can you say what your “cost of doing business”...

Can You Say What Your “Cost of Doing Business” Is?

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If not, the Variable Rate System can help.

(c) 2014 National AutoBody Research

Every subscription to the Variable Rate System includes the Cost of Doing Business calculator

•  Computes your individual shop’s cost of doing business including all cost of goods sold and all expenses

•  Reveals your cost of doing business in four different time frames: monthly, weekly, daily, hourly

•  Calculates the total revenue needed in any time frame, to cover your entire cost of doing business and have a healthy profit

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After using the Cost of Doing Business

calculator, this shop discovered their all-in cost of

doing business was about $8,600 per day


Have your shop’s recent Profit & Loss (P&L) statement handy, then enter key financial information into the Cost of Doing Business calculator.

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This easy to use calculator quickly gives you the answers you need to run your business

The calculator does all the work to reveal your shop’s true cost of doing business.

Together with data from the VRS Labor Rate & Profit Calculator, you learn what rate to charge to cover all your costs and achieve your profit goals.

This shop needs approximately $72,800 in total weekly revenue to cover their cost of doing business and achieve their 15% profit goal


Your Expenses Just Increased by 5%. What New Labor Rate Do You Charge

To Keep Your Profits the Same?

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Not sure? The Variable Rate System can help.


Enter your shop’s key P&L numbers into the calculator. (In this example, the shop had about $26,000 in profits this month.)

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To answer this question, use the VRS Labor Rate & Profit Calculator

Then, enter the 5% increase in your expenses. (In this example, the shop’s expenses increased from $74,800 to $78,540, thereby lowering profits to $22,380.)

Now, using the calculator, increase your labor rates until your projected P&L shows the profit number you want. (In this example, the shop’s original body and paint labor rates were $48/hr. Increasing rates to $49.50 brought the shop back to the $26,000 profit needed.)


5% cost increase

You Want To Earn 10% Operating Profit. What Labor Rates Do You Charge

To Hit Your Goal?

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Don’t know? The Variable Rate System can help.


Enter your shop’s key P&L numbers, including goals for gross profit and operating profit (In this example, the shop has a 10% operating profit goal.)

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Set your goals in the VRS Labor Rate & Profit Calculator

Increase your rates until the operating profit % reaches your goal. (In this example, the shop increased their rates $4 across the board to hit their 10% operating profit goal.)

Enter your shop’s current labor and material rates.


This body shop started with these rates and $13,757 in monthly profit.

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Notice how small changes in rates drive big changes in profit.

By increasing rates only $4, they over-achieved their 10% profit goal and created and additional $15,600 in profit per month.

Then, using the VRS Labor Rate & Profit Calculator, they increased rates $1 at a time to see the impact to their bottom line.


The VRS Shows How Labor Rates Rise As Shops Have More Investment In Training,

Certifications, and Equipment

9"(c) 2014 National AutoBody Research

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Using the VRS Survey The Market tool, this example looks at a market in Arizona


Enter your shop’s ZIP code, mileage range from the shop, and all training, certifications, and equipment.

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2 Then, select your shop’s training, certifications, and/or equipment from the list provided.

In this example, we survey the market for I-Car Gold, ASE

Certified, and Honda Body Shop recognized shops

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Rates in this market rise with training & certifications


37 total shops within 10 miles of the example ZIP code 85703. Body & paint rates range from $52 to $54. 1

2 Only 5 shops have I-Car Gold and ASE Certified Technicians. Their rates are higher.

3 Only 3 shops have I-Car Gold, ASE Certified Technicians, and Honda Body Shop Recognition. Their rates are even higher.

(c) 2014 National AutoBody Research 12"

Subscribe to VRS now at VariableRateSystem.com

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About NABR and VRS National AutoBody Research (NABR) is a research and technology company committed to restoring the free market in the collision repair industry by helping shops understand and properly price their labor rates. As an independent company not owned by insurance companies or auto body shops, the Company provides the industry with trusted, unbiased labor rate data from its VRS Real-Time Labor Rate Surveys.

NABR created and developed the Variable Rate System (VRS) technology, a set of powerful online tools specifically designed to help collision repair shops break through the labor rate barrier by surveying labor rates in their market area, understanding their own cost of doing business, and calculating the right labor rates to charge to earn healthy and sustainable profits for their individual shop. By actively using the VRS tools, subscribing shops have successfully increased their labor rates, driving their business to sufficiently profitable levels, for the benefit of the industry, the shops, their employees and their families.

The VRS currently contains labor rate data from 40 states and expects to have all 50 states included in early 2015, creating the collision repair industry’s first and only independent, third-party, objective source of real-time, national labor rate data and making the VRS the industry standard for prevailing competitive pricing.

To inquire about the VRS system, initiate a survey for your state association, or engage our highly practical consulting team to maximize your labor rates, please contact us using the information below. We are eager to help you earn the profits you deserve.

Sam Valenzuela President [email protected] 913.226.6550

Richard Valenzuela Chief Executive Officer [email protected] 520.971.6110


can you say what your “cost of doing business”...

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