# Set A Gross Margin Floor Before You Quote

Source: https://ivankamenken.com/gross-margin-floor · Last updated 25 October 2026

A gross margin floor is the minimum gross margin you will accept on new work, written down before you quote. Ivanka Menken uses it inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. You put the sale price, landed cost and gross margin on one page, set the floor, and calculate the minimum price that clears it. Then you test the next quote before it goes out, so a busy month does not quietly buy work below the margin you need.

## The quote is due before the margin is known

- You quote before you know your gross margin.
- A busy month still leaves no cash.
- Your newest work is priced from habit.

**AN EXAMPLE WEEK:** It is Thursday. A quote is due tomorrow. The sale price is in your head, the landed cost is in a supplier email, and the margin is not on the page.

### THE ONE-PAGE MARGIN SHEET

- Sale price
- Landed cost
- Gross margin
- Minimum price

## Price is a margin decision before it is a sales decision

The quote feels like a sales conversation. Ivanka treats it as a margin decision first: sale price, landed cost, gross margin and minimum price on one page.
When they are not on the page, a lower price feels like the fastest way to win the job. The margin is discovered later, in the bank balance.

> When the numbers are not on the page, the discount is doing the thinking.

**The cost of staying stuck:** Staying stuck means winning work at a price that leaves less than the margin the month needs. In the example, that is 70%.

## The tool: Gross Margin Floor

Gross Margin Floor puts sale price, landed cost and gross margin on one page, then turns the margin you need into a minimum price to test before the quote goes out.

It is a one-page sheet, not a formula you run once. It holds the sale price, landed cost, gross margin, minimum price and your floor, and is used on the next quote.

It replaces habit pricing: last year's number, the supplier's cost, or what the buyer will bear. Gross margin pricing starts with the floor, not the discount.

### What goes on the page

1. Sale price: what the buyer pays
2. Landed cost: purchase, freight, duty, packaging, delivery
3. Gross margin: what is left after landed cost, as a percentage
4. Minimum price: the price that clears your floor

It sits inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, alongside the five-number scorecard. Gross margin is one of the five numbers. There is no separate checkout.

## One product, four numbers, one floor

Ivanka puts one product or service on the page. She asks: What is the landed cost, not the quoted cost? What price did you quote last time? What gross margin does that leave? What margin do you need? They write sale price, landed cost, gross margin and minimum price on one page, then test the next quote.

### The questions

- What is the landed cost, not the quoted cost?
- What price did you quote last time?
- What gross margin does that leave?
- What margin do you need before the work is worth doing?

### THE FOUR-STEP LOOP

1. The one thing: The quote due this fortnight.
2. The numbers: Sale price, landed cost, gross margin, minimum price.
3. The story: Why the last price was set.
4. The commitment: Write the floor, test the next quote.

Before the next session, the founder brings one real quote and its numbers. The commitment is that quote tested against the floor.

## A floor you can use before the next quote

The change is not a promise about revenue. It is a change in what is on the page before a quote leaves the business.

**NOW**

- The price comes from last time or the buyer's reaction.
- Gross margin is discovered after the work is won.
- A busy month can still leave no cash.
- The newest work may be below the floor.

**BY MONTH 6**

- A written gross margin floor for new work.
- A quote tested against landed cost.
- A minimum price that clears the floor.
- A view of which work is below the floor.

The tool is used across the 6 months: 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard, and reviews at month 3 and month 6.

## The numbers are read with you, not at you

Ivanka Menken built Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring for founders of $500K to $3M businesses that are growing while cash tightens. She reads the numbers with you, asks the hard question, and holds you to the decision you write down.
The Gross Margin Floor is one of the tools inside that work. It does not replace your accountant, and it does not set your prices. It makes the margin visible before the next quote.

> Personable, but straight to the point. Every session is a combination of strategy, execution and mindset.
>
> Business owner

## Who fits, and who does not

### It fits

- You run a $500K to $3M business growing while cash is tight.
- You quote before the margin is on the page.
- You want a written floor for the next quote.

### It does not fit

- You want accounting or financial advice.
- You want a done-for-you fix or someone else to price.
- You are not willing to put landed cost and margin on one page.

### Investment

**AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, 6 months.** It is part of Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, a 6-month 1:1 programme at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST, not sold separately.

Included:

- 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions
- A monthly one-page scorecard
- Reviews at month 3 and month 6
- The floor sheet and the next-quote test

Three founding places in total, shared across all 1:1 mentoring, are available at AUD $1,000/month ex GST, in return for honest monthly feedback and a testimonial, which can be anonymous.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)

## Questions about Gross Margin Floor

### What is a gross margin floor?

A gross margin floor is the minimum gross margin you will accept on new work, written down before you quote. Inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, Ivanka Menken puts the sale price, landed cost, gross margin and minimum acceptable price on one page. The floor is yours. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How do I calculate landed cost?

Landed cost is what the product or service costs once it is in your hands: purchase price, freight, duty, packaging and anything else needed to deliver it. In Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, Ivanka Menken uses the landed cost, not the quoted cost, because freight and fees leak margin. You write it on the same page as the price. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### What if my current work is below the floor?

Then the floor becomes the decision: raise the price, change the scope, or stop. Inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, Ivanka Menken puts the current work against the floor and shows what the gap costs over a month. Sometimes you reprice the next quote instead. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST.

### How does this fit inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring?

The Gross Margin Floor is a tool inside Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, not a separate product. Ivanka Menken uses it across 12 fortnightly 60-minute sessions, a monthly scorecard and reviews at month 3 and month 6. Between sessions, short messages are answered within two working days. The programme runs 6 months at AUD $1,500 per month ex GST. There is no separate checkout.


## Put the floor on the page before the next quote

If the next quote is already written and the margin is still in your head, start with Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring. The 20-minute intro call is where you can see if it fits.

- [Join Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring, AUD $1,500/mo, 6 months](https://buy.stripe.com/eVq4gzdKgekN6pcbIcdQQ0t)
- [Book a 20-minute intro call](https://theartofservice.zohobookings.com.au/#/15606000001356030)
- [See the Cash-Tight Growth Mentoring programme](https://ivankamenken.com/cash-tight-growing-founder)
- [The Price-Cash-Confidence Chain](https://ivankamenken.com/price-cash-confidence-chain)
- [The Money-and-Clarity Scorecard](https://ivankamenken.com/money-and-clarity-scorecard)

- Every way to work with Ivanka: https://ivankamenken.com/work-with-ivanka