Looking for a computers reseller business plan? You're in the right place.
A computer store ties up cash in stock that loses value every month, earns thin margins on the boxes on the shelf and makes its money somewhere else. That raises questions before the doors open. Which lines carry the margin? How much stock can the store hold before cash runs short? How many technicians does the repair bench need as sales grow?
In this article we'll walk through a complete sample plan for a computer store in Salt Lake City, Utah, section by section, so you can see how stock, trade-ins, bench time and payroll fit together before you write your own. We'll cover the executive summary, the SWOT analysis and, in particular, all of the financials.
Here's what's inside:
- The executive summary: see how to put a store, its stock and its funding on one page, so a lender reads the ask in the first minute
- The margin by product line: learn why new systems, custom builds, refurbished stock, repairs and care plans earn very different margins, and how the mix decides profit
- The stock budget: find out how much of the money raised goes onto the shelves and into the refurbishing pool, and how to size a reserve for the slow months
- The bench capacity math: see how repair, build and refurbishing hours turn into the technicians the store has to hire, and when
- The stock turns and break-even table: learn to read turns, days of stock and monthly revenue needed, the numbers a retail lender checks
- The five-year profit, cash flow and balance sheet: understand how pay, rent and stock decisions show up in the numbers
- The weak-year case: have an answer ready for "what if sales are 20% short?", with the steps the owner takes in response
If you're opening a computer store, read this before you write your own. The store is fictional, so take what fits your market and change the rest.
In this plan
- Ember Dale at a Glance
- The Company, the Counter and the Bench
- Computer Buying Along the Wasatch Front
- Who Walks In, Who Orders Online, Who Calls for Help
- Prices, Margins and the Trade-In Desk
- How Customers Hear About the Shop
- Bench, Stock Room and Shipping Table
- Nate Whitlock and the Team
- Financial Plan: Stock, Bench Margin and Cash
- Stock, fixtures and who funds them
- Operating figures behind the forecast
- Revenue by line
- Who is on the floor and the bench, and from when
- Profit and loss
- Cash through five years
- Balance sheet: stock, payables and the loan
- Stock turns, margin and the break-even line
- If sales fall short: 20% in Year 1, easing to 10%
- Sources
Want a computers reseller business plan you can edit for your own business? Get the computers reseller business plan template and build it in the Toolkit.
Ember Dale at a Glance
Ember Dale is a computer store that opens in January 2027 in a 2,600 square foot unit in Salt Lake City, Utah. It sells new brand-name laptops and desktops, custom-built gaming and workstation PCs, refurbished systems bought through trade-ins, components and accessories, repair and upgrade work and one-year care plans, to walk-in households, to web shop buyers and to home-office and small-office customers who want a machine set up and working. Founder Nate Whitlock owns 65% of the company. A single outside investor holds the remaining 35%.
Ember Dale needs $350,000 to open. Nate puts in $120,000 of his own money, the investor adds $180,000, and a bank lends $50,000 on a term loan. Of the total, $76,000 buys opening stock and $47,500 fits out the showroom, bench and register. Pre-opening expenses take $31,700, and $194,800 stays in the account as a cushion.
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,341,770 | $1,883,422 | $2,293,878 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($93,634) | ($935) | $26,362 |
| Closing cash | $100,470 | $88,670 | $104,245 |
Gross profit is 29.9% of revenue in every year, after returns, shrinkage, stock write-downs and warranty costs, and where it comes from matters more than the total. Refurbished systems, repair work and care plans are 38% of Year 1 revenue and 66% of gross profit, while new brand-name systems are 19% of revenue and 5% of gross profit. Before start-up costs Year 1 is $61,934 in the red, and $93,634 once they are counted. Operating profit is negative from January to July and positive from August to December, when back-to-school and holiday buying arrive. Year 2 is close to break-even, a loss of $935, Year 3 earns $26,362, and net income reaches $39,438 in Year 4 and $54,581 in Year 5.
That is a thin return, and the plan does not pretend otherwise. Net margin is 1.1% in Year 3 and 2.0% in Year 5, because payroll, rent and card fees take most of a 29.9% gross margin. A one-point slip in blended margin in Year 3 is worth about $23,000, which is nearly all of that year's profit. The funding is built around that: only $50,000 is borrowed, so the bank's repayments do not depend on a thin margin holding, and most of the money raised is a cash reserve. A net margin near 8% is not reachable in this trade without cutting pay or fixtures the shop needs, so the plan does not show one.
The plan tests itself against a bad start. With sales 20% under plan in Year 1, 15% under in Year 2 and 10% under in Years 3 to 5, later hires, a smaller opening stock buy, less marketing and no payouts, the company loses money in Years 1 and 2, earns $11,415 in Year 3 and never runs out of cash: the lowest year-end balance is $23,901.
The shop is built on a narrow idea. A household or home-office buyer gets one place that sells the machine, builds it to order, takes the old one in trade, fixes it and stands behind it afterward. The margin comes from the trade-in desk and the bench, and the brand-name boxes on the shelf bring the footfall.
