Check billed material recovery
Use one repair order or a matched group of repair orders. Enter consumed job costs and the material charges actually approved and billed.
No signup. The interactive tool runs in your browser tab. Change the inputs, save a comparison, download the results, or print a working copy. Your entered numbers are not sent to BlueFinch.
Illustrative example inputs
Starting values demonstrate the math. These are not industry averages, a customer result, or a quote.
| Input | Example value |
|---|---|
| Approved material amount billed | $600.00 |
| Color material consumed | $210.00 |
| Clear material consumed | $120.00 |
| Primer and sealer consumed | $70.00 |
| Non-paint sundries consumed | $60.00 |
| Matching consumed-cost credits | $20.00 |
| Refinish hours for these repair orders | 10 hours |
Example results
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Billed material recovery | 136.36% |
| Billed material surplus / shortfall | $160.00 |
| Consumed material cost per refinish hour | $44.00 |
Calculation detail
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Approved material amount billed | $600.00 |
| Color material consumed | $210.00 |
| Clear material consumed | $120.00 |
| Primer and sealer consumed | $70.00 |
| Non-paint sundries consumed | $60.00 |
| Consumed cost before credits | $460.00 |
| Matching material cost credits | $20.00 |
| Net consumed material cost | $440.00 |
| Refinish hours | 10 hours |
| Billed material amount per refinish hour | $60.00 |
| Material surplus as share of billed amount | 26.67% |
Model assumptions
- All starting figures are illustrative. No input is an industry reimbursement benchmark.
- Material charges and costs cover the same repair orders and exclude sales tax.
- The model measures billed recovery. It does not decide what a customer or insurer must pay.
- Labor, overhead, payment fees and tax are excluded. Material surplus is not net profit.
Read alongside these results
- Billed recovery compares approved material charges with entered consumed-material costs. It does not show cash collected or insurer acceptance.
- Use material consumed on these repair orders, not total inventory purchased. Include job-attributable waste once in the consumed categories.
- Credits must relate to the consumed costs included here. A credit for unused stock returned to a supplier does not reduce these job costs unless that stock was included incorrectly.
- Material surplus excludes labor, overhead, payment fees and tax. It is not shop net profit.
Download this worked example (CSV). The interactive version also exports your own inputs and results.
Download infographic (PNG) · Download vector (SVG) · Link to the source and methodology
The short version
- Compare billed material charges with consumed materials for the same repair orders.
- Stock purchases and supplier returns are not automatically job consumption.
- Recovery percentage and material surplus percentage have different denominators.
A large paint order arrives this week. Some of it goes into the jobs leaving the shop, and some stays on the shelf. Dividing this week's material billing by that purchase invoice confuses inventory movement with the cost of completed repairs.
Use this worksheet for one repair order or a matched group. Enter the material amount billed and the consumed cost assigned to those same jobs. The fictional $600 material charge below illustrates the math. It is not a recommended allowance, reimbursement rate or carrier agreement.
Use with this guide
Job cash flow planner
Put payment availability and job outlays on a chronological cash ledger.
Start with what each repair consumed
PPG's Paint Shop Interface documentation describes tracking paint and materials consumed against the corresponding repair order. PPG also publishes a volume-estimator workflow based on the selected vehicle panels. Those tools illustrate two different records: planned usage and recorded job consumption.
For this calculation, take consumed cost from your closed job records. Keep color, clear, primer and non-paint sundries in separate categories with no overlap. If your mixing report already includes material discarded during the repair, do not add the same waste again. A purchase of stock for future jobs belongs in inventory planning, not this job's denominator.
Sources for this section: PPG: tracking consumed paint and materials against repair orders · PPG: paint volume estimation for individual repair panels
Worked example: $600 billed against $440 consumed
The fictional matched job has $210 in color, $120 in clear, $70 in primer and sealer, and $60 in sundries. That is $460 before a verified $20 credit relating to those same consumed costs. Net consumed material cost is $440. The approved material charge billed is $600.
Billed recovery is $600 divided by $440, or 136.36%. Billed material surplus is $160. As a share of the $600 billed amount, that surplus is 26.67%. With 10 refinish hours, the charge is $60 per hour and the consumed cost is $44 per hour. These measures describe material billing before collection, labor and overhead.
| Illustrative measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Consumed material cost before matching credit | $460 |
| Net consumed material cost | $440 |
| Billed material recovery | 136.36% |
| Billed surplus before other expenses | $160 |
| Consumed material cost per refinish hour | $44 |
Investigate recovery before changing the charge
A result below 100% means approved material billing is below the net consumed cost entered. Review the matching job set, mix records, product prices, credits and billed scope first. A low result does not prove an insurer underpaid, and a high result does not establish shop profitability.
California BAR describes hourly-rate and actual-cost methods for estimating paint and materials as acceptable under its guidance. That is a California example, not a national instruction to change invoice terms. Keep any revised billing method consistent with the customer's authorization, actual agreement and applicable requirements.
Sources for this section: California Bureau of Automotive Repair: Write It Right
Keep the comparison on a matched job set
If you review last month's closed repair orders, use material billing, consumption and refinish hours from those exact orders. Mixing an open job's material issue with a closed job's invoice creates an artificial gap. Use the same cutoff and cost basis again for the next review.
Treat negative net consumed cost as an exception. It usually means the worksheet's credit and consumption records need reconciliation. The calculator leaves the signed amount visible and suppresses the cost-based recovery ratio. It does not turn excess credits into an improved performance result.
Questions business owners ask
Is a 136% recovery result a 136% margin?
No. Recovery divides billed material charges by consumed cost. Surplus as a share of billed value uses billed charges as the denominator. The example shows 136.36% recovery and a 26.67% material surplus share.
Should I use the monthly paint supplier invoice?
Only if it accurately represents consumption on the same jobs being reviewed. An inventory purchase alone usually includes a different timing or job set. Use matched job consumption records.
Does the calculator determine a material amount owed by insurance?
No. It compares your entered approved billing and consumed costs. Coverage, reimbursement and authorized charges require their own records.
Primary sources
BlueFinch reviewed these sources on September 7, 2026. Payment rules and state requirements change.
- PPG: tracking consumed paint and materials against repair orders
- PPG: paint volume estimation for individual repair panels
- California Bureau of Automotive Repair: Write It Right
This page provides general business information, not legal, tax, or accounting advice.