A general store sells a little of everything to a town that doesn't have much else: groceries and staples, milk and eggs, a deli counter, hardware and feed, beer and wine, and gifts for the people driving through. The plan turns on the mix. Groceries bring in the most dollars and keep the least of each one, the deli keeps the most, and a store that gets its mix right can make a living on modest sales. One number to plan early: whether the store can take SNAP. A store qualifies by stock, at least 7 varieties in each of four staple categories with 3 units of each and perishable foods in three of them, or by sales, more than half of all sales in staple foods. A general store with a deli, hardware and gifts won't pass on sales, so it qualifies on the shelf. In the example, a Wisconsin general store opens with $148,500, ends its first year about $6,100 ahead before the owner's pay, and makes about $3,100 a month at full speed. Below is each part of the plan, the first year month by month, the startup budget, and a free template with a SNAP stock check.
The short version
- Describe the store in a paragraph: the town, how far the next grocery is, who comes in, the goals.
- Plan sales by category per $100: groceries, fresh, deli, hardware, beer and wine, gifts.
- The deli keeps the most of each dollar; groceries keep the least but bring people in.
- SNAP: qualify by stock (7 varieties in each of 4 staple categories, 3 units each, perishable in 3) or by sales (over half in staples).
- A store with a deli, hardware and gifts qualifies by stock.
- Count varieties by USDA's rules: brown and white rice are one variety.
- TaroStack counts the shelf on a phone and shows what's running low before a gap opens. More below.
Part 1: the business description
Coon Valley General Store, a made-up general store in Coon Valley, Wisconsin, writes:
Coon Valley General Store is a 2,400-square-foot general store 20 miles from the nearest supermarket, with groceries and staples, milk, eggs, produce and meat, a deli counter with sandwiches and hot food, hardware, feed and farm basics, beer and wine, and gifts and local goods for visitors to the valley. In its first year it aims to reach $44,000 of sales a month.
Part 2: qualifying for SNAP
| Staple category | Varieties that count | Perishable varieties |
|---|---|---|
| Protein | 7 | 3 |
| Grains | 7 | 0 |
| Vegetables or fruits | 7 | 4 |
| Dairy | 7 | 1 |
The store's first count found 5 dairy varieties: fresh milk, block cheese, shredded cheese, yogurt and sour cream. It added shelf-stable milk and oat milk, which USDA counts as separate varieties, and keeps at least 3 of each on the shelf. Its two kinds of rice count as one. Perishable varieties count in three categories, so Criterion A is met. On sales, the store couldn't qualify: groceries and fresh foods are half of its sales at most, and snacks and soda inside the grocery aisle are accessory foods, which don't count as staples. The steps to apply sit alongside opening a store in how to open a small grocery store.
Part 3: the rules
To be authorized for SNAP, a store meets Criterion A, the stocking standard, or Criterion B, more than 50% of total gross retail sales in staple foods, counting every sale, food or not (7 CFR 278.1(b)(1)). Criterion A asks for 7 distinct varieties in each of the four staple categories, 3 stocking units of each, and a perishable variety in 3 categories, offered for sale every day; if a visit finds the shelf short, orders or receipts from the previous 21 days count. The categories are protein, grains, vegetables or fruits, and dairy, with plant-based foods counted in protein and dairy, and accessory foods such as snacks and desserts left out (7 CFR 271.2). The deli counter needs its retail food license, and beer and wine their state license. This is general information, not legal advice.
Part 4: what each category earns
| Category | Sales | Variable cost | Contribution | Margin | Hundreds a month at full speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Groceries and staples | $100.00 | $74.00 | $26.00 | 26.0% | 160 |
| Milk, eggs, produce and meat | $100.00 | $72.00 | $28.00 | 28.0% | 60 |
| Deli and hot food | $100.00 | $42.00 | $58.00 | 58.0% | 100 |
| Hardware, feed and farm basics | $100.00 | $65.00 | $35.00 | 35.0% | 50 |
| Beer and wine | $100.00 | $74.00 | $26.00 | 26.0% | 40 |
| Gifts and local goods | $100.00 | $55.00 | $45.00 | 45.0% | 30 |
Variable costs include card fees and spoilage. At full speed the store sells $44,000 a month and keeps $15,780, 35.9%; the deli brings $5,800 of it on less than a quarter of the sales. Groceries keep 26 cents of each dollar, but they're why people stop in for the sandwich. How a small store's shrink adds up is in grocery store shrink.
Part 5: the first year, month by month
Fixed costs are $12,700 every month: rent ($2,200), wages ($7,800), utilities and the coolers ($1,400), insurance ($400), the register and software ($200), ads ($200), and other costs ($500). Sales start at 60% of full speed:
| Month | Sales | Profit | Cash, year to date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $26,400 | −$3,232 | −$3,232 |
| 2 | $28,700 | −$2,403 | −$5,635 |
| 3 | $30,800 | −$1,654 | −$7,289 |
| 4 | $33,100 | −$825 | −$8,114 |
| 5 | $35,200 | −$76 | −$8,190 |
| 6 | $36,900 | $535 | −$7,655 |
| 7 | $38,700 | $1,174 | −$6,481 |
| 8 | $40,100 | $1,675 | −$4,806 |
| 9 | $41,300 | $2,113 | −$2,693 |
| 10 | $42,700 | $2,614 | −$79 |
| 11 | $44,000 | $3,080 | $3,001 |
| 12 | $44,000 | $3,080 | $6,081 |
The year's sales are $441,900 and the profit $6,081, before the owner's pay. The store breaks even at about $35,400 of sales a month, in the sixth month; the lowest cash point, −$8,190 in month 5, sits well inside the $25,000 of working cash. Summer visitors lift gifts and the deli, and winter leans on groceries and feed, so the plan's months are an average of both.
Part 6: the startup budget
| Item | Example |
|---|---|
| Opening inventory | $45,000 |
| Coolers and freezers | $22,000 |
| Build-out and signs | $20,000 |
| Deli equipment | $15,000 |
| Shelving | $12,000 |
| Lease deposit and first month | $5,000 |
| Register and scanner | $3,000 |
| Licenses and permits | $1,500 |
| Working cash | $25,000 |
| Total to start | $148,500 |
The $123,500 before working cash is earned back in a little over three years at full speed. A store that's mostly groceries is in small grocery store business plan.
Get the template
Download the general store business plan workbook. Five sheets: your categories, each per $100 of sales with its variable cost and hundreds a month at full speed; the first year, month by month, with sales ramping up, profit, cash, the first profitable month and the lowest cash point; your fixed costs; the startup budget; and a SNAP stock check, where you list each staple variety with its category, whether it's perishable and the units on the shelf, and the counts against Criterion A fill in. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The stock check is right the day it's filled in. By Thursday the oat milk has sold down to one carton, the sour cream to two, and a store visit that day finds the dairy shelf two varieties short.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack counts the shelf on a phone and shows what's running low before a gap opens.
Counts with no signal. The shelf, the walk-in and the feed room can be counted on a phone, by scanning or typing, with no signal.
Reorders. The reorder list shows each item's days of cover, so the oat milk is on the order before it runs out.
Receiving. Each delivery is received from its supplier with its date, which is the paper trail if a visit finds the shelf short.
| The job | Clipboard | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| What's on the shelf | A Monday count | A count on a phone, offline |
| What's about to run out | Noticed when it's gone | Days of cover on the reorder list |
| Proof of what was ordered | Invoices in a drawer | Deliveries received, with dates |
Counts, receiving and the reorder list are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.