Free calculator · Industry funnels
Dealer network calculator: what does an active dealer cost?
Onboarding a dealer is not the same as having one. Follow a month of dealer enquiries through meetings, onboarding and the first reorder to dealers still active six months later, and see what each active dealer costs and how fast it pays back.
Stage definitions
Count every stage the same way each month, so the numbers mean the same thing to everyone.
- Dealer enquiry
- A shop or distributor asking to stock your range: ads, trade fairs, your sales team or a referral.
- MQL (marketing-qualified)
- The right area, shop and capacity to stock and pay, with no clash with an existing dealer.
- SQL (sales-qualified)
- A meeting or shop visit held, and they want terms.
- Onboarded
- Agreement signed and the opening stock bought.
- First reorder
- Orders again after the opening stock sells.
- Active at 6 months
- Still ordering every month six months later.
What would change it
The same numbers with one thing improved, worked out live.
Full breakdown
Every number this calculator works out.
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How this is calculated
- Ad dealer enquiries = ad spend ÷ cost per dealer enquiry, or (ad spend ÷ cost per click) × click to dealer enquiry rate. Dealer enquiries = ad dealer enquiries + dealer enquiries from other channels. Spend = ad spend + other channels.
- MQLs = dealer enquiries × % MQL. SQLs = MQLs × % met. Onboarded = SQLs × % onboarded. Reorders = onboarded × % who reorder. Active = reorders × % still active at 6 months.
- Cost per dealer enquiry = spend ÷ dealer enquiries. Cost per meeting or shop visit = spend ÷ SQLs. Onboarding costs = onboarded × onboarding cost per dealer. Cost of the intake = spend + onboarding costs.
- Cost per active dealer = cost of the intake ÷ active dealers: the dealers who drop out are paid for by the ones who stay.
- Gross profit per active dealer a month = what they buy a month × gross margin. Most you can pay per active dealer = that × 12. Payback = cost per active dealer ÷ gross profit per active dealer a month (0 when the cost is 0; never when a dealer earns no gross profit).
- Network sales a month = active dealers × what one buys a month. Gross profit a month = that × gross margin. Opening stock and orders from dealers who drop out are left out: a cautious view.
- Receivables = network sales a month ÷ 30 × credit days. Interest a year = receivables × interest rate.
- 12-month sales = network sales a month × 12. 12-month profit = 12-month sales × gross margin − cost of the intake.
Green, amber and red compare each result with the break-even your own numbers imply, never with an outside benchmark. Every starting number is an editable example, not an industry average.
Questions
About this calculator
An MQL is a dealer enquiry in the right area, with the right shop and capacity to stock and pay, and no clash with an existing dealer. An SQL is one where a meeting or shop visit has been held and they want terms.
Some dealers take the opening stock and never reorder. Their marketing and onboarding cost is real, so it is spread over the dealers still active at six months. That is the number that decides whether the network pays.
Cost per active dealer ÷ your gross profit from one active dealer a month. Opening stock and orders from dealers who drop out are left out, so the payback shown is a cautious one.
No. They are starting values only, so the page is not empty. Replace them with your own from your dealer register and sales records.
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