The Company, the Counter and the Bench
Legal name: Ember Dale, LLC, a Utah limited liability company taxed as a corporation. Owners: Nate Whitlock, 65%; one private investor, a local IT-services owner, 35%. Premises: 2,600 square feet in Salt Lake City, about 1,500 of it showroom and 700 of it bench room, under a lease of five years with the right to renew for five more. The rest is a stock room and a packing table. Doors open: January 2027. A lease draft is with the landlord, who is expected to want a personal guarantee from Nate. Two distributor accounts are approved.
The store does not sell business-to-business volume contracts or managed IT, which belong to a hardware reseller or a support firm. Its customers are households, students, gamers, remote workers and owners of very small offices.
Why Nate is opening it
Nate spent eight years as the IT support lead at a regional credit union, where he specified, bought and repaired the office's machines. On weekends he built gaming PCs for friends and coworkers, about 60 of them over six years. He saw two things. Buyers who wanted a custom build were sent to online parts lists with no one to call when something failed, and the big chains sold boxes and gave no help with what came after. Ember Dale is a counter with a bench behind it.
Aims through the end of 2028
- $1,883,422 of revenue in the second year, with the store at about break-even after tax.
- Gross margin held at 29.9% as new-system sales grow, by growing refurbished sales and care plans with them.
- Stock turning 7.8 times in 2028, up from 6.6 in 2027.
- A web shop that delivers 900 orders in 2027 and 1,300 in 2028.
What the store sells
| Line | How it earns | Year 1 share of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| New laptops, desktops and monitors | About 340 sales at $740 | 19% |
| Custom-built gaming and workstation PCs | About 110 builds at $2,125, build fee included | 17% |
| Refurbished systems and trade-in resale | About 600 sales at $370 | 17% |
| Repairs, upgrades, setup and data transfer | About 1,300 jobs at $155 | 15% |
| Web shop orders | About 900 orders at $175 | 12% |
| Components, peripherals and accessories | About 3,300 items at $46 | 11% |
| Care plans | About 480 plans at $169 | 6% |
| Home-office and small-office setup visits | About 50 visits at $850 | 3% |
Rules the shop runs under
The company holds a Utah sales tax account and collects tax on counter and web sales. Its accountant confirms which repair, setup and care-plan charges are taxable and at what combined rate. The federal corporate rate of 21% is used in the model, with a Utah corporate rate of 4.55% as a planning figure that may have changed by opening. Care plans are the shop's own service contract, and counsel confirms how Utah treats them before the first one is sold. Trade-ins are taken only against photo identification and a logged serial number. Any second-hand dealer or reporting rule that applies to taking in used equipment is confirmed with the city and counsel before opening.
Computer Buying Along the Wasatch Front
A household buying a computer can go to a national electronics chain, a manufacturer's own web store, an online marketplace or a friend who knows computers. Each leaves a gap that a local counter with a bench can try to fill, though none of the gaps is large on its own.
What a household buys and why it comes back
A laptop is bought every few years and a desktop less often. The repeat business is in the work around the machine: a failed screen, a slow drive, a virus, a move to a new machine with ten years of photos. A shop that fixes and upgrades sees the same household several times between purchases. That is why repairs and care plans are in the plan from the first month and not added later.
Where the margin sits
Brand-name systems carry thin margins for a reseller, and the model sets them at 8% after returns and write-downs. Custom builds earn 14% including the build fee and a one-year warranty reserve. Components and accessories earn 22%, web shop orders 19%, refurbished systems 34% after warranty, care plans 58%, setup visits 50% and repair work 70% before labor. These are the founder's planning figures and have not been confirmed with a distributor. Returns, shrinkage, stock write-downs and warranty costs are counted in cost of goods, so the blended 29.9% is a result of the mix after those losses and sits inside the range a mixed computer store might expect. A store that leaned on new boxes and parts would blend nearer 25%, in the founder's estimate, and this plan would not reach profit on that mix. The margin left after payroll and rent is small, and the funding section shows how the plan is sized around that. The business is a service counter that sells hardware, and payroll is spent where the higher-margin work is.
Who the shop competes with
| Alternative | What it offers | Why a buyer might choose it | How Ember Dale differs by design |
|---|---|---|---|
| National electronics chains | Wide range, promotions, financing | Price and convenience | Build to order, trade-in credit and a bench that handles repairs |
| Manufacturer web stores | Configure-to-order, direct warranty | Latest models, brand support | A local person to hand it to, and repair after the warranty ends |
| Online marketplaces | Lowest prices, huge choice | Price | Tested and warrantied stock, local pickup, no listing guesswork |
| Independent repair shops | Cheap, fast fixes | Convenience and price | A sales floor, build service and care plans in the same visit |
| Used-computer resellers and classifieds | Very low prices | Price | Wiped, tested and licensed systems with a 90-day warranty |
The rows are kinds of seller, not named rivals, and nothing here ranks them.
