20/20 MONEY: The Business of Optometry 2024 Books & Benchmarks Report Discussion with Nathan Hayes
Aug 4, 2025
Nathan Hayes, founder of Books & Benchmarks and optometry finance consultant, shares practical benchmarking on COGS, staffing, OD compensation, occupancy, and G&A. He contrasts retail vs medical cost structures, discusses inventory and pricing pitfalls, explores when hiring boosts profitability, and highlights cash reserves, scheduling, and theft detection as key operational concerns.
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Three-Bucket Expense Framework
- Practices should view expenses as three buckets: variable (COGS + non-OD staff), fixed overhead, and G&A.
- This framing clarifies which costs scale with patient volume and which require revenue growth to absorb.
Prioritize Revenue Over Tiny Cost Cuts
- Stop obsessing over being a few points outside benchmarks if you're in the middle 60% and focus on growing revenue.
- Increasing revenue will usually improve owner pay more than marginal cuts to COGS or staff.
COGS And Staff Are Elevated And Variable
- Cost-of-goods median was 27% and non-OD staff median 25% in 2024, reflecting persistent inflation.
- Practices vary widely by medical vs. retail mix, so benchmarks have broad ranges.
