The Labour Recovery Cheat Sheet
Know your number. Close the gap. Keep more of what you earn.
EOFY often exposes small issues that have been building quietly all year: jobs left open, labour not fully recovered, invoices delayed, and pricing that hasn’t kept pace with rising costs. This free guide helps trade and service businesses step back before the financial year closes and review the commercial fundamentals that determine how the next year will feel. Rather than focusing only on tax, this reset focuses on operational visibility, the things that affect margin, cashflow, and control while jobs are still running.
What You’ll Learn
Labour recovery is the single number that determines how much of your biggest cost actually turns into profit. Most businesses only look at it at month end — by which time it's too late to act. This free resource gives you everything you need to understand, calculate, and improve yours.
The simple formula to calculate your recovery rate today
What the best-performing trade businesses target — and why
Where the gap opens up and how to find it in your business
Three quick fixes to close the gap without adding headcount
The maths: what one extra recovered hour per tech really means
Benchmark bands so you know exactly where your business sits
Why it Matters
Labour is typically 50–60% of a trade business's total cost base. It's the biggest line on the P&L — and yet most businesses manage it reactively, without ever knowing their actual recovery rate.
Recovery doesn't drop dramatically. It drifts — through small, repeated habits that compound quietly until they show up as margin you can't explain.
Scheduling gaps — idle time between jobs that nobody tracks
Travel time that's paid but not recovered through invoiced work
Hours logged late or forgotten at the end of a long day
New staff in the schedule before they're fully productive
Variations absorbed on-site that never make it to the invoice
None of these are dramatic failures. They're operational drift — and they're fixable once they're visible. This cheat sheet gives you the formula, the benchmarks, and the three habits that close the gap.
Who This Is For
This resource is practical and direct. It's designed for the people running the business day to day.
Trade & service business owners
Operations managers and office teams
Businesses managing multiple crews or growing teams
Companies using job management systems like Simpro or AroFlo
Anyone who suspects labour recovery is lower than it should be
NZ & Australian trade businesses of all sizes
Request Your Free Labour Recovery Cheat Sheet
Get Your Free Labour Recovery Cheat Sheet
Know your number. Close the gap between paid and recovered hours. Keep more of what you earn — without adding headcount.