How do my margins compare to others in my industry?

Bottomline compares your gross and net margins against published industry benchmarks so you know where you stand relative to peers.

Are my margins shrinking?

Bottomline tracks gross and net margin trends month over month and alerts you when margins decline for two or more consecutive periods.

Is my cost per customer going up?

Bottomline tracks your cost per acquisition across all channels and shows whether efficiency is improving or declining month over month.

Am I working harder for less money?

Bottomline tracks your revenue per hour of effort and compares it to your expenses, showing whether you are scaling or just adding complexity.

What's my break-even point?

Bottomline calculates your fixed costs, variable costs, and average revenue per sale to show you the exact revenue level where you stop losing money.

Am I priced above or below market?

You set your prices based on cost-plus, competitor research, or what felt right three years ago. But are you leaving money on the table or pricing yourself out of deals? Here's how to use your financial data and market benchmarks to find out.

7 min read

The short answer

Are you priced right? Compare your gross margin to industry averages. If your gross margin is significantly above the industry, you may be priced high (which is fine if close rates are strong). If it is below, you are likely underpriced or have higher costs than peers. Your close rate and deal size trends add context.

Pricing mistakes compound faster than any other business problem

If you are 10% underpriced, you leave 10% of gross profit on every single sale. On $80,000/month in revenue, that is $8,000 in monthly gross profit you never collect. Over a year, that is $96,000. No cost-cutting initiative will ever recover what chronic underpricing costs you.

Overpricing has its own cost. If your close rate is dropping while lead volume holds steady, price resistance may be the cause. Prospects shop around, find cheaper alternatives, and you lose deals you should be winning.

The challenge is that you cannot see pricing problems in your P&L directly. You have to triangulate from three signals: your gross margin relative to peers, your close rate trend, and your average deal size trend.

Three signals that reveal your pricing position

Gross margin vs. industry average. If your gross margin is 10+ points above the industry, either you have superior cost control or you are pricing high. Check your close rate to see if pricing is costing you deals.
Close rate trend. A declining close rate (same leads, fewer wins) often indicates price resistance. Prospects are getting quotes from you and choosing cheaper competitors.
Average deal size trend. If your average deal size is shrinking, you may be discounting to win deals. This is a sign the market is telling you something about your pricing.

How to assess your pricing position from your financial data

1
Calculate your gross margin
From your P&L in QuickBooks or Xero: (Total Revenue - COGS) / Total Revenue. Use a 6-month average for stability.
2
Find industry gross margin benchmarks
Check BizBuySell Insight Reports, IBISWorld (free through many public libraries), NYU Stern's Damodaran dataset, or your trade association for average gross margins in your industry.
3
Check your close rate from your CRM
In HubSpot or Salesforce, pull your close rate (deals won / deals created) for each of the last 6 months. Is it trending down?
4
Track average deal size from your invoicing
In QuickBooks (Sales by Customer Summary) or Xero (Income by Contact), calculate average revenue per customer for each of the last 6 months. Is it trending down?

Total time: 30-45 minutes. The benchmark research is the most time-consuming part. The financial calculations take about 15 minutes.

Why pricing assessment needs ongoing data, not a one-time check

Markets shift.A new competitor, a change in material costs, or an economic downturn can move the “right price” significantly in a quarter.
You need trends, not snapshots. A single month of data can mislead. Six months of declining close rates alongside stable margins is a clear pricing signal.

Or get pricing intelligence automatically from your own data

Bottomline connects to your accounting software, CRM, and ad platforms. It compares your margins to industry benchmarks and correlates them with your close rate and deal size trends to give you pricing insight:

Pricing position signals

Gross margin vs. industry+6 pts above avg

Close rate trend (6mo)Declining (-4 pts)

Avg. deal size trend (6mo)Stable

Your gross margin is above industry average (suggests premium pricing) but close rate is declining. You may be priced at the upper limit. Monitor next month: if close rate drops further, consider targeted discounting or value-add bundling.

From a real Bottomline report. Pricing position assessed by triangulating your margins, close rates, and industry data.

Bottomline does not tell you what to charge. It tells you whether your current pricing is working, based on the evidence in your financial and CRM data.