# Operations Health Dashboard ## Track What Matters: KPIs, Metrics, and Accountability This lightweight framework helps you measure operational health and identify what to improve. --- ## PART 1: WHAT TO MEASURE **Not everything should be measured. Focus on 8-12 metrics max.** ### Core Metrics (Track Weekly) #### 1. REVENUE & FINANCIAL HEALTH **Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)** - Definition: Predictable monthly revenue (retainers, subscriptions) - Target: Increase month-over-month - Calculation: Sum of all monthly retainers + subscriptions - Frequency: Weekly check, monthly trend **Total Monthly Revenue** - Definition: All revenue (MRR + one-time projects) - Target: Compound growth rate (20-30% annually) - Calculation: Sum of retainers + one-time projects that month - Frequency: Monthly close-out **Average Deal Size** - Definition: Average $ per project/retainer - Target: Grow 5-10% quarterly - Calculation: Total monthly revenue / # of deals closed - Frequency: Monthly **Cash Runway** - Definition: How many months until cash depletes - Target: Never go below 3-6 months - Calculation: (Current cash) / (Monthly burn) - Frequency: Weekly **Profit Margin** - Definition: % of revenue remaining after costs - Target: 60-75% for service businesses - Calculation: (Revenue - Costs) / Revenue - Frequency: Monthly #### 2. SALES & PIPELINE **Pipeline Value** - Definition: Total value of deals in progress - Target: 3-5x monthly revenue - Calculation: Sum of (deal value × probability of close) - Frequency: Weekly **Conversion Rate (Lead → Customer)** - Definition: % of qualified leads that become customers - Target: 10-25% - Calculation: (Customers this month) / (Leads this month) - Frequency: Monthly **Sales Cycle Length** - Definition: Days from first touch to closed deal - Target: 14-30 days for most services - Calculation: Average days from first contact to contract signed - Frequency: Monthly **Cost Per Customer Acquisition (CAC)** - Definition: Marketing/sales costs to acquire one customer - Target: Recover within 3-6 months of revenue - Calculation: Total sales/marketing spend / # of customers acquired - Frequency: Monthly #### 3. CUSTOMER SUCCESS & RETENTION **Customer Churn Rate** - Definition: % of customers who left this month - Target: 0-5% (month-to-month), 0-10% (annually) - Calculation: (Customers lost) / (Starting customers) - Frequency: Monthly **Customer Lifetime Value (LTV)** - Definition: Total revenue expected from one customer - Target: 3-5x CAC - Calculation: (Average monthly revenue per customer) × (Average lifetime months) - Frequency: Quarterly **Net Revenue Retention (NRR)** - Definition: Revenue growth from existing customers (vs new customers) - Target: 100%+ (means existing customers grow) - Calculation: ((Starting MRR + expansion - churn) / Starting MRR) - Frequency: Monthly **Customer Satisfaction (NPS)** - Definition: Net Promoter Score (how likely to recommend 0-10) - Target: 50+ - Calculation: (% promoters - % detractors) - Frequency: Quarterly survey #### 4. OPERATIONS & EFFICIENCY **Team Utilization Rate** - Definition: % of time spent on billable work vs. admin - Target: 70-80% billable - Calculation: (Billable hours) / (Total working hours) - Frequency: Weekly or monthly **Project Delivery On-Time Rate** - Definition: % of projects delivered on time - Target: 95%+ - Calculation: (On-time projects) / (Total projects) - Frequency: Monthly **Rework Rate** - Definition: % of deliverables requiring revision - Target: 0-10% - Calculation: (Projects requiring revision) / (Total projects) - Frequency: Monthly **Average Project Profitability** - Definition: Profit margin per project - Target: 60%+ - Calculation: (Project revenue - costs) / Project revenue - Frequency: Monthly (track by type) #### 5. CONTENT & MARKETING **Content Pieces Published** - Definition: Blog posts, social posts, videos, etc. - Target: 4+ per month - Frequency: Weekly **Engagement Rate (Social)** - Definition: Likes, comments, shares per post - Target: Platform-dependent (LinkedIn: 1-3%, Twitter: 0.1-0.5%) - Frequency: Weekly **Lead Generation from Content** - Definition: Leads captured from owned channels (blog, email, social) - Target: 5-15% of monthly leads - Frequency: Monthly **Email List Growth** - Definition: Net new subscribers this month - Target: 5-10% growth monthly - Frequency: Monthly --- ## PART 2: BUILD YOUR DASHBOARD **Choose a tool and create a simple dashboard.** ### Simple Excel/Google Sheets Template ``` ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ OPERATIONS HEALTH DASHBOARD [Your Company Name] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ WEEK OF: [Date] FINANCIAL (Updated weekly) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── MRR This Month: $[#] ↑↓ YTD Revenue: $[#] ↑↓ Cash Runway: [#] months Last Month Margin: ##.#% SALES (Updated weekly) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Pipeline Value: $[#] ↑↓ Active Proposals: [#] Sales Meetings Scheduled: [#] Avg Sales Cycle (days): [#] CUSTOMERS (Updated weekly) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Active Customers: [#] Churn Rate (this month): ##.