Shop             Regular Dresses Sale Dresses & Accessories Total         Average gross profit percentage = 38.2% ($152,600 divided by $400,000 equals 38.2%)             NoteThe prices in the Sales Dresses & Accessories column illustrate gross profit calculations; they do not represent the selling price of sale items.     The calculations are similar for different type businesses. Service businesses will have higher gross profit margins than retailers; most revenue is gross profit because little merchandise is sold. Wholesale businesses will be similar to the retail example. Manufacturing businesses will be similar in appearance even though the cost of goods will include materials from a variety of sources and any labor that is paid per piece.     Project developers have only variable costs in each project. There are usually no fixed costs since the developers business ends with the sale of the project. However, if a project developer works on several projects at the same time, he may have some fixed costs that continue after any particular project is sold. For a project developer, the gross profit is the difference between the projects selling price and all the project costs.     a. Forecast Gross Profit for a Start-Up Business     For a new business, calculate the average gross profit for your business by following these steps:     1.For each product or service that you sell, list every individual item that goes into that product, including piece-rate labor and commissions. For example, Antoinette buys dresses from outside suppliers and resells them. The cost of the dress is the major component of the total product cost. She may add the cost of the pre-printed bag to derive the total cost of the sale.     2.Once you have a complete list of all the cost components for your products or services, add up the cost of each item.     3.Write the selling price of the item below the total cost of the item.     4.Subtract the total cost from the selling price to derive the gross profit from each sale of that item.     5.Divide the selling price into the gross profit to derive the gross profit percentage for each