Gross revenue

Gross revenue, also called gross sales, is the full amount a business earns from selling its products or services over a period, counted before any deductions. You add up every sale at its full price, without taking out the cost of goods, returns, discounts, or operating expenses. It sits at the very top of the income statement, which is why it is sometimes called the top line. Gross revenue measures sales volume and reach, not how much of that money the business actually keeps.

Lenders often use gross revenue as a first screen because it gives a quick sense of business size and whether you clear minimum thresholds for a given product. Many financing options list a yearly or monthly revenue floor, and your gross figure is what they check against it. That said, revenue alone never tells the whole story, since two businesses with identical sales can have very different profit and cash flow. An underwriter starts with gross revenue, then digs into margins, expenses, and bank deposits to see how much of that money is real and available to support a payment.