Benchmarks — What good looks like, by industry and by stage.

Margins, overhead ratios, LTV/CAC, utilization rates. The numbers that tell you whether you're shooting at the right target, or at an imaginary one.

This week's pick: How to Know If Your Margins Are Actually Healthy

The five industry reference tables, the adjustments to make before you compare, and the thing that matters more than the margin itself — its direction.

All Benchmarks guides

How to Benchmark Your Operating Expense Ratio (INTERMEDIATE · 7 MIN). The four categories that matter, the industry reference points, and the one that usually hides the problem.
How to Calculate LTV and CAC for a Services Business (ADVANCED · 9 MIN). The retention curve, the acquisition stack, and the 3:1 ratio that actually means healthy.
How to Measure Utilization Without Killing Morale (INTERMEDIATE · 6 MIN). The 65-75% target for billable roles, the definition that matters, and what to look at BEFORE utilization.
How to Compare Yourself to a Public Competitor's Filings (ADVANCED · 10 MIN). Reading a 10-K for operational cues, the ratios that map down to your size, and the ones that don't.
How to Know If Your Overhead Is Too High (BEGINNER · 5 MIN). The rent-plus-payroll-plus-software rule of thumb, by industry, and when the number is actually a feature.
How to Set Internal Benchmarks When Public Data Is Thin (INTERMEDIATE · 7 MIN). The 3-year internal trend method, the adjacent-industry stand-in, and the hypothesis-and-test loop.
How to Interpret Industry Reports (Skeptically) (INTERMEDIATE · 6 MIN). Who publishes them, what they don't publish, and the two adjustments that make them usable.
How to Know When a Good Number Hides a Bad Trend (ADVANCED · 8 MIN). The trailing-vs-leading indicator trap, and the ratio pairs that catch it before the quarter ends.

Related subcategories

Operations — 156 guides
Growth — 188 guides
Systems — 118 guides