FINANCIAL OPERATING GUIDES // RESOURCE 09
Good-Better-Best Option Economics
Build legitimate options with distinct scope, value, cost, warranty, and expected outcome.
The financial question
Build legitimate options with distinct scope, value, cost, warranty, and expected outcome. Use actual company cost and completed-job evidence rather than competitor prices or unsupported industry averages.
Inputs to control
- Define each input and its source before calculating.
- Use consistent treatment for direct cost, overhead, revenue, discounts, credits, taxes, and incomplete work.
- Keep assumptions dated and review them after material, wage, insurance, or operating changes.
Key checkpoints
- Start every option from a verified need and appropriate solution.
- Calculate labor, material, risk, warranty, and margin for each option independently.
- Avoid a deliberately weak option created only to steer the customer.
- Track selection, margin, and callback results by option.
Operating method
- Collect the required cost and revenue records.
- Reconcile missing, duplicated, credited, warranty, and unbilled transactions.
- Calculate the result using a documented method.
- Compare estimate, target, and actual results.
- Assign corrective action to pricing, purchasing, dispatch, field execution, billing, or management as appropriate.
Management review
- Look for trends by service, technician, customer type, location, and time period.
- Investigate the cause before changing price or performance expectations.
- Have accounting, tax, legal, or financial professionals review matters within their scope.
Use boundaryThis resource is a practical operating reference. Follow company policy, customer contracts, licensing requirements, manufacturer instructions, employment requirements, codes, accounting rules, and qualified professional guidance that apply.