Strengths and exposures
Strengths
- Eight years of buying, supporting and repairing office machines behind the founder
- Three higher-margin lines (refurbished, care plans, repair) that most chains skip
- A trade-in desk that supplies stock and brings customers back
Weaknesses
- New brand-name systems have thin margins and tie up cash
- Two technicians from month 5, so a long absence would slow the bench
- One location and a single founder who also buys stock
- A thin net margin: a one-point slip in blended margin in Year 3 would remove nearly all of that year's profit
Opportunities
- Back-to-school and holiday buying, which concentrates demand
- Windows and hardware refresh cycles that send older machines to trade-in
- Care-plan renewals that give repeat revenue without new advertising
Threats
- Chains cutting prices on new systems below the shop's cost
- Component price swings, especially graphics cards, between order and delivery
- Warranty claims on refurbished stock running above the reserve
- Distributors holding a new account to prepayment for longer than the plan expects
Who Walks In, Who Orders Online, Who Calls for Help
The model counts about 3,500 customers in 2027, from the store and the web shop together. The count is a planning figure, built up from the sales lines: roughly 1,050 system buyers, 50 office customers, 780 repair-only customers, 800 web buyers and 825 accessory shoppers who buy nothing else.
The student and first-time buyer
A university or community-college student needs a laptop that works and a price that fits a loan refund. The refurbished line is built for this buyer, at an average of $370 with a 90-day warranty. The trade-in desk takes the machine back when the student upgrades.
The builder and the gamer
This buyer knows what graphics card and processor they want and uses the shop for the part the web does not give: a person who assembles, tests and stands behind the build. The average build is $2,125, including a $300 build fee. Demand rises with new graphics-card releases and with November and December, and the shop builds 110 PCs in 2027 and 165 in 2028.
The household with an old machine
This buyer arrives with a problem and often leaves with a trade-in credit against a new or refurbished system. The repair line serves them at $155 a job on average, and the care plan is offered at the counter when the job closes.
The home-office and very small office
A sole trader or a three-person office needs two workstations, a printer and a network set up on a Saturday. The setup visit averages $850. The plan books about 50 of them in the first year, on jobs too small for a hardware reseller to quote.
Prices, Margins and the Trade-In Desk
| Line | Price point | Cost of goods | Gross margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| New brand-name systems | $740 average | 92% | 8% |
| Custom builds | $2,125 average, $300 build fee | 86% | 14% |
| Refurbished systems | $370 average | 66% | 34% |
| Components and accessories | $46 average item | 78% | 22% |
| Repairs and upgrades | $155 average job | 30% | 70% |
| Web shop orders | $175 average order | 81% | 19% |
| Care plans | $169 a year | 42% | 58% |
| Home-office and small-office visits | $850 average | 50% | 50% |
Prices rise 3% a year from Year 2. Cost of goods on the hardware lines includes a share for returns, shrinkage, stock write-downs and warranty claims, about 3% of sales overall. Repair cost of goods covers parts and outside labor only. Technician time is in payroll.
The trade-in desk works on a simple rule. A customer's old machine is tested and priced on the spot, and the credit is paid against a purchase at the shop. A refurbished system that sells at $370 costs about $244, including its share of returns and warranty: about $165 to acquire the unit, about $57 for parts, an operating-system license, cleaning and packing. Of the 600 units in Year 1, about 250 come from trade-ins against purchases, 150 from walk-in buy-outs and 200 from liquidation lots and local recyclers. The refurbishing line is the trade's real margin, and its risk is in the acquisition price. A buyer who overpays for trade-ins cuts the margin by more than any discount on the shelf could.
Care plans sell for $169 for twelve months and extend the 90-day refurbished warranty to a year. They cover bench diagnostics, one operating-system reinstall and one data transfer. The model expects about 480 plans in Year 1, just under half of system buyers and a small share of repair customers, and sets claim cost at 42% of the price. The attach rate stays near 47% to 49% of system sales in every year. Revenue is booked when a plan is sold. An accountant may require it to be spread over the twelve-month term, which would lower profit in the growth years and is not modeled here.
How Customers Hear About the Shop
Marketing costs $30,000 in the first year, plus $14,000 of launch costs paid from the start-up money, which is $44,000 in all. Against about 3,500 customers, that is about $13 for each. It rises to $37,000 in Year 3, or 1.6% of revenue.
| Channel | Year 1 spend | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Local search and map listings, reviews | $7,000 | Brings repair and walk-in demand |
| Paid search and social for builds and gaming | $9,000 | Brings custom-build inquiries and web orders |
| Community events: build workshops, campus offers | $6,000 | Brings students and builders |
| Email and trade-in mailers | $3,000 | Brings repeat purchases |
| Web shop photography and marketplace listings | $5,000 | Brings online orders |
The launch budget of $14,000 covers street signage ($4,500), the website and product photography ($5,500), an opening weekend ($1,800) and the first search and social campaign ($2,200).
Marketing milestones
- January 2027: signage up, search listing live, opening weekend.
- April 2027: first build workshop held and the care plan on every repair ticket.
