What type of ratios measure the use of specific assets and the efficiency of managing?

Efficiency ratios use financial data to analyze how effectively a company uses its resources to create revenue. This article provides details on how that works and simple formulas for some of the most common efficiency ratios.

Inside this article:

• What efficiency ratios measure
• Top efficiency ratios
• How financial analysts use efficiency ratios
• Limitations of efficiency ratios

What Is an Efficiency Ratio?

An efficiency ratio is a metric that enables business leaders to measure how well a company uses its resources. Managers may use these ratios to gain insights into where they can improve operational, asset management and other business practices.

Experts sometimes also use the term "activity ratio" instead of efficiency ratio.

What Do Efficiency Ratios Measure?

Commonly used efficiency ratios compare a company's expenses with its revenue. Other efficiency ratios measure how well a business maintains optimal inventory levels, or how quickly it collects money owed by customers. Which ratios a company uses depends on the type of business and the areas in which managers think they can find efficiencies.

Key Takeaways

• Managers and analysts employ efficiency ratios to see how well a company uses its assets and resources to produce revenue and profits while minimizing waste.
• A common efficiency ratio is the operating efficiency ratio, or operating ratio, which compares company operating expenses to net sales.
• Efficiency ratios can be helpful but shouldn't be used in a vacuum or as one-time exercises. Managers need to analyze a range of financial data and should evaluate efficiency ratios over time.

How Is Efficiency Measured in Management?

Managers use efficiency ratios to understand how their companies are performing. By tracking applicable efficiency ratios over time and looking for changes, they can adjust how the company operates to make it more efficient and spot and fix problems before they escalate.

Read our post on operations dashboards to learn how companies use software dashboards to help their managers and employees track some efficiency ratios.

Types of Efficiency Ratios

Efficiency ratios include those that track a company's expenses compared with revenues. Ratios also measure how effectively a company collects and spends its money and uses assets.

Here are some commonly used formulas.

Efficiency Ratio

A basic efficiency ratio tracks a company's expenses compared with its revenue. While many types of organizations use this ratio, it is particularly prevalent in the banking industry.

The formula is:

Efficiency ratio = expenses/revenue

Operating Efficiency Ratio

The operating efficiency ratio and efficiency ratio are similar. The operating efficiency ratio shows how well a company uses the resources it spends to produce revenue. Experts use various terms for the same or similar ratios, including efficiency ratio, operational efficiency ratio, operating efficiency ratio and operating ratio.

The formula is:

Operating efficiency or operating ratio = expenses (operating expenses, or OPEX + cost of goods sold, or COGS)/net sales

An accounting note: Some companies already include the cost of goods sold (COGS) in their operating expenses; others track the two expenses separately. For further explanation, read this article about COGS and how to calculate it.

Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio

This ratio tracks how well a company collects payments from customers for purchased products or services within the expected deadline. Some people call it the “debtors' turnover” or the "receivable turnover" ratio.

The formula is:

Accounts receivable turnover ratio = net sales/average accounts receivable

Net sales is total sales in a specific period, minus returns. Calculate average accounts receivable by using the accounts receivable figure at the start and end of a period and then dividing by two.

A higher accounts receivable turnover ratio is better than a lower ratio. Companies can increase their ratios by selling more to financially stable customers and limiting credit to others. Often, a business will sell on credit and give their clients a set amount of time to pay, commonly 30 days.

Average Collection Period

The average collection period relates to the accounts receivable turnover ratio. It shows the average number of days between when a company makes a sale to a customer on credit and when that customer pays. Companies track this number for various periods.

The formula is:

Average collection period = days in period company wants to track/accounts receivable turnover ratio during that period

Accounts Payable Turnover Ratio

Accounts payable turnover ratio tracks how quickly your company pays its suppliers or other organizations to which it owes money. The formula is:

Accounts payable turnover ratio = total supply or other purchases/average accounts payable

To calculate this ratio, track total supply purchases in a set period. Then add the accounts payable figure at the start of the period to the accounts payable figure at the end and divide it by two. That provides your average accounts payable. Then, divide that number into total supply purchases.

