You earned the profit. Now what? A guided worksheet for the retained-earnings half of your bottom line — debt payoff, the vault (cash reserves), and reinvestment — with a stage-based split so cash gets put to work intentionally, instead of drifting back out of the account.
Cash that sits in checking gets spent. Cash that earns nothing loses value. Most owners don't have a profit problem — they have a no-plan problem.
If retained profit lives in your everyday account, it gets absorbed into normal expenses within a quarter or two. The cash was there. Now it isn't.
Even at modest inflation, cash sitting at 0% slowly buys less every year. Doing nothing isn't neutral — it's quietly losing.
Profit deployed on a system — debt down, vault up, reinvestment in — compounds quarter after quarter. Drift never compounds.
Every dollar of retained profit goes into one of three places. Each does a different job — and the right mix depends on where your business is right now.
Kill expensive debt. Paying off a 12% credit card is a guaranteed 12% return — almost nothing else is.
Build 3–6 months of operating expenses in a separate high-yield account. The vault turns surprises into inconveniences.
Spend on things that pay you back — equipment that adds margin, hires that add capacity, marketing with measurable returns. ROI-positive only.
A startup, an established business, and a business in a tough year should treat the same dollar of profit very differently. Find your stage below — you'll use it in the worksheet.
Just launched. Finding your footing. Cash flow is bumpy. Build a cushion first; reinvest in what proves the model.
Revenue's growing, the model's working. This is when reinvestment pays the biggest dividends — without skipping the vault.
Predictable revenue, real team, real systems. Balance the three buckets — pay down structurally, keep growing, hold a cushion.
Stable and profitable. The job shifts toward de-risking: clear remaining debt and protect the moat you've built.
Revenue is down or uncertain. Cash is king. Build the vault hard, only reinvest where it visibly returns soon.
Educational guide, not financial advice. This worksheet is a starting framework, not a recommendation for your specific situation. Taxes, contracts, debt covenants, and cash flow vary by business. Run any meaningful money decision past your CPA, bookkeeper, or financial advisor before you move it.
Four quick inputs and you'll get a stage-tuned 3-bucket split with dollar amounts. Everything stays in your browser — nothing is sent, stored, or saved.
A starting plan based on your stage and inputs. Adjust it to your real situation.
A plan only works if it actually happens. Four small habits keep retained profit moving instead of melting.
Pick a day every quarter (or month) to do the transfers. If it isn't scheduled, it doesn't happen.
Your vault belongs in a different account than your operating cash — ideally a high-yield savings. Friction is the feature.
Your stage, the percentages, the actual dollar amounts. A written plan resists the "I'll figure it out next month."
The mix that's right at year 2 isn't right at year 6. Re-tune the buckets when the business does.
Cash in the everyday account gets spent by the next month. Move it on a schedule or it'll move on its own.
A 3% SBA loan isn't the play when high-yield savings beats it. Kill expensive debt; let cheap debt ride.
Fancier office, fancier logo — those don't pay back. Reinvest only in things with measurable ROI.
No cushion means one bad month is a crisis. Reserves first, then anything else.
If your "plan" is whatever feels right Friday, the year ends with nothing to show. Pick the split. Run it.
Owner pay should already be out before you get to this worksheet. Don't pull from retained profit ad-hoc.
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