Benchmarking in Reach Reporting

Overview

Benchmarking is a powerful tool for comparing financial performance against industry standards, peers, or internal goals. Reach Reporting offers several flexible approaches to benchmarking that allow you to create meaningful comparisons tailored to your specific needs.

Note: Reach Reporting does not provide built-in industry benchmarking data

Benchmarking Methods Available in Reach Reporting

1. Benchmark Against Your Own Clients Using Consolidations

One of the most effective ways to benchmark is by comparing similar clients within your practice. Using Reach Reporting's consolidations feature, you can:

Create a consolidation with all clients you want to benchmark together
Use the mapping tool to create groups in the chart of accounts that you want to compare
Add calculated columns to highlight comparisons. Use formulas to generate whatever comparative metrics you want: averages, medians, percentages, ratios, spreads between highest/lowest performers, anything that helps surface insights.
Build a firm-level dashboard that displays KPIs for multiple clients, allowing firm owners to track performance across their client base at a glance

This method is particularly useful for accounting firms that work with similar businesses in the same industry.

Example Use Case:
A CPA firm working with multiple dental practices can consolidate all dental practice clients, map key revenue and expense categories consistently, and create average benchmarks to show each individual practice how they compare to their peers.

2. Import Industry Data via Google Sheets

While Reach Reporting does not provide built-in industry benchmarking data, you can easily bring in your own:

Source industry benchmark data from research reports, industry associations, or third-party providers
Format the data in a Google Sheet following Reach's template requirements
Connect the Google Sheet to Reach Reporting through the Sheets integration
Pull the benchmark data into your metrics and statements using the data picker

This approach gives you complete control over the benchmark data sources you use and allows you to customize the comparisons to match your specific needs.

In this example, income from 5 different locations in the same industry is being brought into Reach through a Google Sheet import:

Next, you can build a custom metric that pulls income from your practice, as well as the income from the Google Sheets data through the data picker:

You can then hide the location rows, add in a custom column to show the average of all locations from your industry data, and add in additional columns to compare between your practice and the industry average:

3. Set Goal Lines or Ranges on KPIs

For benchmarks based on your professional experience or client-specific targets:

Add goal lines to charts in the metric builder's additional settings
Set target ranges that represent acceptable performance levels
Customize visual indicators to show when metrics fall above or below goals

4. Create Benchmarks Using Budgets Pro

Use Reach Reporting's Budgets Pro feature to load your benchmarks for deeper analysis:

Instead of entering budget numbers, enter benchmark numbers directly into a budget in Budgets Pro or in an Excel budget template
Use actuals vs. budget templates to compare performance actuals against benchmarks
Analyze variances to identify areas where performance differs from expectations

This approach is ideal for goal-setting and performance tracking.

5. Use Conditional Formatting for Visual Benchmarking

Make benchmark comparisons immediately visible using conditional formatting:

Apply conditional formatting rules to highlight positive or negative variances from benchmark amounts
Use color coding (green for favorable, red for unfavorable) to make performance gaps obvious at a glance
Customize the Financial Health KPIs metric on the Key Numbers page from the Monthly Advanced Analysis template by adjusting benchmark amounts to suit your needs

This visual approach helps stakeholders quickly identify areas requiring attention.

Best Practices for Benchmarking

Ensure Consistent Chart of Accounts Mapping: When benchmarking multiple companies, use the mapping tool to ensure accounts are grouped consistently across all entities.
Choose Relevant Comparisons: Select benchmark sources and peer groups that are truly comparable to the business being analyzed (similar size, location, business model, etc.).
Update Regularly: Keep your benchmark data current by syncing Google Sheets regularly or updating consolidated client data.
Provide Context: Always explain what the benchmarks represent and why they're relevant when presenting comparative analysis to clients.
Combine Methods: Use multiple benchmarking approaches together for a more comprehensive view (e.g., compare against both peer averages and internal goals).

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does Reach Reporting provide industry benchmark data?
A: No, Reach Reporting does not provide industry benchmarking data. However, you can easily import your own industry data using Google Sheets integration.

Q: Can I benchmark a single client against multiple peer groups?
A: Yes, you can create multiple consolidations representing different peer groups and compare an individual client's performance against each one.

Q: How often should I update benchmark data?
A: This depends on your data source and needs. For consolidation-based benchmarks, sync whenever you want current peer comparisons. For industry data via Google Sheets, update as frequently as new industry data becomes available.

Q: Can I use benchmarking in the client portal?
A: Yes, you can include benchmark comparisons in dashboards and reports that are shared via the client portal, allowing clients to see how their performance compares.

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