{
  "slug": "practice-overhead-ratio",
  "title": "Veterinary/Dental Practice Overhead Ratio Calculator",
  "heading": "Practice Overhead Ratio Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/practice-overhead-ratio",
  "summary": "Fixed and variable overhead as a share of revenue against benchmarks.",
  "description": "Overhead ratio — total practice expenses excluding doctor compensation, divided by revenue — is the number that determines how much room exists for doctor pay, debt service, and owner profit. This calculator sums the standard overhead categories (staff wages, facility, supplies, lab, marketing, and other fixed costs) and expresses the total as a percentage of collected revenue, benchmarked against the roughly 55-65% overhead ratio typical of well-run general veterinary and dental practices before doctor compensation.",
  "formula": "Overhead ratio = (staff wages + facility + supplies/lab + marketing + other fixed costs) ÷ revenue × 100.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=practice-overhead-ratio",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "revenue",
      "label": "Annual revenue",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 2200000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "staffWages",
      "label": "Support staff wages (non-doctor)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 620000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "facility",
      "label": "Rent, utilities, facility costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 180000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "suppliesLab",
      "label": "Medical/dental supplies + lab",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 260000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "marketing",
      "label": "Marketing",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 45000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "otherFixed",
      "label": "Other fixed costs (insurance, admin, tech)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 130000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "overheadRatio",
      "label": "Overhead ratio (before doctor pay)",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "totalOverhead",
      "label": "Total overhead",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "marginBeforeDoctorPay",
      "label": "Margin available for doctor pay & profit",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "marginPct",
      "label": "Margin percentage",
      "format": "percent",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Annual revenue: 2200000 $",
      "Support staff wages (non-doctor): 620000 $",
      "Rent, utilities, facility costs: 180000 $",
      "Medical/dental supplies + lab: 260000 $",
      "Marketing: 45000 $",
      "Other fixed costs (insurance, admin, tech): 130000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Overhead ratio (before doctor pay): 56.1%",
      "Total overhead: $1,235,000",
      "Margin available for doctor pay & profit: $965,000",
      "Margin percentage: 43.9%"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter annual revenue ($).",
      "Enter support staff wages (non-doctor) ($).",
      "Enter rent, utilities, facility costs ($).",
      "Enter medical/dental supplies + lab ($).",
      "Enter marketing ($).",
      "Enter other fixed costs (insurance, admin, tech) ($).",
      "Read your overhead ratio (before doctor pay) on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "revenue": 1320000,
        "staffWages": 370000,
        "facility": 108000,
        "suppliesLab": 156000,
        "marketing": 27000,
        "otherFixed": 78000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "revenue": 2200000,
        "staffWages": 620000,
        "facility": 180000,
        "suppliesLab": 260000,
        "marketing": 45000,
        "otherFixed": 130000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "revenue": 3520000,
        "staffWages": 990000,
        "facility": 288000,
        "suppliesLab": 416000,
        "marketing": 72000,
        "otherFixed": 208000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "What overhead ratio is considered healthy?",
      "a": "55-65% of revenue for total overhead excluding doctor compensation is typical for both general veterinary and dental practices. Below 55% often means genuinely lean operations or possibly understaffing; above 68-70% usually squeezes doctor pay and owner profit below sustainable levels."
    },
    {
      "q": "Why is doctor compensation excluded from overhead here?",
      "a": "Doctor pay is treated as a variable claim on the margin remaining after overhead, since it's often structured as a percentage of production (pro-sal) rather than a fixed cost. Separating it out lets you see how much of revenue is available to split between doctor compensation and owner profit before deciding on a pay structure."
    },
    {
      "q": "Which overhead category usually has the most room to improve?",
      "a": "Supplies and lab costs, because they scale with case mix and are the most negotiable with vendors through group purchasing or better inventory control. Facility and staff wage costs are largely fixed in the short term and require a lease renegotiation or staffing model change to move meaningfully."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vet-revenue-per-dvm",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/vet-staff-provider-ratio-cost",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/dental-office-break-even"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Veterinary/Dental Practice Overhead Ratio Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/practice-overhead-ratio)"
}