StretchLearn Course

Take Your Profit Off the Top. Pay Yourself First. Finally.

Install the complete Profit First system: five accounts, target allocation percentages, the 10th-and-25th rhythm, and quarterly distributions, with real banks, tools, and worked numbers.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hrSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Most small businesses run on the formula Sales minus Expenses equals Profit, which leaves profit as a leftover that never arrives. Profit First flips it to Sales minus Profit equals Expenses by taking profit and owner's pay off the top into separate accounts before a dollar is spent. This course installs the full system: the five foundational accounts, current and target allocation percentages, the Instant Assessment, the twice-monthly cash rhythm, quarterly profit distributions, and the debt-destroyer routine. Worked examples use real banks (Relay, Mercury, Found, Bluevine), real bookkeeping tools (QuickBooks, Xero, Wave), and real numbers so you can run the math on your own revenue today.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Apply the Profit First formula of Sales minus Profit equals Expenses to your own business

Open and structure the five foundational bank accounts the system requires

Run the Instant Assessment to find your current and target allocation percentages

Execute the twice-monthly 10th-and-25th allocation and bill-paying rhythm

Take quarterly profit distributions and use them to destroy debt on a schedule

Diagnose and fix the cash leaks that keep an owner from ever paying themselves

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Why Profit Has To Come First

Before opening a single account, you need to understand why the standard accounting formula starves owners and how a behavioral flip fixes it. This module covers the core Profit First logic, the human psychology it exploits on purpose, and an honest look at your real numbers today.

3 lessons

The Formula That Starves You: Sales Minus Expenses Equals ProfitContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

The Psychology of Bank Accounts and the Plate MethodContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Your Real Numbers: The Instant AssessmentContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Setting Up the Accounts and Percentages

This is the mechanical heart of the system: opening the five foundational accounts at the right banks, reading the Target Allocation Percentage tables, and converting them into your own personalized plan without crippling the business.

3 lessons

The Five Foundational Accounts and Where To Open ThemContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Reading the Target Allocation Percentage TablesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Building Your Personal Allocation Plan Without Breaking the BusinessContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Running the Rhythm Day to Day

A system only works if you operate it. This module installs the operating cadence: the twice-monthly 10th-and-25th allocation rhythm, the discipline of paying bills only from Opex, and the quarterly profit distribution that finally pays you for owning the business.

3 lessons

The 10th and 25th RhythmContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Paying Bills, Payroll, and Yourself From the Right AccountsContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Quarterly Profit Distributions That Actually Reach YouContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Profitability, Debt, and Staying Solvent

Once the rhythm is running, you use it to attack debt, plug the leaks that keep owners broke, and assess the health of the business with simple ratios so you stay profitable and solvent for the long haul.

3 lessons

The Debt Destroyer RoutineContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Plugging the Profit LeaksContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Measuring Health: Solvency Ratios and the Quarterly ReviewContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

profit firstcash flow managementsmall business profitabilityowner's paybank account allocationtarget allocation percentagestax reservebehavioral finance