The CLEAR Framework
Every service business runs on the same five financial pillars. The CLEAR Framework is how we analyze all of them — same structure, different nouns. Cash, Labor, Earnings, Accounts, Risk. This is the lens we use across 2,200+ service business engagements to find where money leaks and where profit hides.
The Core Insight
Service businesses share the same financial DNA. The CLEAR Framework reveals it.
An HVAC contractor and a dental practice look nothing alike on the surface. But underneath, both sell expert time, carry receivables, struggle with labor costs, and face concentration risk. A restaurant and a cleaning company both live and die by their labor-to-revenue ratio. A staffing agency and a healthcare practice both fight the cash flow lag between service delivery and payment. The CLEAR Framework captures these shared patterns so we can apply lessons from 2,200+ engagements to your specific business.
Five Pillars, Every Industry
Cash
Is your cash flowing — or stuck in someone else's bank?
| Industry | What we measure |
|---|---|
| Contractors | DSO, invoice speed, retainage, progress billing |
| Healthcare | Insurance reimbursement lag, patient collections, claim processing |
| Restaurants | Daily sales cycle, vendor payment terms, seasonal dips |
| Cleaning | Net-30 commercial invoices, payroll timing, client concentration |
| Staffing | Weekly payroll float, 45-75 day DSO, working capital gap |
Labor
Is your workforce generating returns — or draining them?
| Industry | What we measure |
|---|---|
| Contractors | Technician utilization, billable hours, callback rates |
| Healthcare | Provider productivity, no-show rates, sessions per FTE |
| Restaurants | Labor-to-revenue by daypart, overtime, scheduling efficiency |
| Cleaning | Labor as % revenue (40-60%), crew productivity, route density |
| Staffing | Recruiter productivity, fill rates, time-to-fill |
Earnings
Are you pricing profitably and keeping what you earn?
| Industry | What we measure |
|---|---|
| Contractors | Job-level margins, SA profitability, install vs service |
| Healthcare | Procedure margins, overhead ratio, payer reimbursement rates |
| Restaurants | Prime cost, food cost %, menu engineering, RevPASH |
| Cleaning | Contract profitability, commercial vs residential margins |
| Staffing | Bill-pay spread, markup management, placement-level margin |
Accounts
Are you winning new work — and keeping it?
| Industry | What we measure |
|---|---|
| Contractors | Quote conversion, pull-through revenue, customer retention |
| Healthcare | Patient volume, referral patterns, coding accuracy, A/R aging |
| Restaurants | Daily sales reconciliation, inventory management, covers per day |
| Cleaning | Contract retention (80-90%), renewal rates, upsell success |
| Staffing | Client pipeline, contract renewals, account profitability ranking |
Risk
Are you exposed to concentration, churn, or market shifts?
| Industry | What we measure |
|---|---|
| Contractors | Customer concentration, warranty exposure, bonding capacity |
| Healthcare | Malpractice, payer concentration, compliance, coding audits |
| Restaurants | Lease exposure, food cost volatility, seasonal revenue swings |
| Cleaning | Client concentration, employee classification, insurance gaps |
| Staffing | Worker misclassification, client concentration, cash gap risk |
How a CLEAR Analysis Works
Connect
We connect to your accounting software (read-only). QuickBooks, Xero, or whatever you use. 15-minute setup, zero disruption.
Analyze
We pull 12-24 months of data and score each CLEAR pillar against benchmarks from 2,200+ service businesses in your industry.
Act
You get a scorecard with specific, prioritized recommendations. Each one includes the dollar impact so you know exactly what to fix first.
Industries We Analyze with CLEAR
Same framework, industry-specific benchmarks.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the CLEAR Framework?
The CLEAR Framework is Level's proprietary method for analyzing service business finances. It evaluates five pillars: Cash (liquidity and collection speed), Labor (workforce productivity and cost), Earnings (margins and pricing), Accounts (pipeline and retention), and Risk (concentration, compliance, and exposure). Every service business — from HVAC contractors to healthcare practices — runs on the same five pillars, just with different nouns.
How is the CLEAR Framework different from standard financial analysis?
Standard financial analysis looks at income statements and balance sheets. The CLEAR Framework is purpose-built for service businesses that sell time and expertise rather than products. It prioritizes operational metrics that drive financial outcomes — things like collection speed, technician utilization, and client concentration that don't show up on a standard P&L but determine whether the business thrives or struggles.
Does the CLEAR Framework work for my industry?
If your business sells services (not products), employs people who do the work (not machines), and invoices clients for time or outcomes, the CLEAR Framework applies. We use it for contractors (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, roofing, landscaping), healthcare practices, restaurants, cleaning companies, and staffing agencies. The pillars are universal — the specific metrics change by industry.
How long does a CLEAR analysis take?
The initial CLEAR audit takes 2-3 weeks. We connect to your accounting software (read-only), pull 12-24 months of data, and benchmark you against 2,200+ service businesses. The deliverable is a scorecard with specific recommendations prioritized by financial impact. Most clients see their first actionable insight within the first week.
Get your CLEAR scorecard
We'll analyze your business across all five pillars and show you exactly where to improve. Free audit included.
No commitment. Cancel anytime.