Track the accounts payable turnover ratio over time. A ratio that is decreasing shows a company taking longer to pay debts and may indicate financial issues. An accounts payable turnover ratio that is increasing shows the company may have enough cash to, for example, invest in R&D or hiring.

Average Number of Days Payables Outstanding

The average number of days payables outstanding relates to the accounts payable turnover ratio. It represents the average number of days between when a company incurs a bill and when it pays that bill.

The formula is:

Average number of days payables outstanding = days in period to track/accounts receivable turnover ratio during that period

Inventory Turnover Ratio

The inventory turnover ratio tracks how quickly a company is selling products it has in inventory.

The formula is:

Inventory turnover ratio = cost of goods sold/average inventory

Track cost of goods sold over a specific period. Then, add the total inventory figure at the start of the period and the number at the end and divide by two. The result is the average inventory. Divide that figure into your cost of goods sold for the period.

A higher inventory turnover ratio signifies stronger sales. It also suggests the company manages stock well and isn’t spending too much money to store products that aren't selling

Well-run companies will focus on both inventory management and asset management, with assets meaning the equipment and supplies a company uses internally.

Days Sales in Inventory

Days sales in inventory relates to the inventory turnover ratio. The ratio tracks how many days it takes for a company to turn its inventory into a completed sale.

The formula is:

Days sales in inventory = (average inventory/cost of goods sold) X 365

A lower days sales in inventory figure is better because it shows that a company is selling its stock quickly. That result indicates both good sales and lower inventory costs.

Asset Turnover Ratio

One of many asset or asset management efficiency ratios, the asset turnover ratio represents how a company uses its assets to drive revenue and sales. Experts sometimes call this the total asset turnover ratio.

The formula is:

Asset turnover ratio = net sales/average total assets

Net sales is all the sales in a period minus returns and sales allowances. To find average total assets, add the total assets at the start of a period and the total assets at the end of a period and divide by two.

A higher asset turnover ratio is better than a lower one and shows the company generates more revenue based on the assets used to garner that revenue.

Fixed Asset Turnover Ratio

Fixed asset turnover ratio is like the asset turnover ratio, except it considers only longer-term fixed assets. The ratio focuses on how a company generates sales based on fixed assets like manufacturing plants, machinery and equipment.

The formula is:

Fixed asset turnover ratio = net sales/average fixed assets

As with the total asset turnover ratio, a higher ratio is better because that means the company uses its fixed assets well — to generate more revenue.

Total Assets to Sales

Total assets to sales is simply a reverse way of looking at the asset turnover ratio.

The formula is:

Total assets to sales = total assets/sales

Fixed Assets to Total Assets

The fixed assets to total assets ratio provides insights into the percentage of a company's total assets based on its plant, equipment and machinery and similar assets.

The formula is:

Fixed assets to total assets = fixed assets/total assets

Company assets that aren't fixed are current assets, such as inventory and accounts receivable. For many companies, the fixed assets/total assets ratio will be 50% or greater.

Working Capital Ratio

Experts sometimes call this ratio the "current ratio." The working capital ratio shows how easily a company could pay off its current liabilities with its current assets.

The formula is:

Working capital ratio = current assets/current liabilities

In general, experts consider that a working capital ratio of less than one shows a struggling company. A working capital ratio of 1.5 to 2 indicates a healthy balance sheet.

Formulas for Efficiency Ratio

Efficiency Ratios

Operational Efficiency Ratios

The operating ratio, or operational efficiency ratio, indicates how well your company is performing. A lower ratio is better; it shows your company is spending less money to generate more revenue. A ratio that decreases over time reveals a company that is learning how to trim expenses and therefore increase profits. This ratio can help a company to improve operational efficiency.

What Is a Good Operating Efficiency Ratio?

