What are gross sales?

Point of Sale (POS) Glossary

Gross sales are the total revenue a company makes from selling items during a period. Gross sales are calculated by taking total sales and subtracting the cost of the goods. An item that costs $3 and sells for $10 would have a $7 gross profit.

Totaling gross sales is an essential first step to determining a company’s profit. After calculating gross sales, net sales (gross sales minus returns, allowances, and discounts) and operating expenses must be subtracted to determine a company’s total profit. It is critical to remember that gross sales showing profit are not the complete profit-picture.

A point of sale system can keep track of gross sales and generate POS reports showing revenue. A POS system makes it much easier to keep track of business data for determining gross sales and more.