How to Use the Cost of Doing Business Report to Benchmark and Grow Your Restoration Business

By:
RIA Staff
on Wed, 06/04/2025

 

The restoration industry is fast-moving, competitive, and complex—and success often hinges on knowing not just how well you’re doing, but how you compare to your peers. That’s where the Cost of Doing Business (CODB) Report, powered by the Restoration Industry Association (RIA) and KnowHow, comes in.

This one-of-a-kind report provides restoration contractors with real, anonymized financial and operational data gathered from companies across the U.S. and Canada. It’s more than a report—it’s a powerful benchmarking tool designed to help you measure performance, uncover areas for improvement, and make smarter decisions.

Here’s how to use it to your advantage:

1. Compare Your Key Financial Metrics Against Industry Averages

The CODB Report outlines critical financial indicators like:

  • Gross profit and net profit margins
     
  • Labor and equipment cost percentages
     
  • Overhead allocation
     
  • Revenue by company size and number of locations

By comparing your own numbers to the industry benchmarks, you’ll gain insight into where your business is thriving—and where it may be underperforming. For example, if your labor costs are significantly higher than the reported average, it could signal an opportunity to re-evaluate staffing models, scheduling, or production efficiency.

2. Set Smarter, More Strategic Goals

Benchmarks provide a data-backed foundation for setting realistic goals. Whether you’re aiming to grow your revenue, increase profitability, or reduce overhead, the CODB Report helps ensure those goals are grounded in industry norms, not guesswork.

Use the data to:

  • Identify achievable margin targets
     
  • Improve cost recovery and job costing practices
     
  • Gain insights for achieving operational efficiencies

3. Tailor Training and Team Development

The CODB findings don’t just apply to owners and CFOs—they’re valuable for team development too. Understanding how your business compares can inform:

  • Role-specific training (e.g., production efficiency, estimating accuracy)
     
  • Hiring strategies for scalability
     
  • Internal KPIs for team performance

It also opens the door to staff conversations about business literacy and shared responsibility for profitability.

4. Justify Business Decisions to Stakeholders

Whether you’re applying for financing, negotiating vendor terms, or communicating with franchise leadership, the CODB Report gives you industry-backed data to support your case. It adds credibility to your decisions and demonstrates that your goals and strategies align with broader trends and realities.

5. Support Advocacy That Protects Your Business

RIA uses the aggregated, anonymized data from the survey to advocate for prompt payment, and pricing software data that matches market realities and fair and reasonable requirements for restorers. By participating and using the report, you’re not only strengthening your business—you’re contributing to a stronger, more unified voice in industry negotiations and policy conversations.

Data Is Power—When You Use It

The CODB Report is more than a download. It’s a business planning tool, a leadership asset, and a confidence builder. Whether you’re a small local firm or a multi-location operation, benchmarking against real industry data can help you navigate uncertainty, sharpen your strategy, and grow with purpose.

Ready to benchmark your business?
Access the CODB Report and take the 2025 survey at www.costofrestoration.com