Students participating in a Money Club learning session
Student Worksheet

Coffee Counter Math Lab

A Money Club worksheet for understanding price, cost, margin, profit, hooks, and repeat demand.

Pairs with

The Coffee System

Goal

Design a simple coffee counter and run the business math yourself.

Big question

Does each sale make the system stronger or weaker?

Interactive Worksheet

Overview

Retail price is what comes in.

Cost of Goods Sold, or COGS, is what goes out to make the product.

Gross margin is what is left before operating expenses.

Product Retail Price Cost of Goods Sold Gross Margin $ Gross Margin %
Coffee $2.00 $0.75 $1.25 62.5%

Gross margin is retail price minus COGS.

$2.00 - $0.75 = $1.25

Gross margin percentage is gross margin divided by retail price.

$1.25 / $2.00 = 62.5%

A good target is 40%+ gross margin.

The goal is to end with about 20% net margin, money in your pocket after operating expenses.

Below that, the business may not be worth the time.

Net Margin

Net profit is the true profit.

It is the money left after you pay for the product and the costs of running the business.

Here is an example for 1,000 coffees sold.

Metric Value
Product Coffee
Retail Price $2.00per coffee sold
Units Sold 1,000coffees sold
Revenue $2,000$2.00 × 1,000 coffees
Total COGS $750$0.75 COGS × 1,000 coffees
Gross Margin $ $1,250$2,000 revenue - $750 COGS
Gross Margin % 62.5%$1,250 gross margin / $2,000 revenue
Operating Expenses $850example costs to run the stand
Net Profit $400$1,250 gross margin - $850 operating expenses
Net Margin % 20%$400 net profit / $2,000 revenue

Design Your Drink

Now build your own drink. The calculator will follow you and update as your choices change.

Choose a drink to start with its base COGS.

This is what the customer pays.

What goes into the drink?

Test the Business

Now test what happens if you sell more than one drink. The calculator uses these numbers to show net profit.

Examples: signs, table, equipment, waste, payment fees, transport, labour.

Decision Test

Use the numbers and the offer to decide whether the business system gets stronger or weaker.

Is the gross margin strong enough?
Is the net margin strong enough?

Example: Fresh iced coffee for students after school, cheaper than Starbucks and ready in 30 seconds.

What would make the business stronger?

Design the Offer

A good offer connects the drink, the customer, the moment, and the reason to buy.

Hooks, Upsells, and Repeat Demand

A hook gets someone interested. An upsell increases the order. Repeat demand makes the customer come back.

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