- August 2027: back-to-school student offer, with trade-in credit boosted for two weeks.
- November 2027: holiday build bundles and web shop gift guide.
- Early 2028: renewal mailers to the first care-plan holders as the first plans expire.
Bench, Stock Room and Shipping Table
Floor plan
The 2,600 square feet are split three ways. A showroom of about 1,500 square feet holds the counter, shelving for accessories and a demonstration wall for builds. A bench room of about 700 square feet has anti-static work stations, a burn-in rack and a diagnostic area behind glass, so that customers can watch their machine being worked on. A stock room and packing table take the remainder.
Bench capacity
Technician hours set the hiring. An average repair is allowed 0.75 hours, a build 3 hours, a refurbishment 1.1 hours and a setup visit 4 hours, and a technician is counted at about 1,500 productive hours a year. Year 1 needs about 2,165 hours, against 2,500 from one technician plus a second from month 5. Year 2 needs about 2,970, against about 3,375 from two technicians and the specialist from month 22, with the intake associate taking wipes and testing from month 15. Year 3 needs about 3,600, Year 4 about 3,820 and Year 5 about 3,950, against 4,500 hours for two technicians and the specialist. That leaves Year 5 about 88% booked, and the August and November peaks run higher, so the intake associate and the founder go on the bench at those times. Care-plan claims and warranty rework add a few hundred hours, which the intake associate and the founder absorb. The plan holds repair and setup volume close to what the bench can do from Year 4, so revenue growth flattens to 7% to 10% a year. A third technician would be needed before volume grew further.
Space is the other limit. Year 5 revenue of $2,705,555 on 2,600 square feet is about $1,040 a square foot, which is high for a computer store. The rent is for a light-industrial or flex unit with a modest showroom, not a mall or main-street frontage, at about $20 a square foot all-in. The web shop, the bench work and the setup visits do not need showroom space, but the unit would be full by Year 5, and growth beyond that would mean a second unit or a move, which this plan does not fund.
Stock and turns
Opening stock is $76,000, then it is topped up to match sales. The shelves hold $141,854 of stock at the end of Year 1 and $188,583 at the end of Year 3. That turns 6.6 times in the first year and 8.5 in the third, roughly 55 and 43 days of cover. The first-year figure is lower because the opening buy is set ahead of sales. New distributor accounts start on prepayment or short terms, and the model uses 15 days to pay across all suppliers on average, so payables run well below stock.
Wipe, test and ship
Every used or traded-in device is wiped, tested and given a fresh operating-system install before it is priced. The wipe procedure follows the approach in NIST SP 800-88, the federal guide to media sanitization. Each unit carries a serial number and a test record. Returns are inspected within two days. Web shop orders ship within one business day, and the company absorbs $8.50 an order of packing and postage net of what customers pay.
Systems and suppliers
The point-of-sale system tracks serial numbers and trade-in credits, and a ticketing system records every repair with intake photos. The web shop shares the same stock count as the store, so that a refurbished machine is never sold twice. Two broadline distributors supply brand-name systems and accessories, one parts distributor supplies components, and a handful of local liquidators and recyclers supply used stock. Brand authorizations may come with volume floors, which the shop confirms account by account. Unit prices and terms are the suppliers' to set.
Nate Whitlock and the Team
Nate Whitlock, founder and store manager
Nate buys the stock, sets prices, runs the trade-in desk and manages the floor. He is paid $58,000 a year, which is below what he earned at the credit union, and takes no distribution until Year 4.
Where the team is thin
The Year 1 team is four full-time people and one part-time associate. The bench has one technician until month 5, and the founder is the only person who can price a trade-in. Hires follow volume: a second technician in month 5, a part-time web and refurbishing intake associate in month 15, a home-office specialist in month 22 and a part-time floor and web orders sales associate in month 34.
If Nate is out
The sales lead handles the floor and the store's two technicians keep the bench running. Buying pauses to reorder points. A written price list for trade-ins is kept at the desk so that a new associate can quote consistently.
Ownership and the lender
Nate owns 65% and the investor owns 35%. The investor's $180,000 values the company at about $514,000 after the investment, and Nate's share reflects his unpaid pre-opening work and the trade relationships he brings. The investor takes no part in running the store and joins a quarterly review of the numbers. Nate signs a personal guarantee, and the bank also holds a lien over stock and equipment. The owners take $25,000 in Year 4 and $50,000 in Year 5, and only out of cash the business has left over.
Financial Plan: Stock, Bench Margin and Cash
Start with where the $350,000 goes, then the per-line volumes and margins that drive revenue. After that come sales, the twelve monthly figures for Year 1, the staffing plan, profit and loss, cash, the balance sheet and the stock and break-even ratios. The last table runs a weak-sales year against the same shop. Only Year 1 is monthly. Care plans count as revenue on the day they are sold.
