How Margn works
Margn turns your financial transaction data into benchmarked insights — showing you how your margins, cost mix, and unit-level profitability compare to other businesses in your industry.
Three steps to insights
Export your data
Pull a transaction-level export from your accounting system (QuickBooks, Xero, etc.) and format it to match your industry template.
Upload your CSV
Drop your file on the Upload page. Margn validates every row, maps categories to the standard taxonomy, and loads it in seconds.
Read your dashboard
See gross and net margins, cost mix, per-unit profitability, and how you stack up against the portfolio benchmark — all in one view.
CSV format
Every upload must be a .csv file with the following columns in any order:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| transaction_id | A unique identifier for each row (e.g. TXN001) |
| organization_id | Any numeric value — the system uses your account |
| operating_unit | The name of the project, site, contract, or store |
| transaction_date | Date in YYYY-MM-DD format (e.g. 2026-01-15) |
| category | Must match your industry template exactly (see below) |
| transaction_amount | Positive for revenue, negative for costs (e.g. -4500) |
| transaction_type | Either "revenue" or "cost" |
Amount rules
- Revenue rows must have a positive amount and
transaction_type = revenue - Cost rows must have a negative amount and
transaction_type = cost - Zero amounts are rejected
Industry templates
The category column must exactly match one of the values for your industry. Download a sample file to see a working example.
General Contractor
Operating unit = Project
Janitorial
Operating unit = Contract
Landscaping
Operating unit = Site
Restaurant
Operating unit = Location
Retail
Operating unit = Store
Transportation & Logistics
Operating unit = Route
Tips for clean data
Use one row per line item
Each transaction should be its own row. Do not summarize multiple invoices into a single row — the more granular, the better.
Be consistent with operating unit names
Use the exact same name each time you reference a project, site, or contract. "Main St." and "Main Street" will be treated as two different units.
Match category names exactly
Category matching is case-sensitive. Copy the category names from the sample file to avoid validation errors.
Include a date range, not just snapshots
Uploading a full period (e.g. one quarter) gives you the most meaningful benchmark comparisons.
Ready to get started?
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