How to Use the Tool - Vendor Program Evaluator

Vendor Program Evaluator

This tool answers one question: Does this vendor's pre-book program fit your business?

You input your sales data, the vendor's program terms, and shipment schedule. The tool calculates your cash gaps, payment due dates, inventory impact, and margin risk—then tells you whether the program FITS your cash flow and growth plan, is RISKY, or DOESN'T FIT. Takes 10 minutes. No guessing.

1 Gather Your Data (2 minutes)

Pull your last 12 months of actual sales data from your POS:

  • Bike Sales $: Total revenue from bike sales each month
  • COGS $: Cost of goods sold on those bikes
  • Units Sold: Number of bikes sold

Enter this data for each month (January through December).

💡 Pro Tip

This is your total bike sales across all brands. You can run this tool multiple times—once per vendor—by extracting brand-specific data from your totals. The tool accepts copy/paste data from Excel for faster entry.

2 Enter Inventory & Turns Target (1 minute)

Bikes on hand: Estimated dollar value of bikes you currently have (at cost). This is optional but helps the calculation. If you don't know, leave it at $0.

Turns target: How many times per year do you want inventory to turn? (Pick 1–6 in 0.5 increments: 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, etc.)

  • Most retailers target 2–3x/year
  • If you want faster turnover, pick 4+
  • If you're comfortable with slower moves, pick 1.5–2

3 Enter Vendor Program Details (3 minutes)

Vendor name: Cannondale, Specialized, Trek, etc.

Vendor's promised margin %: (Optional) The margin % the vendor claims you'll achieve. This helps identify markdown risk.

Number of pre-book windows: How many times does this vendor ask you to pre-book? (Usually 1–2.)

For each pre-book window:

  • Pre-book due date (month and year)
  • Total pre-book amount ($)
  • Monthly shipment allocation:
    • Amount: $ for each month
    • Year: When it ships (defaults: July-Dec = 2026, Jan-June = 2027)
    • Payment Terms: Net 30, Net 60, Net 90, etc. — set individually for each shipment based on vendor/season
📌 Key Points
  • Shipment display: Months are shown in booking year order (July through June) for easier seasonal reference.
  • Payment terms: Each shipment can have different payment terms. The tool calculates when each payment is due based on the shipment month + payment terms you set.
  • Cash flow visibility: This shows exactly when cash leaves your account for each shipment.

4 Click "Evaluate Program"

The tool calculates everything and shows you:

  • Your cash gaps (how much LOC you need)
  • When each payment is due
  • Inventory turn impact
  • Margin Reality Check (vendor's promised margin vs. your actual 12-month margin)
  • Sustainability analysis (can you really afford this?)
  • Overall assessment: FITS / RISKY / DOESN'T FIT
Vendor Program Evaluator

Vendor Program Evaluator

Does this pre-book program fit your business? 10-minute assessment with full-year shipment planning.

1. Your Monthly Bike Sales (Last 12 Months)

Enter actual sales from your POS. This is your total bike sales across all brands.

Month Bike Sales $ COGS $ Units Sold

2. Inventory & Turns

3. Vendor Program Details