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Solutions  ›  Fractional CFO  ›  Manufacturing Dashboard

A manufacturing dashboard built around material cost.

When steel, resin, or parts jump in price, margins can disappear before the invoice goes out. This sample dashboard puts material cost, margin, scrap, and backlog in front of the owner every month, so price changes get caught early.

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Sample dashboard

See where the margin goes, from the shop floor to the invoice.

Riverbend Fabrication Co.
Custom metal fabrication · 38 employees
September 2026Sample data
RevenueOn target
$1.84M
Up 6.3% from Sept 2025
Material costWatch
41.6%
Of revenue. Target 40.0% or less
Gross marginWatch
32.5%
Target 33.0%
Scrap & reworkOn target
2.8%
Target under 3.0%
On-time deliveryOn target
96%
Target 95%
BacklogOn target
$5.2M
About 2.8 months of production
Inventory turnsOn target
6.1x
Up from 5.4x a year ago
Days to collectWatch
47 days
Target 45 days
Material cost as a share of revenue, last 12 monthsActualTarget
38.0%39.8%41.5%43.3%OctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOct: 38.9%Nov: 39.2%Dec: 39.0%Jan: 39.8%Feb: 40.6%Mar: 41.9%Apr: 42.4%May: 42.1%Jun: 41.8%Jul: 41.2%Aug: 41.9%Sep: 41.6%38.0%39.8%41.5%43.3%NovJanMarMayJulSepOct: 38.9%Nov: 39.2%Dec: 39.0%Jan: 39.8%Feb: 40.6%Mar: 41.9%Apr: 42.4%May: 42.1%Jun: 41.8%Jul: 41.2%Aug: 41.9%Sep: 41.6%

Riverbend Fabrication Co. is a fictional business and every number above is made up. Your dashboard is built from your own books, and only you and our team see it.

Reading the dashboard

What each number tells you.

Material cost

Raw materials and purchased parts as a share of revenue. When it climbs and your prices don't, the margin goes with it. The trend line shows exactly when supplier increases started to bite.

Gross margin

Revenue minus materials, direct labor, and shop overhead. Broken out by product line or customer, it shows which work pays for the business and which only keeps the floor busy.

Scrap & rework

Material and labor lost to parts that had to be remade. Small percentages add up quickly when material is 40% of every sale.

On-time delivery

The share of orders shipped when promised. Late orders cost you in expediting, overtime, and customers who don't come back.

Backlog

Signed work not yet produced, shown in dollars and months of capacity. It tells you when to hire, when to add a shift, and when to push sales.

Inventory turns and days to collect

How fast cash moves through materials and customer invoices. A full order book can still leave you short on cash if money sits on the shelf or in receivables.

In the monthly meeting

The questions this dashboard answers.

The numbers are the starting point. In each review we use them to answer the questions owners actually bring to the table.

01
Do we need a price increase, and on what?

We find which products and customers absorbed the material increases and size the price change each one needs.

02
Should we take this big order?

We check the margin at the quoted price and what the order does to capacity, overtime, and cash before you say yes.

03
Can we afford the new machine?

We model buy versus finance versus lease, and show the payback in labor saved and capacity added.

04
Why is cash tight with a full backlog?

We follow the cash through inventory, work in progress, and receivables to find where it's tied up.

Other industries

See a dashboard built for another industry.

Mesquite & Main KitchenSample
29.8%Food cost
61.0%Prime cost
$38.40Per cover
Restaurants

Food cost, labor, and prime cost

For restaurants, cafés, and caterers who want to know where every sales dollar goes, by week and by location.

See the sample dashboard →
Blue Agave BuildersSample
21.4%Job margin
$9.6MBacklog
+$184KOver-billed
Construction & Trades

Job profit, WIP, and backlog

For general contractors and trades (HVAC, electrical, plumbing, roofing) who want to know which jobs make money before they close out.

See the sample dashboard →
Agarita Family DentalSample
$286.5KCollections
97.8%Collected
24AR days
Medical & Professional

Production, collections, and AR

For medical, dental, and therapy practices, and for firms that bill by the hour, who want to turn booked work into collected cash.

See the sample dashboard →

Common questions

What manufacturers ask about the dashboard.

Is this real client data?

No. Riverbend Fabrication Co. is a fictional company and every number on this page is made up. Your dashboard is built from your own books, and only you and our team see it.

What is a good material cost percentage for a manufacturer?

It varies widely with what you make. A machine shop doing mostly labor might run under 25%, while a fabricator reselling a lot of steel can run well above 40%. The trend and the gap against what you quoted matter more than any industry average.

Can you show margin by product line or by job?

Yes, when sales and costs are tracked by product line or job. If they aren't yet, setting that up is often one of the first things we do together.

The next step

Let's build the dashboard for your shop.

The first consultation is free. Bring your last few months of numbers and we'll show you what your dashboard would track and what it would tell you.

Schedule a Free Consult with Kika About Fractional CFO

Kika Rogers, EA · Co-Founder & President
Small Business Services of San Antonio · 101 Business Center, 101 Sunflower Lane, San Antonio, TX 78213
(210) 884-5067 · info@sbsofsa.com · Hablamos español