nIQ

Sciara Family Dental

Profit analytics

Demo data

Coach

Your January to December 2025 analysis is ready.

Financial health score

25 of 100

+4 since your last import

You rank #2 of 16

practices in your network

2 of 8 benchmarks met

across your expense categories

Your total expenses are $83,400 over benchmark.

Straight talk

  • Needs work

    6 of your 8 expense categories are over the industry benchmark.

  • Needs work

    The gap cost you $83,400 last year.

  • Good

    Every one of those dollars is available again in the coming year, and the actions below target them.

What to fix, in order of money

Largest recoverable dollars first. Nothing else decides the order.

  1. Priority 1

    Labs

    Recoverable

    $50,400

    Annual spend
    $110,400
    Percent of revenue
    9.20%
    Benchmark
    5.00%
    Gap
    +4.20%

    Lab fee renegotiation and case routing

    Proposed

    Re-bid the lab panel and route high-volume case types to the best-priced qualified lab. Labs at 9.2 percent of revenue against a 5.0 percent benchmark is the single largest gap in the practice. Quality standards stay where they are.

    Expected impact: 3.00% of revenue off Labs, about $36,000 a year.

    Apply in calculator

  2. Priority 2

    Dental Supplies

    Recoverable

    $19,200

    Annual spend
    $91,200
    Percent of revenue
    7.60%
    Benchmark
    6.00%
    Gap
    +1.60%

    Supply formulary and group purchasing

    Proposed

    Standardize on a formulary so the practice stops carrying four versions of the same item, then consolidate ordering through a group purchasing agreement. Pricing improves and inventory gets simpler to manage.

    Expected impact: 1.20% of revenue off Dental Supplies, about $14,400 a year.

    Apply in calculator

  3. Priority 3

    Office Expense

    Recoverable

    $13,800

    Annual spend
    $37,800
    Percent of revenue
    3.15%
    Benchmark
    2.00%
    Gap
    +1.15%

  4. Priority 4

    Service Charges

    Recoverable

    $11,400

    Annual spend
    $23,400
    Percent of revenue
    1.95%
    Benchmark
    1.00%
    Gap
    +0.95%

    Merchant Processing Review

    In your library

    Re-bid merchant processing and patient financing rates. At your volume these rates are almost always negotiable, and the switch costs the practice nothing but paperwork.

    Expected impact: 0.50% of revenue off Service Charges, about $6,000 a year.

    Apply in calculator

  5. Priority 5

    Professional Fees

    Recoverable

    $4,800

    Annual spend
    $16,800
    Percent of revenue
    1.40%
    Benchmark
    1.00%
    Gap
    +0.40%

    Optimize Outsourced Specialty Services

    In your library

    Renegotiate outsourced specialty and professional service agreements one contract at a time. Targets are a 10 percent reduction at three months, 15 percent at six months and 25 percent at twelve months, worth $5,000, $7,500 and $12,500.

    Expected impact: 0.35% of revenue off Professional Fees, about $4,200 a year.

    Apply in calculator

  6. Priority 6

    Marketing and Promotion

    Recoverable

    $1,200

    Annual spend
    $37,200
    Percent of revenue
    3.10%
    Benchmark
    3.00%
    Gap
    +0.10%

    Channel attribution review

    Proposed

    Measure cost per new patient by channel, then shift spend to the channels that produce booked appointments. Spend that cannot be traced to an appointment comes out first.

    Expected impact: 0.60% of revenue off Marketing and Promotion, about $7,200 a year.

    Apply in calculator

Before you cut anything, check the mapping.

5 accounts are sitting in the wrong category. Until they move, two of your benchmark comparisons are measuring the wrong spend.

Every one of these was mapped with 100 percent reported confidence. Nothing flagged them, so nobody looked.

  • 6510Equipment Lease Payments

    $10,800

    Now in Dental SuppliesBelongs in Facility Expense

    Fixing it moves $10,800 out of Dental Supplies and into Facility Expense.

  • 6240Print, Direct Mail & Events

    $7,200

    Now in Office ExpenseBelongs in Marketing and Promotion

    Fixing it moves $7,200 out of Office Expense and into Marketing and Promotion.

  • 6130Utilities

    $7,200

    Now in Office ExpenseBelongs in Facility Expense

    Fixing it moves $7,200 out of Office Expense and into Facility Expense.

  • 6150Janitorial & Waste Disposal

    $3,600

    Now in Office ExpenseBelongs in Facility Expense

    Fixing it moves $3,600 out of Office Expense and into Facility Expense.

  • 6250Patient Referral & Reactivation

    $2,400

    Now in Service ChargesBelongs in Marketing and Promotion

    Fixing it moves $2,400 out of Service Charges and into Marketing and Promotion.

What changes once they move

Office Expense

3.15% to 1.65%

$37,800 becomes $19,800, which puts it under the 2.0% benchmark instead of over it.

Marketing and Promotion

3.10% to 3.90%

$37,200 becomes $46,800, which turns a $1,200 gap into a $10,800 gap.

Correcting these accounts moves Office Expense from 3.15% (over benchmark) to 1.65% (under benchmark), and Marketing from 3.10% to 3.90%. Your third priority stops being a priority, and your smallest one gets nine times larger.