Stock, fixtures and who funds them
| Use of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Opening stock: branded laptops, desktops, monitors and shelf accessories | $52,000 |
| Opening stock: component bins for custom builds and the first trade-in and refurbishing pool | $24,000 |
| Showroom build-out: counter, gondola shelving, build-demo wall, anti-static bench room, wiring | $24,000 |
| Bench equipment: burn-in rack, diagnostic and test rigs, anti-static stations, soldering and data-recovery tools | $14,500 |
| Point of sale, web shop set-up, label printers, shipping bench and security cameras | $9,000 |
| Utah business registration, Salt Lake City business license, sales tax account | $1,200 |
| Legal and accounting: entity, lease review, warranty and trade-in terms | $6,000 |
| Pre-opening rent and staff training | $10,500 |
| Launch: signage, website and photography, opening weekend, first search and social campaign | $14,000 |
| Cash reserve for the first spring and the stock build before the August and November peaks | $194,800 |
| Total uses | $350,000 |
| Source of funds | Amount |
|---|---|
| Nate Whitlock's savings | $120,000 |
| One private investor, a local IT-services owner (35% stake) | $180,000 |
| Bank term loan | $50,000 |
| Total sources | $350,000 |
Nate Whitlock contributes $120,000 of his own savings, 34% of the total. A local IT-services owner invests $180,000 for 35% of the company, putting its value near $514,000 once the money is in. The $50,000 bank term loan runs seven years at 10.5%, with 18 months of interest alone before principal starts. Treat the rate as a placeholder for a real quote. Shareholders supply 86% of the money and the lender 14%, on purpose: at a 29.9% gross margin the shop earns little in its first two years, and a larger loan would leave debt service cover thin in Year 2. Nate signs a personal guarantee, and the bank also holds a lien over stock and equipment. The investor's return comes from distributions in Years 4 and 5 and from a buy-back or sale of the shares, with terms to be agreed in a shareholder agreement. Opening stock is $76,000, fixtures and bench equipment take $47,500, and the $31,700 of start-up costs is spent before the doors open. The remaining $194,800 is a reserve, and it is large on purpose: stock climbs to $141,854 by the end of Year 1, the shop buys parts before it sells them, new distributor accounts start on prepayment, and the first seven months lose money. The reserve is also what lets the weak-sales case below end every year with cash.
Operating figures behind the forecast
- New brand-name systems sell at an average of $740, about 340 in Year 1 at an 8% gross margin after returns and write-downs. They bring walk-in traffic more than profit, and brand authorizations may carry volume floors, so the line grows more slowly than the rest.
- Custom builds average $2,125 including a $300 build fee, 110 in Year 1 and 165 in Year 2, at a 14% gross margin after the warranty reserve. Each build takes about 3 technician hours, and the shop gives a one-year parts-and-labor warranty.
- Refurbished systems average $370, 600 in Year 1 and 800 in Year 2, with a 66% cost of goods that covers about $165 to acquire the unit, about $57 of parts, license and cleaning, and about $22 for returns and warranty. Gross margin is 34%. In Year 1 about 250 units come from trade-ins, 150 from buy-outs and 200 from liquidation lots and recyclers.
- Repairs, upgrades, setup and data transfer average $155, 1,300 jobs in Year 1. Cost of goods is parts and outside labor only, 30%, and technician time sits in payroll at about 0.75 hours a job.
- Care plans sell at $169 for twelve months, about 480 in Year 1, and are booked when sold and not spread over the term. Claim cost is 42% of the price.
- The web shop takes 900 orders at $175 in Year 1, and 35% of those orders sell through marketplaces at a 12% fee. Packing and postage net of shipping charged is $8.50 an order. Returns, restocking losses and shrinkage are counted in cost of goods at about 2.4% of hardware and web sales, stock write-downs at 0.8% of those costs and the warranty reserve at 3% of build and refurbished sales.
- Prices rise 3% a year from Year 2, and unit volumes grow as shown in the sales table. Year 1 uses month weights that favor back-to-school August and the November and December holidays, and a ramp of 55% to 100% over the first nine months as the shop builds its following.
- A technician is counted at about 1,500 productive hours a year. Work is about 2,165 hours in Year 1, 2,970 in Year 2, 3,600 in Year 3, 3,820 in Year 4 and 3,950 in Year 5. Two technicians and the home-office specialist cover 4,500 hours, so the plan hires no third technician and Year 5 is about 88% booked.
- On top of wages, payroll carries 27% for employer taxes, health cover, injury insurance and a retirement match (15% for part-timers). The wage figures in the staffing table are starting rates; 3% yearly raises show up as their own line beginning in Year 2.
- Rent is based on 2,600 square feet of light-industrial or flex space with a modest showroom, at about $20 a square foot a year, covering base rent and shared costs, with 3% increases. Utilities, insurance, software, bookkeeping, e-waste fees and bench consumables are separate lines.
- Stock is carried at 7% of annual cost of goods on top of the $76,000 opening buy, and suppliers are paid in about 15 days on average across prepaid and short-term accounts. Customers pay by card within about 4 days on average, which includes invoiced setup visits.
