How to Review Your Small Business Sales from 2025 to Plan a Stronger 2026

Be honest, do you actually regularly review your small business?

I get it. Looking back at what happened isn’t nearly as exciting as planning all the fun, shiny things for the future. You might also not even be sure how to do it or what to look for.

But reviewing what worked (and what didn’t) is one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your small business. It helps you understand what’s really driving your sales and where your profit’s coming from, so you can make smart decisions instead of running around like a headless chicken trying to run your small business.

I’m Katie, and I’ve spent almost 20 years working in retail as a Stock and Profit Specialist. Regularly reviewing the data was the key to improving sales and profit in every business with I’ve worked, big and small, and the same principle applies to yours.

Ideally, you should review your business every quarter to stay focused, but if that feels too much, once a year is absolutely fine. The important thing is to start.

So, if you want to head into 2026 feeling confident and clear about what to do next, here’s exactly how to review your 2025 and turn it into a plan that’ll help your small business grow. Grab a cup of tea, a notebook (or open a presentation or Google Doc if that’s more your thing) to get started.

Analyse Your 2025 Small Business Results to See What Actually Happened

Start with the facts.

How many sales did you actually make this year? How much profit did you keep? And how did your key metrics perform?

(If you’re not sure what these mean for your business or where to find them in Shopify, check out my Metrics Blog for a detailed breakdown.)

Here are the key numbers to look at:

• Revenue (Your Sales) → The total money coming in.
• Profit (What You Keep) → What’s left after costs.
• Conversion Rate (Visitors → Customers) → The percentage of visitors who buy.
• Average Order Value (AOV) → The average spend per order.
• Rate of Sale (ROS) → How fast your products sell.
• Stock Holding → How much stock you expect to end the year with, and how long that stock will last you in the new year.

If you’ve been running your business for more than a year, compare these figures to your previous year to spot trends.

📊 To calculate your variance:
(This Year – Last Year) ÷ Last Year × 100 = % Change

You can do this for your total sales and profit or break it down by month, category, or sales channel to see exactly where growth (or declines) came from.

Once you’ve got the numbers, add some context:

• Where did your traffic come from?
• How many emails did you send?
• How often did you post on socials?
• What were your open or click rates like?
• Did you launch a new website or collection?
• Collaborate with another small business?
• Change your prices, add free shipping, or test new offers?

Write out everything that happened, both big milestones and behind-the-scenes changes.

💡 Tip: So you’re not trying to remember everything at the end of the year, make this a habit. Write down what happened each month, so you're not trying to remember it all in December.

You could even start a simple Monthly Tracker to record your sales, metrics, and key wins each month, your future self will thank you for it.

Identify What Worked in Your Small Business

Now it’s time to celebrate the good stuff.

Take a look back over the year and pull out the positives like the wins, big or small, that made a difference.

Start by asking yourself:

• Did your overall sales or profit grow compared to last year?
• Were there certain months, categories, or products that performed really well?
• Did any particular emails, reels, or posts drive a lot of lovely traffic to your site?
• Did you go viral or gain new followers from a collaboration or campaign?
• Did you make any changes that had a clear positive impact, like tweaking your pricing, improving your website, or introducing a new product range?
• Did you plan your stock well and keep your bestsellers available (without overbuying)?

Wins don’t have to be huge. Sometimes the best progress happens behind the scenes.

Maybe you finally took on a VA to help you stay organised, outsourced your photography, or found a better way to manage your time so you could work fewer hours and earn more money.

Take a moment to note all the things that went well, these are the clues to what’s working for your business and where you should focus more of your energy in 2026.

Understand What Didn’t Work

Now let’s look at the other side, the things that didn’t quite go to plan.

Be honest with yourself here (without being harsh). Every business has ups and downs, and spotting what didn’t work is just as valuable as celebrating what did.

Ask yourself:

• Did any products flop or underperform?
• Did your sales, profit, or conversion rate drop compared to last year?
• Were there months where sales were lower than expected?
• Did you keep selling out of key lines or, on the flip side, end up with too much stock?
• Did any of your processes stop working as well as they used to?
• Did you find yourself stretched too thin, working too many hours, or feeling burnt out?

Try to identify patterns rather than just one-off issues. For example:

• Maybe your slower sales months coincided with less marketing activity.
• Or your stock problems came from ordering too late or not analysing your bestsellers regularly.

This isn’t about criticising yourself,  it’s about gathering the clues you need to make smarter decisions next year. Think of it as part of running your business with intention as well as instinct.

Reflect on Lessons Learned

Every success and every setback teaches you something and this step is all about pulling those lessons out so you can make better, more confident decisions next year.

Think about what the past year revealed about your customers, your products, and your ways of working.

Ask yourself:

• What did you learn about your customers - what they love, what they don’t, and how they shop?
• Did you notice certain buying patterns (for example, strong months, slower periods, or seasonal spikes)?
• Which emails or social posts performed best - and which ones didn’t land as well?
• Did the time or frequency of posting affect engagement or sales?
• Did outsourcing, hiring help, or using new tools make a difference to how effectively you worked?

The goal here isn’t to dwell on mistakes, it’s to understand what they taught you. These insights will shape how you plan, market, and manage your business in 2026.

