Understanding Where Your Budget Actually Goes
Most organizations track spending but few understand what normal looks like. We compare your financial patterns against real market data from similar businesses in Vietnam and across Asia.
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How We Built This Approach
After working with 200+ businesses between 2019 and 2024, we noticed something interesting. Companies weren't struggling because they overspent — they just didn't know if their spending made sense compared to others.
Industry Clustering
We group businesses by actual operational characteristics rather than generic industry codes. A manufacturing firm with 50 employees has different patterns than one with 500, even in the same sector.
Regional Context
Vietnamese market conditions differ from broader Asian trends. Our benchmarks account for local supplier networks, labor market realities, and regulatory requirements specific to operating here.
Time-Based Patterns
Your spending in February shouldn't match December. We map typical seasonal fluctuations so you can distinguish between normal variation and actual problems that need attention.
What You Actually Learn
Here's what surprised our clients most. One company thought their IT costs were too high until they saw that similar organizations spent 40% more. Another discovered their marketing budget was barely half the category average.
The analysis breaks down major expense categories — personnel, operations, technology, marketing, facilities — and shows you where you fall in the distribution. Not just averages, which can be misleading, but quartiles and percentiles.
A distribution services company in Hanoi used our 2024 benchmarking to identify that their warehouse costs per cubic meter were in the 85th percentile. They weren't making obvious mistakes — the building lease was reasonable and staffing looked normal. But comparing operational metrics revealed they were storing slow-moving inventory too long.
We also highlight efficiency ratios that matter for your specific situation. Revenue per employee. Operating costs as percentage of sales. Technology spending relative to headcount. These tell you more than raw numbers ever could.
Working Through the Process
Most engagements run six to eight weeks. That's enough time to gather real data, build meaningful comparisons, and discuss what it actually means for your planning.
Data Collection Phase
We need 12-24 months of financial records — general ledger exports work best. You'll also complete a questionnaire about your operations, market position, and growth plans. This takes most organizations about four hours spread over a week.
Peer Group Selection
We identify 30-50 comparable businesses from our database. The matching considers industry, size, location, business model, and growth stage. You'll review the peer group characteristics to ensure the comparison makes sense.
Analysis and Reporting
We generate detailed comparisons showing where you fall in each spending category. The report includes statistical distributions, trend analysis, and efficiency ratios. Takes about three weeks once we have clean data.
Review and Planning
We walk through findings in a working session with your finance and operations team. The goal is understanding why differences exist and whether they represent opportunities or strategic choices you're making intentionally.
Who This Actually Helps
Organizations between 20 and 500 employees get the most value. You're large enough that budgets are complex but often don't have sophisticated financial planning teams.
Manufacturing, distribution, professional services, and technology companies make up most of our client base. We've developed particularly strong benchmark databases in these areas from work across Southeast Asia since 2019.
- Companies preparing for significant investment or expansion decisions
- Organizations experiencing margin pressure who need to understand cost structure
- Businesses planning leadership transitions where financial baseline matters
- Teams building multi-year budgets who want reality-based assumptions
- Companies entering new markets who need operational cost guidance
Our next cohort begins analysis work in September 2025. We work with 12-15 organizations per quarter to maintain quality and give each engagement proper attention.
Ready to See How You Compare?
Initial consultations typically run 45-60 minutes. We'll discuss your situation, explain our methodology in detail, and determine if benchmarking would provide useful insights for your planning.