- Income tax uses the 21% federal corporate rate plus 4.55% for Utah, which is a working figure, and the Year 1 loss is carried forward. The owners draw $25,000 in Year 4 and $50,000 in Year 5, funded only from surplus cash.
Revenue by line
| Revenue stream | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New laptops, desktops and monitors (brand-name systems) | $251,600 | $327,746 | $368,981 | $404,309 | $433,096 |
| Custom-built gaming and workstation PCs | $233,750 | $361,144 | $450,883 | $487,629 | $526,175 |
| Refurbished systems and trade-in resale | $222,000 | $304,880 | $384,682 | $428,568 | $466,411 |
| Components, peripherals and accessories (storefront) | $151,800 | $198,996 | $224,486 | $243,787 | $261,456 |
| Repairs, upgrades, setup and data transfer | $201,500 | $271,405 | $320,657 | $338,745 | $348,908 |
| Web shop orders (refurbished, components, accessories) | $157,500 | $234,325 | $297,052 | $334,648 | $364,383 |
| Care plans and extended protection (one year, sold with systems and repairs) | $81,120 | $114,886 | $143,434 | $158,817 | $171,190 |
| Home-office and small-office setup visits | $42,500 | $70,040 | $103,703 | $120,746 | $133,936 |
| Total revenue | $1,341,770 | $1,883,422 | $2,293,878 | $2,517,249 | $2,705,555 |
| Growth on prior year | – | 40% | 22% | 10% | 7% |
Brand-name systems and custom builds make up 36% of Year 1 sales yet only 13% of gross profit. Refurbished stock, repairs and care plans bring in 38% of sales and 66% of gross profit, so technician hours go to them first. The web shop grows from $157,500 in Year 1 to $364,383 in Year 5.
The first twelve months, with the August and November lifts
| Month | New laptops, desktops and monitors (brand-name systems) | Custom-built gaming and workstation PCs | Refurbished systems and trade-in resale | Components, peripherals and accessories (storefront) | Repairs, upgrades, setup and data transfer | Web shop orders (refurbished, components, accessories) | Care plans and extended protection (one year, sold with systems and repairs) | Home-office and small-office setup visits | Total revenue | EBITDA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2027 | $11,840 | $10,625 | $10,730 | $7,268 | $9,610 | $8,050 | $3,887 | $1,700 | $63,710 | ($18,308) |
| Feb 2027 | $14,060 | $10,625 | $12,580 | $8,464 | $11,315 | $8,225 | $4,563 | $2,550 | $72,382 | ($15,717) |
| Mar 2027 | $17,020 | $12,750 | $14,800 | $10,212 | $13,485 | $9,275 | $5,408 | $2,550 | $85,500 | ($11,796) |
| Apr 2027 | $16,280 | $14,875 | $14,430 | $9,936 | $13,175 | $9,625 | $5,239 | $2,550 | $86,110 | ($11,614) |
| May 2027 | $17,020 | $14,875 | $14,800 | $10,166 | $13,485 | $10,500 | $5,408 | $2,550 | $88,804 | ($10,809) |
| Jun 2027 | $17,760 | $17,000 | $15,910 | $10,902 | $14,415 | $11,200 | $5,746 | $3,400 | $96,333 | ($8,559) |
| Jul 2027 | $20,720 | $17,000 | $18,130 | $12,328 | $16,430 | $12,775 | $6,591 | $3,400 | $107,374 | ($5,259) |
| Aug 2027 | $29,600 | $21,250 | $26,270 | $17,986 | $23,870 | $15,925 | $9,633 | $5,950 | $150,484 | $7,625 |
| Sep 2027 | $26,640 | $23,375 | $23,310 | $15,916 | $21,080 | $15,575 | $8,450 | $4,250 | $138,596 | $4,072 |
| Oct 2027 | $23,680 | $27,625 | $20,720 | $14,122 | $18,755 | $15,575 | $7,605 | $4,250 | $132,332 | $2,200 |
| Nov 2027 | $30,340 | $34,000 | $27,010 | $18,584 | $24,800 | $23,450 | $10,140 | $5,100 | $173,424 | $14,481 |
| Dec 2027 | $26,640 | $29,750 | $23,310 | $15,916 | $21,080 | $17,325 | $8,450 | $4,250 | $146,721 | $6,500 |
Revenue starts at $63,710 in January, climbs through spring, dips in early summer and jumps to $150,484 in August on back-to-school buying. November is the largest month at $173,424. Operating profit is negative from January to July and positive from August to December. The lowest month-end cash balance is Jul, at about $95,000, before the stock build that the monthly view does not show.
