Reporting
The few business numbers your systems should make visible
How to move from scattered data to a small, useful view of leads, delivery and outcomes.
6 min read
A useful dashboard answers recurring decisions. It does not display every number a system happens to store.
Begin with the decision
Ask what you would change if a number moved. If nobody can name an action, the metric is probably decoration rather than management information.
Follow the customer journey
Most growing service businesses benefit from seeing demand, speed, conversion, delivery and retention together.
- Qualified enquiries by source
- Time to first meaningful response
- Enquiry-to-sale conversion rate
- Work in progress and overdue commitments
- Repeat business, retention or referral rate
Define each measure
Agree what counts as an enquiry, a qualified lead and a completed sale. Inconsistent definitions create arguments about the report instead of insight from it.
Keep exceptions visible
Automation should reduce report preparation, but missing or unusual data still needs review. A small data-quality panel is often more valuable than another chart.