Is Your Water Restoration Business Performing Above or Below Industry Benchmarks?
You’ve got jobs rolling in, crews in the field, and money coming through the door. But here’s the real question: Is your business actually performing well—or just staying busy?
Without comparing your numbers to real restoration industry benchmarks, it’s almost impossible to know. You might be leaving profit on the table—or burning cash and not even realizing it.
Why Industry Benchmarks Matter
Benchmarks take the guesswork out of performance. They give you a clear line in the sand:
Are you ahead of the pack, or falling behind?
Most business owners rely on gut feel—“I think things are going okay.” But benchmarks let you back that up with data.
Key Benchmarks Restoration Companies Should Watch
Here are the most important performance metrics we track at Kiwi Cash Flow—and the benchmark ranges we see across the industry:
🔸 Labor % of Revenue
Benchmark: 20–30%
If you're higher, you may be overstaffed or undercharging. If you're lower, you may not have enough capacity to grow.
🔸 COGS (Labor, Subs + Materials) %
Benchmark: 30–40%
Rising costs here could signal problems with estimating, vendor pricing, or job scope control.
🔸 Overhead %
Benchmark: Under 40%
Overhead that creeps up over time eats directly into profit. Good books break this into clear categories like rent, admin wages, vehicles, and insurance.
🔸 Net Profit Margin
Benchmark: 20%+
A solid profit margin means you're pricing correctly and controlling expenses. Below 10%? You’re probably working too hard for too little return.
🔸 Average Job Size
Benchmark: Varies, but larger average jobs typically reflect strong referral networks or commercial work. The key is to track changes over time.
What If You’re Below Benchmark?
That’s not bad news—it’s a roadmap. Falling below benchmark in one or more areas simply tells you where to focus:
High labor %? Time to review schedules, productivity, and pricing.
Low net profit? Look at overhead categories and job margins.
Small job size? Consider marketing channels and lead quality.
When you track performance against benchmarks, you stop reacting and start managing strategically.
Join the Restoration Benchmarking Project
We run a monthly project where restoration contractors submit a few key numbers. We calculate the KPIs, compare them to national benchmarks, and send back a custom report.
✔ It’s anonymous
✔ It’s free
✔ It’s fast (takes less than 5 minutes to participate)
Stop guessing. Know how you stack up.
If you want to grow profits and run a tighter ship, benchmarking is where it starts.