PANEL BEATER AND CRASH REPAIR INDUSTRY BENCHMARKS

Knowing the industry benchmark for panel beating and crash repairs helps you gauge your  business’s performance, identify growth opportunities, and make informed strategic decisions.

The main activities for businesses in this industry is the provision of motor vehicle smash repairs, panel beating, spray painting and restorations.

Performance benchmarks

These performance benchmarks are based on data from income tax and BAS statements filed with the Australian Tax Office.

The key benchmark ratio for this industry is labour to turnover. This ratio is likely to be the most accurate predictor of business turnover. For businesses that do not report labour, or only report a small amount, total expenses to turnover can be used to predict turnover.

Key Benchmark Ratio	Annual Turnover Range
	Low $50,000 – $150,000	Medium $150,001 – $300,000	High More than $300,000
Income Tax Return
Cost of sales/turnover	19% – 33%	24% – 38%	36% – 45%
Average cost of sales	26%	31%	41%
Total expenses/turnover	50% – 69%	59% – 77%	77% – 89%
Average total expenses	60%	68%	83%
Activity statement
Non-capital purchases/ total sales	39% – 60%	43% – 60%	53% – 62%

The benchmarks are published as a range representing ratios reported by businesses grouped either side of the average. Publishing benchmarks as a range allows for variations across financial years, regions and business models.

The following benchmarks are available as a guide for businesses to review their performance and business practices against other similar businesses. The following expenses are not reported by every business, so one or more of these benchmarks may not apply to an individual business.

		Benchmark Ratio	Annual Turnover Range
Income Tax Return	Low $50,000 – $150,000	Medium $150,001 – $300,000	High More than $300,000
Labour/turnover	22% – 32%	18% – 28%	22% – 29%
Rent/turnover	10% – 17%	7% – 12%	4% – 7%
Motor vehicle expenses/ turnover	4% – 7%	3% – 5%	1% – 2%

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