Managing your overhead costs can make or break your business. If your fixed costs are too high, you may struggle to make a profit, or find yourself scrambling to make payroll during a slow season. If your fixed costs are low, it’s much easier to ride out a downturn.
So what is overhead, and how do you reduce your overhead costs? Basically, overhead costs are the costs of running your business even if you don’t make any product. Your overhead includes rent, utilities, salaries, insurance, advertising, and any other costs that you have to pay before a single customer walks through your doors. Overhead does not include the cost of raw materials or ingredients that go into your product.
The first step to managing overhead is, of course, understanding what your current costs are. If you have a year’s worth of actual expenses to review, start there. Add up the total amount you spent on costs like rent, taxes and licensing fees, advertising, and equipment repair. If you own a building, vehicles, or equipment, include the amount of depreciation you’ve claimed as a business expense on your tax return. Don’t forget extras like cleaning supplies or printer paper that aren’t part of making your product.
If you’re starting a new business and you don’t have your own historical data to use, you can look at public company records to see what typical overhead expenses are in your industry. As you do more research about what your rent, insurance, and other expenses will be, you can refine your calculations.
Once you know your overhead, you can determine how reasonable those costs are. Most companies look at monthly overhead costs as a percentage of monthly sales, but you can also calculate what your overhead costs per week or even per hour are. The key is to see how your overhead relates to your revenue—basically, you want to see how much of what you’re earning is going to the basic costs of running your business.
Typical overhead ratios will vary significantly from industry to industry. For restaurants, for example, overhead should be about 35% of sales. In retail, typical overhead ratios are more like 20-25%, while professional services firms may have overhead costs as high as 50% of sales. Clover Insights can help you compare your overhead costs to other businesses in your area. For a new business, comparative data like this can help you see what to expect as you build your business, and can provide a reality check if you’re worried that you’re overpaying for a specific expense.
If your overhead ratio is high for your industry or your area, you’ll want to look for ways to reduce those fixed costs. Reducing overhead is particularly important in a downturn or a slow season when revenue is low, because these are the bills you have to pay even if you’re not making any money. Of course, you’ll be better off if you can cut costs before you really need to. Keeping your business lean will boost your profits and ensure you’re prepared for good times and bad.
Here are some tips for reducing common overhead costs:
If your revenue has dropped suddenly, or you’re experiencing an unexpected slow season, cutting your expenses will help in the long term, but you may also need short-term financing. Consider some fast-cash options like Rapid Deposit, which can get you cash in a day for a simple 1% fee, or Clover Capital, which can give you a cash advance on future credit card sales, so you’re not stuck with a loan you can’t repay.
Popular Topics
Sign up and learn more about Clover.
Recent Stories