Gross Margin vs. Net Margin: Which One Actually Matters

You look at the final numbers for the month and feel a deep, sickening knot in your stomach. You generated more revenue than ever before. You dispatched trucks, pushed your team to the absolute physical limit, and collected massive checks. Yet the operating account looks completely drained. You wonder where all the money went. You blame the local economy. You blame your greedy vendors. You blame your technicians for working too slowly. You look everywhere except at the specific financial mechanics of your own operation. You must master the profound difference between the money you make on a job and the money you actually keep. Understanding the brutal math of gross margin vs net margin small business owners face every day represents the only path to true wealth.