Setting cost targets

What Cost Targets does

Cost Targets lets you set the margin and cost bars you want to hit, then shows each target against where you actually are and the peer median, on an ongoing basis. It turns "I should improve my margin" into a specific number you are tracking toward.

Your targets are yours alone. They never change the benchmarks and never affect other operators.

Where to find it

On the Margin page (Intelligence → Margin), find the Cost Targets card in the Take Action row near the top of the page, and click it to open the panel.

The four targets you can set

You can set a target for each of these:

• Gross margin (%) — revenue left after the direct cost of the work.
• Net margin (%) — what is left after everything, including overhead.
• Labor cost (% of revenue) — crew and payroll as a share of revenue.
• Overhead (% of revenue) — operating expense as a share of revenue.

Each row shows "You're at X · Peer median Y", so you can set a target that is ambitious but grounded in what peers actually achieve.

How to set your targets

1. 1Open Cost Targets from the Take Action row on the Margin page.
2. 2For each metric, type your target into the field on the right. The unit (% or % of revenue) is shown beside it.
3. 3Click Save my targets.

If you have not set any targets yet, the panel shows an example scorecard first (a gross-margin target of 48% against "You're at 45%" and a "Peer median 44%") so you can see how the comparison will read once yours are in.

Best-practice example

If your net margin trails peers, set a net-margin target a point or two above where you are now, then use the Margin page's Cost Structure and Leakage views to find the specific costs to cut. Revisit weekly: the target keeps the goal in front of you instead of getting lost.

Data sources