Sometimes the biggest lessons aren’t from numbers, but from how you felt running your business. Maybe you realised you work best when you plan ahead, need more time off mid-year, or do your best creative thinking when you’re not overwhelmed.

Whatever your takeaways, write them down, these are the building blocks for your next chapter of growth.

Find Opportunities to Grow Sales and Profit

Now that you’ve reflected on what happened, it’s time to spot the opportunities, the areas where you could grow, improve your metrics, and make more money next year.

Opportunities don’t always mean doing more. Often, they come from doing things better or smarter.

Ask yourself:

• What can you do to improve your key metrics like your conversion rate, average order value, or profit margin?
• Were customers asking for products you didn’t have this year? Is there a gap in your range worth testing?
• Could you improve cash flow by reducing your product range, streamlining variations, or ordering in smaller, more frequent batches?
• Is there untapped potential in your SEO? Could you blog more consistently, optimise product pages, or build backlinks through PR or collaborations?
• Are your emails bringing in great revenue, but you’re only sending one a month? Could you increase frequency or test new types of campaigns?
• Could outsourcing or automating certain tasks free up your time to focus on the areas that actually drive growth, like product development, marketing, or customer relationships?

These are the opportunities that can make a real difference as small, strategic tweaks can add up to a stronger, more profitable year.

💡 Tip: Don’t feel like you have to chase every opportunity at once. Pick one or two that’ll have the biggest impact, and focus your energy there first.

Identify Challenges That Could Hold Your Business Back

What might get in the way of you achieving your goals next year?

Challenges aren’t there to discourage you; they just help you plan smarter. When you know what could trip you up, you can find ways to work around it before it becomes a problem.

Ask yourself:

• Do you struggle with time and are you juggling too many roles, orders, or admin tasks?
• Is money tight, making it harder to invest in stock, marketing, or help?
• Are there any gaps in your skill set that hold you back (like SEO, photography, or email marketing)?
• Have you had supplier challenges like late deliveries, quality issues, or rising costs?
• Has a new competitor entered your space, or have customer habits shifted?
• Are external factors like shipping costs, material prices, or duties (for example, US or EU regulations) affecting your margins?

Once you’ve listed your challenges, look at what’s within your control and what’s not. For the things you can influence, make an action plan. For those you can’t, think about how you’ll adapt, whether that’s finding new suppliers, diversifying your products, or adjusting prices.

💡 Tip: Writing your challenges down doesn’t mean you’re admitting defeat, it means you’re being strategic. It's better than burying your head in the sand! Awareness is the first step to protecting your profit and planning realistically for 2026.

Create Your 2026 Small Business Action Plan

Now that you’ve got a clear picture of how your year went, it’s time to look ahead and turn everything you’ve learned into a plan for 2026.

Start by setting three to five measurable goals, things you can actually track and review. Then, break each one down into the steps that’ll help you get there.

Try to avoid broad goals like “I want to make £10k more.” Instead, get specific and think about how you’ll make that happen, and how you’ll overcome any challenges you’ve identified along the way.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, focus on the few goals that will have the biggest impact on your profit and workload.

For example, when it comes to growing traffic and sales, prioritise warmer sources, like Google and your email list, rather than posting more on social media. These channels usually convert better and are more sustainable long-term.

Here are a couple of examples of how to break your goals down:

Goal 1: Reach £100k in sales
To achieve that, you might:

• Increase your website traffic by improving SEO and growing your domain rating to 20.
• Send more emails to nurture your existing audience.
• Improve your conversion rate to 2% by refining product pages, descriptions, and images.
• Get featured in publications or directories (through platforms like Press Loft) to boost visibility and backlinks.

Goal 2: Make £30k profit so you can pay yourself more
To reach that, you might:

• Reduce stock levels or streamline your range to free up cash.
• Review your overheads and subscriptions to cut unnecessary costs.
• Revisit your pricing to make sure you’re maintaining healthy margins.
• Remember: goals don’t have to be massive to make an impact. The best plans are realistic, actionable, and aligned with what success actually means for you.

Once you’ve set your goals, write them down somewhere visible, then revisit them regularly throughout the year to check your progress and stay accountable.

Turn Your 2025 Review into a 2026 Growth Plan

Reviewing your year might not sound like the most exciting job on your to-do list, but it’s one of the most valuable things you can do for your business.

Taking time to look back at what worked, what didn’t, and what you’ve learned gives you the clarity and confidence to move forward with purpose,  instead of guessing or winging it.

By setting a few clear, measurable goals and focusing your energy on the areas that really move the needle, you’ll go into 2026 feeling organised, strategic, and ready to grow.

If you’d like a peek behind the scenes at how I approach this myself, you can read the follow-up blog: 2025 My Year in Review in My Service and Product Business

And if you need some help with your review, I'd love to support you. I offer a Sales Review Service where I dig into your sales & stock data data even deeper, highlight the opportunities, and help you create a simple action plan with 3–5 realistic, measurable goals for the year ahead.

Sometimes, you just need a fresh pair of eyes, someone outside your business who can spot patterns, simplify the data, and help you see things clearly again.

So if you want to start 2026 with focus and confidence, not overwhelm, get in touch, and let’s turn your numbers into a clear plan that works for you and your business.