Understand exactly what's driving your gross profit changes. Decompose variances into actionable factors including COGS and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
Get Started FreeGross profit variance analysis (also known as a gross margin bridge or profitability variance analysis) is an advanced FP&A technique that breaks down the difference between two gross profit figures — whether comparing actual vs. budget, current period vs. prior period, or actual vs. forecast.
Instead of just seeing that gross profit changed by X%, this analysis tells you why it changed. Did you sell more units? Did your product mix shift toward higher-margin items? Did price increases stick? Did COGS increases erode your margins? Did discounting hurt profitability?
This tool gives you the same analytical power used by corporate finance teams at leading companies — completely free. Perfect for FP&A analysts, finance managers, business controllers, and anyone who needs to explain gross profit performance to stakeholders.
Built by FP&A professionals for FP&A professionals and anyone looking to explain gross margin changes fast.
Automate complex gross profit variance calculations that typically take hours in Excel. Get results in minutes, not days.
Generate professional waterfall charts and factor breakdowns ready for executive presentations and board meetings.
Identify which products are improving or eroding your margins. Know exactly what's driving your gross profit changes.
Based on proven financial planning and analysis frameworks used by Fortune 500 companies worldwide.
Comprehensive decomposition covering all major factors affecting your gross profit including COGS
Impact of changes in units sold at constant margins and mix
Effect of shifts in product portfolio composition on average gross margin
Impact of promotional activities and discount depth changes on profitability
Effect of cost of goods sold changes including material, labor, and overhead costs
Gross profit change driven by list price adjustments
Contribution from products launched in the current period
Gross profit loss from discontinued or phased-out SKUs
Get your gross profit variance analysis in 4 simple steps
Get our pre-formatted Excel template with clear instructions
Enter your sales and cost data for baseline and comparison periods
Upload the completed template to our secure platform
Receive comprehensive factor analysis with visualizations
Get our pre-formatted Excel template with clear instructions
Enter your sales and cost data for baseline and comparison periods
Upload the completed template to our secure platform
Receive comprehensive factor analysis with visualizations
Everything you need to understand and present your gross profit performance
Complete breakdown of gross profit variance into Total Volume, Mix, Discount, COGS, Price, New Products, and Delisted Products
Interactive bridge chart showing the flow from baseline to actual gross profit with each factor's contribution
For each factor, see the top 5 products with maximum positive and negative impact on your gross profit
Download your analysis in formats suitable for presentations and further analysis
Gross profit variance analysis helps answer critical business questions
Explain month-over-month gross profit changes to leadership with clear factor attribution including COGS impact
Understand why actual gross profit deviated from budget and which cost or pricing assumptions were off
Compare annual performance and identify structural changes in your gross margin and cost structure
Evaluate how COGS changes and pricing decisions are impacting your overall profitability
Start your free gross profit variance analysis today. Upload your data and get insights in minutes.
Try It Now — It's FreeYour data is processed securely and never stored on our servers
Gross profit variance analysis is a financial planning and analysis (FP&A) technique that decomposes the difference between two gross profit figures into component factors like total volume, price, mix, COGS, and more. It helps finance teams explain why gross profit changed, not just by how much.
While revenue variance analysis focuses on top-line changes, gross profit variance analysis goes deeper by including COGS (Cost of Goods Sold) as a key factor. This gives you a complete picture of profitability drivers, showing not just what sold, but how cost changes affected your margins.
You'll need product-level sales data for two periods: quantity sold, revenue, COGS (total or per unit), and optionally list prices. Our Excel template makes it easy to organize your data in the required format.
Yes. Your data is processed in real-time and is not stored on our servers. The analysis happens instantly, and your data remains yours.
Yes, this gross profit variance analysis tool is completely free with no hidden costs. We offer it as part of our commitment to helping FP&A professionals work more efficiently. For more advanced reporting needs, we offer premium Report-as-a-Service solutions.