Experts consider many factors when interpreting a company's operating efficiency ratio. They look at the company’s industry and evaluate how the company's competitors are doing.

Financial industry analysts commonly use the efficiency ratio to judge a bank’s performance. Experts consider an efficiency ratio of 50% or less to be extremely good. The average efficiency ratio for banks is closer to 60%.

For companies in other industries, a "good" operating efficiency ratio will vary. Experts pay attention to how a business is doing compared with competitors and see if the ratio improves over time.

Operating Efficiency Ratio vs. Operating Expense Ratio

Managers shouldn't confuse the operating efficiency ratio with the operating expense ratio, which is a calculation the real estate industry uses to measure the costs for a rental property compared with how much the property makes.

Real estate experts use that ratio to compare the value of different rental properties. As indicated above, the operating efficiency ratio is used more broadly across industries. It compares a company's total expenses to its total revenue.

Challenges With the Operating Ratio and Other Ratios

Managers should consider context as they analyze a company's operating ratio or other ratios. In particular, leaders must look at the operating ratio along with other financial numbers and watch efficiency ratios over time.

For example, in addition to the operating ratio and other efficiency ratios, look at important financial data like:

• The ratio of the company's debt to its equity
• The gross profit margin for products it sells
• The organization's free cash flow in recent periods

Other challenges of working with operating ratios include:

• The operating ratio or operating efficiency ratio doesn't track a company's debt. A business might have substantial debt, which will require payments from the company monthly. But it may have the same operating ratio as a company with no debt. That's why analysts consider a range of financial data in analyzing companies.
• Leaders should also review a company's operating ratio over time to pick up on trends or major changes in a given timeframe. A business can cut costs in one period and its operating ratio will look better. But the organization may need to add those costs back in later periods to operate the business.
• Operating ratios can vary significantly by industry. When comparing companies or judging how a company is doing, compare operating ratios with similar businesses in the same industry.
• Companies may use nonstandard accounting methods that affect some of the variables in these ratios. That may make it difficult, or misleading, to compare two companies — even in the same industry.
• Organizations can work to change the numbers that fit in an efficiency ratio simply to make that ratio look good. Those changes don't indicate a healthy company, even if the ratio looks good.
• Focusing too much on any one efficiency ratio can hurt the company overall. A business that wants to produce a positive fixed asset turnover ratio, for example, may decide against investments that should happen for the long-term benefit of the company. Or, one that wants to produce a positive inventory turnover ratio might stock inventory items in such low quantities that the company doesn't have products available for customers who wish to buy them.

How Efficiency Ratios Are Used in Financial Analysis

Analysts use the operating ratio and other efficiency ratios to judge the financial health of companies. The operating ratio is a common way to benchmark performance, but experts look at other efficiency ratios as well.

Efficiency ratios can be solid measurements of a company's ability to generate income from its assets. Financial analysts may also track the ratios over time to see how a business is trending in its operations. They can use efficiency ratios to compare the health, and the quality of management, of companies in the same industry.

Financial analysts use efficiency ratios because there is a direct correlation between solid numbers and profitability.

An Example of How Technology Can Help Operational Efficiency

ReSource POS improved its operational efficiency and grew its business by using a customizable enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. The ERP helped improve how the company dispatched technicians and tracked work orders. It achieved a return on investment in three months through better revenue capture documentation and accurate job quotes. Additionally, dispatchers were able to manage technicians more efficiently. Learn more about how the ERP helped ReSource POS improve its operations(opens in new tab).

NetSuite's Systems Deliver Invaluable Insight Into Your Own Financial Data

Calculating operating efficiencies starts with having accurate data to pinpoint operational areas that may need improvement. NetSuite goes beyond collecting basic financial metrics. Its financial reporting system helps you track statistical and operational data to enable a comprehensive view of your business. NetSuite provides real-time operational, tactical, and strategic intelligence in a simple system. And its SuiteAnalytics feature helps you discover hidden information in your financial data that gives you meaningful insights and helps you make critical decisions.