Who is on the floor and the bench, and from when
| Role | Annual wage | Starts | Year 1 end | Year 2 end | Year 3 end | Year 4 end | Year 5 end |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founder, buyer and store manager | $58,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Sales and customer-service lead | $42,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Build and repair technician | $52,000 | Month 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Weekend and evening sales associate (part time, about 22 hours a week) | $20,000 | Month 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Second build and repair technician | $50,000 | Month 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Web orders and refurbishing intake associate (part time, about 24 hours a week) | $21,000 | Month 15 | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Home-office and small-office specialist | $46,000 | Month 22 | – | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Floor and web orders sales associate (part time, about 24 hours a week) | $22,000 | Month 34 | – | – | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Total payroll incl. on-costs | $258,373 | $314,270 | $368,435 | $387,410 | $387,410 |
The store opens with the founder, a sales lead and one technician, plus a part-time associate for evenings and weekends. The second technician joins in month 5, as spring repair volume and builds fill the bench. A part-time web orders and refurbishing intake associate follows in month 15, a home-office specialist in month 22 and a part-time floor and web orders sales associate in month 34. Every addition lines up with hours or counter traffic the previous person could not absorb, and the floor role is part time because volume growth is held to what the bench can do. Nate's $58,000 salary starts in month one and is already in the costs, so profit here is what remains after he is paid.
Profit and loss
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,341,770 | $1,883,422 | $2,293,878 | $2,517,249 | $2,705,555 |
| Cost of goods sold (systems, parts, trade-in payouts, repair parts, plus returns, shrinkage, write-downs and warranty) | ($940,766) | ($1,320,539) | ($1,608,326) | ($1,764,940) | ($1,896,968) |
| Gross profit | $401,004 | $562,883 | $685,552 | $752,309 | $808,587 |
| Payroll incl. on-costs | ($258,373) | ($314,270) | ($368,435) | ($387,410) | ($387,410) |
| Rent | ($52,000) | ($53,600) | ($55,200) | ($56,900) | ($58,600) |
| Utilities | ($7,200) | ($7,500) | ($7,800) | ($8,100) | ($8,400) |
| Marketing | ($30,000) | ($33,000) | ($37,000) | ($39,000) | ($41,000) |
| Insurance | ($9,800) | ($10,400) | ($11,000) | ($11,600) | ($12,100) |
| Professional fees | ($6,500) | ($7,000) | ($7,500) | ($8,000) | ($8,500) |
| Software subscriptions | ($10,000) | ($11,000) | ($12,000) | ($13,000) | ($14,000) |
| Card and payment fees (2.4% of sales) | ($32,202) | ($45,202) | ($55,053) | ($60,414) | ($64,933) |
| Marketplace and platform fees (12% on the 35% of web orders sold through marketplaces) | ($6,615) | ($9,842) | ($12,476) | ($14,055) | ($15,304) |
| Packing and postage net of shipping charged ($8.50 an order) | ($7,650) | ($11,382) | ($14,428) | ($16,254) | ($17,699) |
| Bad debt on home-office and small-office invoices (1.5%) | ($638) | ($1,051) | ($1,556) | ($1,811) | ($2,009) |
| Sales commissions and build bonuses (0.5% of sales) | ($6,709) | ($9,417) | ($11,469) | ($12,586) | ($13,528) |
| E-waste hauling, data-wipe licenses and recycling fees | ($4,800) | ($5,600) | ($6,200) | ($6,600) | ($6,900) |
| Bench consumables, packaging and loaner parts | ($6,200) | ($7,000) | ($7,700) | ($8,200) | ($8,600) |
| Part-time bookkeeper | ($7,000) | ($7,300) | ($7,600) | ($7,900) | ($8,200) |
| Business personal property tax on fixtures and equipment (planning figure) | ($1,800) | ($1,900) | ($2,000) | ($2,100) | ($2,200) |
| Licenses and permits | ($700) | ($750) | ($800) | ($850) | ($900) |
| Bench tool and fixture replacement | $0 | ($3,500) | ($4,500) | ($8,000) | ($5,000) |
| Annual pay raises (3% a year) | $0 | ($9,428) | ($22,438) | ($35,923) | ($48,623) |
| EBITDA | ($47,184) | $13,741 | $40,397 | $53,606 | $84,681 |
| Depreciation | ($9,500) | ($9,500) | ($9,500) | ($9,500) | ($9,500) |
| Interest | ($5,250) | ($5,175) | ($4,535) | ($3,711) | ($2,797) |
| Income tax | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($956) | ($17,802) |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($61,934) | ($935) | $26,362 | $39,438 | $54,581 |
| Start-up costs expensed at opening (legal, licensing, pre-opening rent and training, launch marketing) | ($31,700) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($93,634) | ($935) | $26,362 | $39,438 | $54,581 |
Year 1 ends $61,934 down before start-up costs and $93,634 down after them. Gross margin holds at 29.9% in every year because the mix of lines does not change much. Year 2 loses $935, and Year 3 earns $26,362 with no income tax, the earlier losses still shielding it. Net margin is 1.1% in Year 3 and 2.0% in Year 5, so a one-point fall in blended gross margin in Year 3, about $23,000, would remove nearly all of that year's profit. Payroll including pay raises runs at 16% to 19% of revenue, and the 3% annual raises are the fastest-growing cost, from $9,428 in Year 2 to $48,623 in Year 5.
