Money
Check these monthly; check cash weekly.
- Revenue — total sales in the period, and the trend versus last year.
- Gross margin — (revenue − direct costs) ÷ revenue.
- Net profit margin — profit after all costs ÷ revenue.
- Cash runway — cash in the bank ÷ average monthly net spend.
- Accounts receivable days — how long customers take to pay you.
Customers
Check monthly or quarterly depending on volume.
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC) — sales and marketing spend ÷ new customers.
- Customer lifetime value (LTV) — average revenue per customer × gross margin × average lifetime.
- LTV to CAC ratio — above 3 is generally considered healthy.
- Churn rate — customers lost in the period ÷ customers at the start.
Pipeline and operations
Check weekly.
- Lead-to-customer conversion rate.
- Average deal size and sales cycle length.
- On-time delivery or job completion rate.
Make them actionable
Give every KPI an owner and a target, and write down what you will do if it moves the wrong way. If a number never triggers an action, stop tracking it.