Growth is the one number every owner quotes and few compute the same way. Month-on-month, year-on-year, quarter-over-quarter, annualised, per store, per channel — each answers a different question, and mixing them makes a bad month look like a trend or a Diwali spike look like a breakthrough. This calculator computes revenue growth rate between any two periods, annualises it, handles seasonality by comparing the same period last year, and produces a clean growth table you can drop into a loan proposal or a partner update.
The formulas
- Period growth = (Current − Previous) ÷ Previous × 100. ₹9.2 lakh this month vs ₹8 lakh last month → +15%.
- Year-on-year (YoY) compares with the same month last year, removing seasonality: ₹9.2 lakh vs ₹7.5 lakh last September → +22.7%.
- Annualised monthly growth = (1 + m)¹² − 1; 3% a month is 42.6% a year, not 36%.
- Multi-year growth is best expressed as CAGR — see the CAGR calculator.
Always compare revenue excluding GST; a slab change (like the September 2025 rationalisation) alters inclusive figures without any change in your sales.
How to use the calculator
- Enter the current and previous period revenue (or paste up to 24 periods).
- Choose the comparison: previous period, same period last year, or a base period.
- Read the growth rate, the absolute change, and the annualised rate.
- In table mode, see MoM and YoY side by side for each period and export CSV.
- Split by product line, channel or store to find what is actually growing.
Reading growth honestly
- Seasonality: October is not comparable to September in retail; use YoY for festive months.
- Price vs volume: a 10% price rise with flat units is 10% growth with no new customers; track units too.
- One-offs: a single ₹5 lakh corporate order distorts a ₹20 lakh month; note it.
- Channel shifts: growth on Amazon that cannibalises counter sales is not growth; the seller pricing workflow shows what each channel keeps.
- Base effects: recovering from a bad month produces a large percentage that says little.
Growth and the rest of the business
- Profit: revenue up 20% with net margin down from 12% to 8% means profit fell. Track the net profit margin alongside.
- Cash: growth consumes working capital — more stock, more receivables. Watch inventory turnover and collection days, and the 45-day rule if you are the supplier (Section 43B(h)).
- Capacity: 25% growth on 90% capacity utilization means capex or missed orders.
- Compliance thresholds: crossing ₹20 lakh triggers GST registration, ₹5 crore triggers e-invoicing and 6-digit HSN, ₹1 crore (business) or ₹50 lakh (profession) triggers tax audit and TDS obligations; see E-invoicing in 2026.
- Loans: banks look for 2–3 years of consistent growth; a clean YoY table strengthens the file.
Presenting growth
For a partner deck or bank proposal: show revenue for the last 8–12 quarters, YoY growth per quarter, and a short note on drivers (new SKUs, new channel, price). Add the profit line and the budget variance against plan so the story is credible.
Related tools
- CAGR calculator — multi-year annualised growth.
- Net profit margin — is growth profitable?
- Forecast accuracy — how good were your growth projections?
- Budget variance — actual vs planned revenue.
- Percentage calculator — quick change math.