Veterinary Practice Overhead Percentage Calculator
Calculate your practice's overhead as a percentage of revenue, broken down by category, and compare it against commonly cited practice-management benchmarks - deliberately excluding veterinarian/owner compensation so you can see your underlying cost structure clearly.
Revenue & expenses
Techs, assistants, CSRs, management - excluding veterinarian/owner compensation
Rent or mortgage, utilities, maintenance
Drugs, supplies, outside lab fees
Equipment, marketing, insurance, software, admin
How to use this tool
Why DVM compensation is excluded
Isolating overhead from veterinarian/owner compensation lets you compare the practice's underlying cost structure independent of how doctors are paid or how many doctor-owners there are - a common framing in practice-management benchmarking.
Typical overhead ranges
Practice-management benchmarking commonly cites total overhead (excluding DVM compensation) in the rough range of 50-60% of revenue for a well-managed general practice, with non-DVM staff costs typically the largest single line (commonly cited around 25-30% of revenue) followed by facility costs (commonly cited around 5-7%). These are rough orientation bands, not fixed rules - specialty/emergency practices and different regions vary meaningfully.
How this connects to practice valuation
Overhead percentage directly affects adjusted EBITDA - a practice with lower overhead as a percentage of revenue converts more of each dollar of revenue into the earnings a buyer values. Tightening overhead can directly increase a practice's valuation using this site's practice valuation calculator's EBITDA-multiple method.
Frequently asked questions
Why does this calculator exclude veterinarian/owner compensation from overhead?
Isolating overhead from DVM compensation lets you compare the practice's underlying cost structure independent of how doctors are paid or how many doctor-owners there are, which is a common framing in practice-management benchmarking.
What's a typical overhead percentage for a general practice?
Commonly cited in practice-management benchmarking studies is roughly 50-60% of revenue excluding DVM compensation, with meaningful variation by region, specialty, and facility age/condition - use it as a rough orientation band, not a fixed target.
Which expense category is usually the largest?
Non-DVM staff costs are typically the single largest overhead line in a general practice, commonly cited in the range of roughly 25-30% of revenue.
How does this relate to the practice valuation calculator?
Overhead percentage directly affects adjusted EBITDA - a practice with lower overhead as a percentage of revenue generally converts more of each dollar of revenue into the earnings a buyer values, so tightening overhead can directly increase a practice's valuation using the EBITDA-multiple method.