The Margin first-visit reveal

The first real thing most new operators see

Margin is switched on from day one, so its first-visit intro is usually the first onboarding screen a new operator meets, and its start step is the platform's opening argument: instead of asking you to upload anything, it asks one question, "Where does your margin stand?", and answers it in seconds.

The panel reads "Pick your rough size. IQ shows you where operators like you land, in seconds, with nothing to upload," over four revenue bands: Under $1M, $1M to $3M, $3M to $10M, and $10M or more. Tap the one that fits. That is the entire ask, no numbers, no documents, no connection.

What the reveal shows

The moment you pick a band, three things appear.

The headline number. A large figure like "12% net," with the line "is what operators your size typically keep. The middle runs 8% to 16%." That is net margin, what is left after everything including overhead, and the range is the middle half for your size band: a quarter of operators your size keep less than the low end, a quarter keep more than the high end.

The typical cost stack. A single bar showing where the revenue of an operator your size typically goes, segment by segment: Labor, Materials, Subs, Equipment, Overhead, and the Net margin left at the end, each with its share. This is the picture most owners have never seen laid out for their size class: not what you should spend, but what operators like you actually do.

Your own place, if you want it. Under "Know your own net margin? See exactly where you sit," you can type a single number and get a plain-language read of your standing. At or above the top of the range: "in the top quarter for your size. Strong." Above the middle, below the middle with the typical figure named, or in the bottom quarter with the honest note that "there is real room here." Nothing you type here is required, and the read is instant.

What these numbers are, and are not

Be clear-eyed about what you are looking at, because the reveal itself is. These opening figures are seeded reference numbers: published research on operators by revenue size, viewable on your first minute on the platform precisely because they do not depend on anyone else contributing. They are not your peer cohort, and Verinode does not pretend otherwise. The live peer comparison, how your margin compares to operators like you in the network, is a separate capability that appears as more operators contribute, and it is not about anything missing from your data.

The reference read is the honest starting point; your own read is what sharpens from here. Picking a band completes the first step of Margin's climb, and the next steps are where the section stops being typical and starts being yours:

• Show IQ your P&L. A profit and loss export from QuickBooks turns the typical stack into your real gross and net margin, and shows where your own cost stack runs heavy for your size.
• Show IQ your job costs. A job cost export from your job management system takes it to the job level: which jobs actually made money and which ones quietly lost it.

Both are waiting in the Get IQ Up To Speed row on the Margin home, and the full margin picture they build is covered in understanding your margin.

The band you pick sticks

Your revenue band is not a throwaway answer. It saves to your company profile, so Margin, and every other surface that reads your size, reflects it from then on without asking again. One guard applies: if your profile already has a real revenue range on file, the rough onboarding pick never overwrites it. The quick answer fills a blank; it never clobbers a better one.

You can revisit the reveal anytime by adding ?showIntro=1 to the Margin page address, and you can correct your revenue range in your company profile whenever your size changes.

Data sources