A branch marketing budget makes each location's manager responsible for a number they can see and influence. We help you set marketing as a line on every branch's P&L, decide how much each branch should spend and when, split shared costs fairly, and review it monthly against booked jobs. This is business consulting on budgets and reporting, not accounting or tax advice.
Why company-level budgets fail multi-branch heating firms
When marketing is one line in head office's ledger, the strongest branch quietly pays for the weakest. Nobody is dishonest; the numbers simply never split.
Three patterns we see:
- The new branch never graduates. Two years after opening it still spends like a launch and nobody notices, because its spend is invisible.
- The busy branch is starved. The mature branch could profitably take more work in October, but the budget was set as a company average.
- Managers ask for more and own nothing. Without a budget line, every request is a negotiation with the owner.
How we set a branch budget
We start from the profit side, not the revenue side. The method is simple enough for any manager to recheck.
- Gross profit per booked job, by branch. Use last year's average if you have it.
- Acceptable marketing cost per booked job. Many owners start at 15–25% of gross profit per job, then adjust.
- Jobs needed from marketing, by month, after repeat and maintenance-plan work.
- Budget = jobs needed × acceptable cost per job, adjusted for season.
A worked example. Branch C averages $1,100 gross profit per booked job. The owner accepts $220 of marketing per booked job (20%). The branch wants 40 marketing-sourced jobs in November. The November budget is 40 × $220 = $8,800. In May, when it needs 15 such jobs, the budget is $3,300. If the branch beats $220 per job, it has earned room to spend more; if it misses badly for two months, something needs fixing before more money goes in. Our budget guide runs through three branches side by side. For deeper job-value maths, HVACProfit.ca covers cost per booked job in detail.
Shared costs
Some costs belong to the whole company: the website platform, brand design, the CRM, and any campaign that names the brand rather than a branch. These need an allocation rule.
| Rule | Works when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| By booked jobs | Branches sell similar work | Penalises the busiest branch slightly |
| By revenue | Job sizes differ a lot between branches | Rewards branches that do small jobs |
| Evenly | Branches are similar in size | Unfair to a small new branch |
Whatever rule you choose, write it down and keep it for at least a year.
What's included
- A budget model per branch, by month, for 12 months
- An allocation rule for shared costs, agreed with branch managers
- A monthly branch marketing statement: spend, booked jobs, cost per booked job, against plan
- A quarterly review with the owner, where budgets move toward branches that earn it
The model depends on reliable branch-level counts, so most clients set up call routing and reporting first or at the same time.
Timeline and measurement
The first model takes three to four weeks, mostly gathering job and cost data by branch. After that, each monthly statement takes a few days once the month closes.
We measure success by two things: the gap between planned and actual cost per booked job for each branch shrinks, and budget changes are made from the statement rather than from the loudest manager. We will not promise a lower cost per job; we will show you, every month, which branch is earning its budget.
Mistakes to avoid
- Setting budgets as a percentage of revenue alone. Revenue hides margin differences between branches.
- One budget for twelve months. Heating demand is seasonal; the budget should be too.
- Moving shared costs around to make a branch look good. Pick a rule and keep it.
- Judging a new branch on year-one numbers. Set separate launch targets, as we do in new branch planning.
Costs for this work are on the pricing page. We are a marketing and business consulting service, not a heating contractor and not an accounting firm.
Frequently asked questions
Are you doing our accounting?
No. We help you design the marketing budget and the reporting. Your bookkeeper or accountant keeps the books, and any tax question goes to them.
What percentage of revenue should a branch spend?
There is no single right figure. A new branch usually needs a higher share than a mature one for its first year or two. We set the budget from gross profit per booked job and a target cost per booked job, then check it against revenue.
How do we split head-office marketing costs?
Pick one rule and keep it: by booked jobs, by revenue or evenly. We usually suggest booked jobs, because it ties shared costs to the work each branch actually gets.
What if a branch manager disagrees with the split?
That is a good sign; it means they read the report. A written rule, shared ahead of time, makes the disagreement about numbers rather than fairness.