1. What is Percentage Increase?

Percentage increase measures how much a quantity has grown relative to its original value, expressed as a percentage. It's commonly used in business to analyze sales growth, revenue changes, and performance metrics.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the percentage increase formula:

Where:

• New Sales — The current or most recent sales figure
• Old Sales — The previous or baseline sales figure

Explanation: The formula calculates the difference between new and old sales, divides by the original sales to get a ratio, then converts to a percentage by multiplying by 100.

3. Importance of Percentage Increase Calculation

Details: Calculating percentage increase helps businesses track growth, set targets, compare performance across periods, and make informed decisions about resource allocation and strategy.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter both new and old sales figures in dollars. The old sales value must be greater than zero for the calculation to work. Results are rounded to two decimal places.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What does a negative percentage mean?
A: A negative result indicates a percentage decrease rather than an increase, meaning sales have declined compared to the previous period.

Q2: How is this different from percentage points?
A: Percentage increase is relative to the original value, while percentage points measure absolute difference between two percentages.

Q3: What's considered a good percentage increase?
A: This varies by industry and business size. Compare against industry benchmarks or your historical performance.

Q4: Can I use this for non-sales calculations?
A: Yes, the same formula works for any metric where you want to measure growth (website traffic, production output, etc.).

Q5: Why does the calculator require old sales > 0?
A: Division by zero is undefined mathematically. If old sales were zero, any new sales would represent infinite percentage growth.