Cash through five years
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash from operations | ($202,030) | ($8,348) | $23,046 | $41,964 | $58,201 |
| Showroom build-out, bench equipment and point of sale | ($47,500) | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Funding received | $350,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Loan principal repaid | $0 | ($3,453) | ($7,471) | ($8,294) | ($9,209) |
| Owner distributions | $0 | $0 | $0 | ($25,000) | ($50,000) |
| Net change in cash | $100,470 | ($11,800) | $15,575 | $8,669 | ($1,007) |
| Closing cash | $100,470 | $88,670 | $104,245 | $112,914 | $111,907 |
Cash at each year end stays above $88,000 in the base case, which is deliberate: the weak-sales case below draws it down to $23,901. Operating cash is negative in Year 1 because the shop buys its opening stock and builds it toward $141,854 while it loses money. Distributions begin in Year 4, once cash can cover them. The loan balance falls from $50,000 to $21,573 by the end of Year 5.
Balance sheet: stock, payables and the loan
| At year end | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash | $100,470 | $88,670 | $104,245 | $112,914 | $111,907 |
| Accounts receivable | $14,704 | $20,640 | $25,138 | $27,586 | $29,650 |
| Stock on hand at cost (systems, parts, refurbishing pool) | $141,854 | $168,438 | $188,583 | $199,546 | $208,788 |
| Showroom build-out, bench equipment and point of sale (net) | $38,000 | $28,500 | $19,000 | $9,500 | $0 |
| Total assets | $295,028 | $306,248 | $336,966 | $349,546 | $350,344 |
| Owed to distributors and parts suppliers | $38,662 | $54,269 | $66,096 | $72,532 | $77,958 |
| Bank term loan | $50,000 | $46,547 | $39,076 | $30,782 | $21,573 |
| Paid-in capital | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Retained earnings | ($93,634) | ($94,568) | ($68,206) | ($53,768) | ($49,187) |
| Total liabilities and equity | $295,028 | $306,248 | $336,966 | $349,546 | $350,344 |
Stock turns, margin and the break-even line
| Measure | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EBITDA margin | -3.5% | 0.7% | 1.8% | 2.1% | 3.1% |
| Net margin (before start-up costs) | -4.6% | -0.0% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 2.0% |
| Payroll incl. pay raises as share of revenue | 19% | 17% | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| Revenue per full-time equivalent at year end | $298,171 | $313,904 | $352,904 | $387,269 | $416,239 |
| Average monthly revenue | $111,814 | $156,952 | $191,157 | $209,771 | $225,463 |
| Monthly revenue needed to cover operating costs | $124,971 | $153,120 | $179,892 | $194,823 | $201,851 |
| Debt service cover (EBITDA / interest + principal) | -9.0x | 1.6x | 3.4x | 4.5x | 7.1x |
Year 1 averages $111,814 of monthly revenue against $124,971 needed to cover operating costs, so it loses money. Year 2 averages $156,952 against $153,120 needed, a margin of about 2.5%, and that is where a lender would look hardest. Year 3 averages $191,157 against $179,892 needed. Stock turns 6.6 times in Year 1, 7.8 in Year 2 and 9.1 by Year 5. Debt service cover is negative in Year 1 and 1.6 times in Year 2, rising to 7.1 times by Year 5.
If sales fall short: 20% in Year 1, easing to 10%
| Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $1,073,416 | $1,600,909 | $2,064,490 | $2,265,524 | $2,435,000 |
| Net income before start-up costs | ($120,771) | ($29,856) | $11,415 | $11,996 | $23,280 |
| Net income after start-up costs | ($152,471) | ($29,856) | $11,415 | $11,996 | $23,280 |
| Closing cash | $65,211 | $24,932 | $23,901 | $30,825 | $49,105 |
This case has sales 20% under plan in Year 1, 15% under in Year 2 and 10% under in Years 3 to 5. The answer is to push every hire from month 13 back six months, the floor associate waits a further six months, the opening stock buy is cut by a fifth and the money kept as cash, marketing is cut by 20% for three years and 10% after, part-time hours are trimmed by a fifth, bench tool replacement is skipped for three years and no distributions are paid. The home-office specialist and the floor associate are still hired, only later, and Nate keeps his full salary. Variable costs shrink as sales do. Under that pressure the shop loses money in Years 1 and 2, earns $11,415 in Year 3, $11,996 in Year 4 and $23,280 in Year 5, always less than the base case, and still finishes each year with money in the account, never below $23,901. Equity ends Year 1 at $147,529. A bank would see little cushion in Years 2 and 3, and the owners would talk to the lender about covenants before then. A fall in margin as well as in sales is not modeled here and would need a larger reserve.
Sources
- National Institute of Standards and Technology, SP 800-88 Rev. 2, Guidelines for Media Sanitization, published September 2025: the guide the shop's wipe procedure is modeled on.
- Wages, rent, wholesale costs, gross margins by line, trade-in prices, warranty claim rates and the Utah corporate rate in the model are example figures. The accountant confirms current federal and Utah rates, taxable charges and any second-hand dealer reporting duties before opening.
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