Luke

I would like to find someone from another area of the country - or world - for that matter that would want to trade information on overhead costs. A general benchmark for accounting costs, advertising, equipment repair, etc. I've searched and found various publications with some good information and I've discussed this at length with my accountant and other friendly competitors but I would like to have a little more back and forth with a similar business in order to really get into the numbers a little deeper. We are a general contractor specializing in high-end, custom residential additions and renovations. Small to mid-size firm with four field personnel, one office manager and myself. Eastern Pennsylvania area.

send_it_all

Have you read "markup and profit" by Michael Stone?....it lays out alot of these fees in dollars and in percentage of total overhead....it's a pretty informative book.

Luke

Yes, I have read that book and it is indeed a good one. I've read quite a few other books and magazine articles with all different formulas and "typical" costs but I'm looking for someone that owns a similar size and type of company in order to discuss actual numbers and real situations. I've thought about joining a few of the NAHB groups that have these types of roundtable groups but I just haven't made the commitment to date.

Giovanni

Luke, Remodeling Magazine has a series of 'Benchmarks' both financial and operational that will put you in the top 10 or 20% of remodelers if you achieve them. We use those as our goals and short of joining a NAHB group or hiring a business consultant are the best way to grow a profitable business