | 39% | NGN2,540,000 | 785 |
One glance: Ikeja leads in revenue and margin. Surulere has the most stock sitting relative to what it actually sells. Yaba has fewer sales but the same margin as Surulere. Combined, the business runs at 39% gross margin.
You want this view before deciding where to put more inventory, where to add staff, or whether a location is worth keeping open.
The metrics that matter (and the ones that mislead)
Not all numbers tell the same story. Some will actively mislead you if you look at them alone.
Revenue is the obvious example. Ikeja does NGN1.35M, Surulere does NGN980K. Ikeja wins? Not necessarily. If Ikeja’s expenses are NGN500K and Surulere’s are NGN200K, Surulere might put more money in your pocket. Revenue tells you how busy a branch is. It says nothing about profitability.
Sales count has the same problem. 312 transactions at Ikeja vs. 198 at Yaba sounds like a big gap. But if Ikeja’s average transaction is NGN4,300 and Yaba’s is NGN3,600, the revenue difference isn’t as dramatic as the transaction count suggests.
Stock value is another trap. Surulere holds NGN1.2M in stock but generates NGN980K in monthly sales. That’s over a month of inventory just sitting there. Ikeja holds NGN890K and sells NGN1.35M, it’s turning stock much faster. High stock value isn’t an asset if it’s not moving.
What actually tells you something useful: profit margin percentage (is the branch converting revenue efficiently?), stock value relative to revenue (how much capital is tied up versus how fast it moves?), and turnover rate (are you selling what you have, or is it aging on the shelf?).
When you track P&L per branch, you get expense breakdowns on top of this. The comparison dashboard shows you everything at a glance. Branch P&L lets you dig into a specific location.
Reading the trend charts
A snapshot tells you where things stand right now. Trends tell you where they’re heading.
The comparison includes line charts (daily, weekly, or monthly) with a separate line for each location. Watch for lines that diverge. If Ikeja’s revenue is trending up while Surulere’s is flat, something is changing. Maybe foot traffic shifted. Maybe Ikeja added a popular product. Maybe Surulere lost a wholesale customer. The trend shows the direction before the monthly totals make it obvious.
Watch for seasonal patterns too. Maybe Yaba does well in December and drops in January. Maybe Surulere is steady year-round because it serves B2B customers with regular orders. Once you see this, you can plan. Stock up Yaba before the holiday rush. Don’t panic about its January numbers.
The bar charts show revenue and profit side by side for each location. When the bars are close together, margins are healthy. When the revenue bar is tall but the profit bar is short, that branch is working hard for thin returns.
Some branches peak on weekends, others on weekdays. If you’re making staffing decisions, the daily trend chart tells you when each branch needs more people.
Finding your top performer (and learning from it)
The comparison dashboard highlights your top performer. Knowing which branch is best matters less than understanding why.
Check the product mix first. If the top branch sells more high-margin items, stock those products at your other locations and see if the pattern holds.
Look at the staff. A strong sales team at one branch can outperform a bigger team at another. Compare sales per person across locations.
Consider the location itself. Higher foot traffic, better road visibility, proximity to a market. You can’t always replicate this, but you can adjust your expectations and targets accordingly.
And look at the expenses. Two branches with similar revenue but different profits usually have different cost structures. Cheaper rent or fewer staff at one location can be the whole explanation.
Once you know what drives the top branch’s performance, you can try replicating pieces of it elsewhere.
What to do with underperforming locations
Comparison reveals underperformers. The next step is figuring out what kind of underperformance you’re looking at.
If a branch has high revenue but low margin, it’s busy but not keeping enough of what it earns. Usually a product mix or pricing problem, selling mostly low-margin goods, or prices haven’t caught up with what you’re paying suppliers. Review product-level margins and adjust pricing. You can also move higher-margin products there via transfers.
If revenue is low but margin is decent, the branch makes money on what it sells. It just doesn’t sell enough. That’s a traffic problem. Better signage, a social media push, or a different product selection might fix it. The margin proves the business model works at that location.
Low revenue and low margin is the worrying combination. The branch isn’t pulling in enough customers and isn’t making enough on each sale. Before investing more, ask whether the location itself is viable. Rent too high? Competition too intense? Sometimes closing the location and consolidating is the right call.
Watch for declining trends even at branches with good current numbers. If your top performer from six months ago is trending downward, deal with it now. Don’t wait until it becomes the worst branch.
The monthly review ritual
Here’s a practice worth building: first Monday of the month, open the comparison dashboard and set the date range to last month. Takes about 15 minutes.
Look at which branch had the highest margin, not the highest revenue, the highest margin. That’s your most efficient operation. Note what’s working.
Then look at the lowest margin. Is it a recurring pattern or a one-month dip? A single bad month could be a big expense or seasonal slowdown. Three months in a row of declining margin is a problem that needs action.
Finally, compare to the previous month. Did any branch swap positions? Did any branch swing more than 5 percentage points in margin? The changes month-to-month are often more interesting than the absolute numbers.
Fifteen minutes. Once a month. It prevents the end-of-quarter surprise when you realize a branch has been losing money for three months and you didn’t notice.
See all your branches on one screen
If you’re managing multiple locations, you need to compare them. Monthly, not quarterly.
Mayloo puts every branch on one dashboard. Revenue, COGS, profit, margins, stock value, sales count, all per location. Trend charts with a line for each branch, daily or weekly or monthly. Bar charts for revenue vs. profit. Top performer highlighted. Filter by any date range.
Pair the comparison view with branch-level P&L when you need to dig into a specific location, and you’ve got everything you need to run a multi-location business without guessing.