iLumen

NBMDA has partnered with the iLumen Financial Information Network to bring NBMDA members a phenomenal new tool: Financial Analysis and Industry Benchmarking. This service provides you with online access to analysis of the building materials industry's trends and peer group comparisons on a monthly basis. Learn more about your company's financial performance and how you compare to others in the industry in real time.

How it Works

Insight into Your Business
Every month you close out your books, but did you know there is a wealth of insight into your business that goes undiscovered? With this financial analysis and benchmarking system, the upload of a standard report from your accounting software enables you to learn more about your business, see how it compares to industry averages and gain insight from experts and private companies.

Easy to Use
Uploading financial data is a simple task requiring two minutes per month. You can choose from a number of standard reports in your accounting system. The Company Dashboard generates charts and graphs that illustrate your key financial metrics. It gives you an easy way to present your financial information to managers, shareholders or board members. Interested in seeing a demonstration of a data upload? Click here.

You can benefit from this unique tool that offers:

• Financial Trending Analysis - view high-level performance trends of your company with the ability to drill down to detailed financial analysis on over 200 metrics
• Financial Benchmarking - compare individual financial performance to customizable peer groups based on industry, size and geography
• Industry Intelligence - learn about the latest industry trends from expert analysts, CPA's and bankers
• Industry Community - collaborate with other NBMDA members, industry experts and business advisors through surveys, online forums and dashboards 

How Do I Participate?
Participation in the Financial Benchmarking & Industry Analysis program is easy. Simply download the registration form and either fax, mail or email the completed form with payment to NBMDA. Once processed, you will receive communication directly from iLumen to set up your upload support call. Then you'll be on your way to taking advantage of the trends and data that are key to your business. If you have questions, please contact NBMDA at 888.747.7862.

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Compensation Report

Are Two-Thirds of Your Expenses Out of Control?

For the typical NBMDA member payroll and fringe benefits account for 62.3% of total expenses.  If you are not controlling payroll, you are simply not controlling your business.  To be more blunt, if payroll is out of control, your firm is never going to reach its full profit potential.

The Cross-Industry Compensation Report sponsored by NBMDA provides a wealth of information to make sure that both salaries and fringe benefits are attractive enough to attract top talent, but not so high as to be wasting money.  The Report is the only source for such information in industrial distribution.

For the majority of firms, payroll expense problems are centered in three areas:

• Sales Force Compensation—Around a third of all payroll and fringe benefit dollars go to the sales force.  The Report provides detailed information on sales force compensation levels, commission systems and rates.  The information is broken out by 85 different geographic areas.
• Health Insurance Costs—Almost everybody complains about heath care costs.  Some firms have stopped talking and started acting to get these costs back in order.  The Report provides insights into the type and level of coverage along with deductibles, co-pays and related issues.
• Retirement Programs—Funding levels for 401(k) programs can be adjusted easily, but quite often cyclical changes reduces employee enthusiasm.  The Report has detailed information on the structure of retirement programs including the time to vest, dollar matching amounts, catch-up programs and the like.

Getting your hands around payroll costs can be the difference between a 2.0% bottom line and a 4.0% one.  The choice of your profit level is up to you.

To provide an analysis for pay scales within the distribution industry as well as an analysis of employee benefits and sales information. In addition, the compensation data will prove valuable to executive who must prove their compensation is "reasonable" within the constraints of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Employee Compensation Report will provide a detailed review of compensation and benefit programs for approximately 2,000 distributors in over 30 trade associations. Due to the extensive sample in this study, you will be provided with a wide range of information on compensation not only for your industry, but also broken out into 22 sales volume categories and over 100 geographic areas (including 50 metro markets).

Participating firms will receive a wealth of information on topics such as:

• Executive Compensation
• Employee Compensation
• Sales Commission Plans
• Inside/Counter Sales Policies
• Benefit Programs including:
  • Health Care Plans
  • Retirement Income Plans
  • End Of Year Bonus
  • Paid Vacation & Holiday

Frequency: Every other year (Survey mailed January and Report available June)

Cost: $500 - fee for non-participating members
$1000 - fee for non-members

For a $500 fee non-participating members may receive the report by completing the order form and returning it to NBMDA headquarters with payment.

For a $1,000 fee non-members may receive the report by completing the order form and returning it to NBMDA with payment (the report will be mailed upon receipt of payment).