#% Net New Customers This Month: [#] NPS Score (last survey): [#] OPERATIONS (Updated monthly) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Projects On-Time Last Month: ##.#% Avg Project Profitability: ##.#% Team Utilization Rate: ##.#% Client Satisfaction: ★★★★★ CONTENT (Updated weekly) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── Posts Published This Month: [#] Social Engagement Rate: ##.#% Leads from Content: [#] Email List Size: [#] ═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════ ``` ### Notion Template - Database with metrics - Formula fields for automatic calculations - Weekly rollup dashboard - Trend views to see progress over time ### Google Data Studio - Connect Google Sheets - Auto-populate from CRM/tools - Visual charts and trends - Share with team --- ## PART 3: WEEKLY REVIEW PROTOCOL **Every Friday, spend 15 minutes reviewing your dashboard.** ### Friday Dashboard Review (15 min) ``` WEEK OF: [Date] METRICS CHECK: 1. MRR: $[#] (up/down from last week?) → Why? 2. Cash runway: [#] months (healthy?) 3. Pipeline: $[#] (enough deals in progress?) 4. Churn: [#] customers left → Why? 5. Delivered on-time: [%] (any slips?) 6. Margin: [%] (profitable this month?) WINS THIS WEEK: 1. ___ 2. ___ CONCERNS: 1. ___ → Action: ___ 2. ___ → Action: ___ ONE THING TO IMPROVE NEXT WEEK: ___ METRICS TO FOCUS ON NEXT WEEK: [Pick 2-3 metrics that need attention] ``` --- ## PART 4: MONTHLY & QUARTERLY REVIEW ### Monthly Review (1 hour, end of month) ``` MONTH: [Month] REVENUE & FINANCIAL: - MRR: $[#] (up/down from last month?) - Total revenue: $[#] (hitting targets?) - Margin: [%] (healthy?) - Cash runway: [#] months SALES & PIPELINE: - Deals closed: [#] (on target?) - Sales cycle: [#] days (shortening or lengthening?) - Pipeline: $[#] (enough for next month?) - Biggest deal: $[#] CUSTOMERS: - New: [#] - Churn: [#] (why did they leave?) - NPS: [#] (up/down?) - Issues: ___ OPERATIONS: - Delivered on-time: [%] - Margin by project type: ___ - Team utilization: [%] - Rework rate: [%] CONTENT & MARKETING: - Posts published: [#] - Engagement: [%] - Leads from content: [#] - Email growth: [#] WINS THIS MONTH: 1. ___ 2. ___ WHAT DIDN'T WORK: 1. ___ 2. ___ NEXT MONTH FOCUS: [1-2 things to prioritize] ``` ### Quarterly Review (2 hours, end of quarter) **Same metrics, but focus on trends:** - Are we growing? - Where are the bottlenecks? - What changed? - What's the strategy for next quarter? --- ## PART 5: COMMON INSIGHTS & ACTIONS **When this metric says... → Do this:** ### REVENUE CONCERNS If MRR is flat or declining: - [ ] Review pipeline: Are deals in progress? - [ ] Check churn: Did we lose customers? - [ ] Review pricing: Should we increase? - [ ] Assess sales effort: Are we selling enough? If cash runway is < 3 months: - [ ] Tighten expenses (which costs don't add value?) - [ ] Accelerate revenue (can you collect faster?) - [ ] Cut non-essential projects - [ ] Plan for contingency ### SALES CONCERNS If pipeline < 3x monthly revenue: - [ ] Increase sales activity (more conversations needed) - [ ] Review conversion: Why aren't leads closing? - [ ] Extend sales cycle: Are we rushing? - [ ] Improve qualification: Are we talking to right people? If sales cycle is lengthening: - [ ] Are deals actually qualified? - [ ] Is decision-maker involved? - [ ] Are we following up enough? - [ ] Is pricing an issue? ### CUSTOMER CONCERNS If churn is > 5%: - [ ] Call customers who left (what happened?) - [ ] Review onboarding (are we setting expectations?) - [ ] Check delivery quality (are we over-promising?) - [ ] Survey remaining customers (are they at risk?) If NPS is low: - [ ] Identify unhappy customers (who gave low scores?) - [ ] Call them (what's the issue?) - [ ] Fix the top complaint - [ ] Resend survey after fix ### OPERATIONS CONCERNS If on-time delivery < 90%: - [ ] Review project management (are we tracking?) - [ ] Are timelines realistic? - [ ] Is scope creep happening? - [ ] Do we need help? If profitability is declining: - [ ] Are costs rising? - [ ] Are we delivering faster = lower margins? - [ ] Should pricing increase? - [ ] Can we streamline delivery? --- ## PART 6: YOUR DASHBOARD SETUP **For next 30 days:** - [ ] Pick 8-10 metrics to track (use the list above) - [ ] Choose your tool (Excel, Notion, or Data Studio) - [ ] Build the dashboard (or use template) - [ ] Update weekly (Fridays, 15 min) - [ ] Review monthly (end of month, 1 hour) - [ ] After month 1: Adjust metrics (drop what doesn't matter, add what does) **Your metrics should answer:** 1. Is the business healthy? (Revenue, cash, margins) 2. Is the business growing? (MRR, customers, deal size) 3. Are customers happy? (Churn, NPS, satisfaction) 4. Are operations efficient? (On-time, quality, profitability) 5. Is marketing working? (Leads, engagement, cost-per-customer) --- ## REMEMBER - Don't measure everything. Measure what matters. - Trends matter more than individual data points. - Use metrics to make decisions, not just to look busy. - If you can't improve it, don't measure it. - Review weekly, adjust quarterly, celebrate annually.