4.8 out of 5 based on 183 reviews
A simple plan to increase profit
When Carlton Scott we need to investigate the waste cost, I didn’t have a clue what they meant. Saved me a small fortune!
Turned a busy business into a profitable one. Should have done this years ago.
You're working hard, the orders keep coming... but the numbers don't feel right.
It usually looks like this:
You’re not failing. You’re running a takeaway without a clear profit system.
Working towards the end goal, higher profits.
By the end of the 30 days, you’ll have:
This isn’t a course. It’s a proven system, implemented with you and built around your business numbers.
We only take on 10 clients per month to ensure hands-on implementation, not just advice.
Sound like you? Let’s get you Profit Clarity in the next 30 days.
This is a 30-day implementation plan designed to increase profit fast and build control in the business. You’re not paying for BS advice and gurus. You’re paying for profit clarity + implementation + a plan that’s proven.
Our proven Profit Clarity Framework to increase profit works in 3 simple steps. Diagnose > Fix > Grow
See increased profits in just 90 days
“From the first call, Steve at Carlton Scott understood our goals and delivered clear, practical support that made a real difference to our business."
From stuck to profitability. In 30 days
Most small business owners aren't failing, they're stuck. Stuck in the day-to-day, stuck in the same margins, stuck wondering why a busy business isn't paying them what it should.
No, and in a value-conscious town the instinct to do it is the most expensive habit going. Cut a £2.80 meal to £2.40 and you need a sixth more orders to stand still, in the biggest town in the Borders, where the customer base is deep enough to be somebody's habit. Price honestly, be consistently good and fast, turn a weekly customer into a twice-weekly one, and let Hawick's lower running costs do the competing.
Because a queue out the door and a profitable night are different things. A Friday of app orders at collection prices can earn less than a quiet Tuesday of collections, and portions that have crept up over a year take a slice off every box. The fix is arithmetic: cost every item after packaging, waste and platform fees, price each channel separately, and put the busy nights back to work.
By treating it as the event it is. Once a year the Common Riding brings the whole town and its sons and daughters past every counter in Hawick, and most shops meet it with the usual prep list, the usual staffing and two-year-old prices. A short menu of fast, high-margin lines, stock ordered for the crowd, a rota built for the peak hours and prices you don't apologise for turn the week into a month's profit.
A well-run UK takeaway typically keeps a net margin of 6% to 12%, on Nory's UK benchmarks. Which end of that range you sit at is decided inside the shop: portion costs, menu pricing, how much of the trade goes through delivery apps, and what goes in the bin at close. Two shops on the same street with the same queue can sit at opposite ends.
Use them for customers you would not otherwise reach, and price for them separately. The platforms charge around 30% commission on orders they deliver, or 13% to 14% where you deliver yourself, so an app order at collection prices can earn less than half the margin. Know what each channel earns per order and steer regulars, politely, towards the one that pays.
Weigh what goes in the bin for a fortnight, then change the prep list rather than the menu. Most takeaway waste is prepped food that never sold: rice, chips, sauces and salad made for a Friday that turned out like a Tuesday. Record leftovers by item each night, set prep to the day and the weather, and check portions against the costed recipe every week.
Around £16,900 a year for cooking alone on average, on Business Comparison's 2025 guide to takeaway electricity, about £9,600 for a sandwich shop and £21,800 for an Indian takeaway. The lever is the contract first, then the kit: never let a fixed deal roll onto out-of-contract rates, run the fryers and hot-holding to the trade rather than the clock, and read the meter weekly.
Between £500 and £3,500 a month plus VAT for one-to-one coaching, depending on the coach's experience, according to Alan Wick's May 2026 guide to UK coaching fees, and the bill runs for as long as the coaching does. The Profit Clarity Framework doesn't work that way: a fixed £1,495 + VAT for 30 days of work on your Hawick takeaway's real numbers, and nothing after that.
£1,495 + VAT, fixed. That covers the full 30-day diagnose-and-fix process on your Hawick takeaway: menu pricing, portion costs, platform fees, rotas and cash flow, with the changes implemented rather than left in a report, and leaves you with a more profitable takeaway. Most clients who commit to the framework and follow our recommendations see a full return on the fee within 90 days.
A few hours a week, mostly at the start. You stay on service; we work around it. The onboarding call takes about an hour, gathering your paperwork takes another, and after that most of the effort is ours. With a Hawick takeaway we look hard at takings by night and by channel, because in a town of regulars the frequency of the weekly customer usually tells most of the story.
They helped streamline our ordering process, reducing waste by 25%, and introduced a cost-effective local marketing strategy that boosted our weekend sales by 40%.
Staff rotas: we saved so much overspend on staffing costs, Carlton Scott knew exactly how to maximise this.