Reviewed by Mathew Benoit, COO of Learn Brands · October 2026
A store rings up a $20 sale. How much of it does the business keep? Most people guess about half. In a typical store the answer is closer to $1, about 5 percent of the sale. Everything else pays for the product, the rent, the wages and the card fees. Once you can see where the money goes, you can see which numbers your own work moves.
Accounting Basics: Follow the Money is a free accounting basics course for people who work in stores, bars, distributors and brands. It covers how a sale turns into profit, how to read a profit and loss statement, the difference between margin and markup, why inventory is money on the shelf, why a profitable business can still run short of cash, and the numbers behind your job. It takes about 30 minutes, self-paced, across six short narrated lessons, and every idea comes with a worked dollar example.
What you'll learn
Six lessons that follow one sale from the register to the bottom line.
Where every sale goes (Lesson 1). Follow a $20 sale: $14 cost of goods, $6 gross profit, about $5 of expenses and about $1 of net profit. Learn what counts as cost of goods (the supplier's price plus freight, less supplier discounts) and what counts as an expense (rent, wages, power and card fees).
Read a profit and loss (Lesson 2). One store's month on one page: $100,000 in sales, $70,000 cost of goods, $30,000 gross profit, $26,000 of expenses and $4,000 net profit. Why profit is called the bottom line, and how sales can grow while profit shrinks.
Margin and markup (Lesson 3). An item that costs $10 and sells for $15 has a 50% markup and a 33% margin. How to price for a target margin ($14 divided by 0.7 is a $20 price for a 30% margin), and what 10% off really costs: on a $100 sale at a 30% margin, profit drops from $30 to $20.
Inventory is money on the shelf (Lesson 4). Turns, shrink and dead stock, with the math: $12,000 sold in a year on $2,000 of stock is 6 turns. Why one lost $10 item can take ten more sales to earn back, and why store buyers judge every product on margin and turns.
Cash, credit and getting paid (Lesson 5). Net 30 terms, accounts receivable and accounts payable, why profit on paper is not cash in the bank, and the money in your till that belongs to someone else: sales tax, excise tax, gift card balances and deposits.
The numbers behind your job (Lesson 6). Average sale and items per sale for store teams, labor share and sales per labor hour for managers, depletions and days to pay for sales reps, and pricing from the shelf back for brand teams.
How the course works
At the start you pick your role: store or bar team, store manager or owner, sales rep, or brand or supplier team. The course uses examples from your industry (beer, wine and spirits, cannabis, or general retail and grocery) and gives you the numbers and a practice scenario for your job.
Short activities keep it moving: sort costs into cost of goods or expense, build a profit and loss in the right order, call margin or markup on real prices, flip cards on inventory words, and sort what's owed to you from what you owe. A practice scenario puts it to work: a busy Saturday on the register, last month's numbers with the owner, a buyer meeting, or pricing a new item with the finance director.
It closes with a 10-question final quiz. Eight correct passes. It is online and self-paced, and it works on a phone, tablet, or desktop.
Who this is for
Store and bar team members, store managers and owners, distributor sales reps, and brand and supplier teams in any industry. No accounting background needed. If you have ever wondered why a discount matters so much, or what a buyer means by margin, this course is for you.
What you walk away with
You'll be able to read a profit and loss statement, tell margin from markup and price for a margin, work out what a discount costs, explain turns and shrink, keep cash and credit straight, and name the few numbers your job moves most.
Free to enroll. Self-paced. Certificate on completion.
Who built this course
Accounting Basics: Follow the Money was created by the Learn Brands education team under the direction of Mathew Benoit, COO and Creative Director of Learn Brands. Mathew grew up working in his family's store, and Learn Brands now trains store teams at more than 3,500 retailers. The course is built from the numbers store, distributor and brand teams actually work with every day.
General education, not accounting or tax advice. Last reviewed November 2026.
Accounting basics FAQ
Is this course free?
Yes. Accounting Basics: Follow the Money is part of the free Core Education Suite, free to take and free to assign to your team. No cost, no subscription, no card required. A certificate is issued on completion.
How long does it take?
About 30 minutes, self-paced: six short narrated lessons, short activities, a practice scenario for your role, and a 10-question final quiz. You can stop and pick up where you left off.
Do I need to be good at math?
No. Every idea is shown with simple dollar examples, like following one $20 sale, and the only math is adding, subtracting and dividing. Every number tells you whether it is dollars or percent.
What is the difference between margin and markup?
Both compare profit to something else. Markup divides the profit by what the item cost. Margin divides the profit by the selling price. An item that costs $10 and sells for $15 has a 50% markup and a 33% margin. Buyers almost always talk in margin. Lesson 3 covers it.
Which industries does it cover?
It works for any business that buys and sells products. It has examples for beer, wine and spirits (including the three-tier system), cannabis (including the 280E tax rule), and general retail and grocery.
Is this accounting or tax advice?
No. It is general education about how a business makes money and the numbers behind it. For your own books or taxes, talk to an accountant.
Can I enroll my whole team?
Yes. Create a free company account, assign the course, and track who has started and finished from the Learn Brands dashboard.
Train your team
Want your team selling more at the register? Retail Sales Academy covers communication, suggestive selling, upselling and service recovery for store teams. Buying for a team? Register your business free and assign seats across your whole staff.
Related courses
Keep building your business skills with Foundations of Retail Leadership, Intro to Retail Sales Academy and Retail Customer Experience Training. Browse the free Core Education Suite.
About the reviewer
Mathew Benoit is COO of Learn Brands. He has a family liquor store background, spent more than eight years as Marketing Director at the distributor Vinocopia, and has represented brands nationally. Read Mathew's full bio.
