Many owners either check nothing until something goes wrong, or drown in reports they never act on. A short list of numbers, reviewed at the same time every month, is far more useful than either.
1. Revenue against last year
Compare this month’s sales with the same month last year rather than last month. It removes the seasonal noise and shows whether the business is genuinely growing.
2. Gross profit margin
Gross profit divided by revenue tells you how much of every dollar of sales is left after the direct costs of delivering your product or service. If this percentage is slipping, prices, costs or the mix of work have shifted and it is worth finding out why.
3. Overheads as a share of revenue
Rent, wages for non-billable staff, software, insurance and the like. These costs tend to creep. Watching them as a percentage of revenue shows whether growth is actually reaching the bottom line.
4. Debtor days
How long, on average, customers take to pay you. If this number is rising, cash is getting stuck in your customers’ bank accounts instead of yours.
5. Cash in the bank against your forecast
Not just the balance, but how it compares with what you expected. A gap between forecast and reality is often the first sign that something has changed.
Pick a day each month, put it in your calendar, and look at the same five numbers every time. Consistency matters more than sophistication.
Turning numbers into actions
Numbers on their own do not change anything. For each one, ask a simple question: is this moving in the right direction, and if not, what is one thing we could do about it this month? Write the answer down and check it next month.
Over a year, that habit builds a much clearer picture of the business than any single report.
Free template: put this into practice with our monthly numbers dashboard. Download PDF
