What does a one-screen dashboard look like?
Example numbers, made up for this layout. “Check” marks a number past its red line.
| Number | North | South | East | Red line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New leads, yesterday | 14 | 11 | 4Check | Under half of last week’s daily average |
| Median minutes to first reply | 6 | 9 | 95Check | Over 60 |
| Jobs or orders booked | 5 | 4 | 1 | Set yours |
| Sales, yesterday | $8,200 | $6,900 | $2,100 | Set yours |
| Gross margin, last week | 41% | 38% | 33% | Set yours |
| Labor as % of sales, last week | 29% | 31% | 44%Check | Set yours |
| Cash in bank · owed over 30 days | $61,000 · $9,400 for the whole business | Set yours | ||
How to read it: East is today’s story. Fewer leads, slow replies, and labor at 44% of sales. The 3 locations average 37 minutes to first reply, which looks fine. East alone is 95.
The 7 numbers
Getting work
1New leads: are people still finding each location?
- Tells you
- Whether people reach out, and which channel sent them.
- Lives in
- Web forms, your phone’s call log, ad accounts, social inboxes.
- Check
- Daily.
- Red line idea
- Under half of last week’s daily average.
Getting work
2Minutes to first reply: do leads get answered in time?
- Tells you
- Whether leads hear back while they still care.
- Lives in
- Call logs, inboxes, your customer list app.
- Check
- Daily. Use the median, so one odd lead does not skew it.
- Red line
- Over 60 minutes. In a Harvard Business Review study, companies that tried to reach a lead within an hour were nearly 7 times as likely to qualify it as companies that waited even an hour more. In a separate HBR test of 2,241 companies, 23% never replied at all. How fast should you answer a new lead?
Getting work
3Jobs or orders booked: do leads turn into work?
- Tells you
- Whether your team closes what comes in.
- Lives in
- Your scheduling app, job app or online store.
- Check
- Daily.
- Red line idea
- Booked ÷ leads (your booking rate) below your normal. Set it after 4 weeks of data.
Money made
4Sales: is each location bringing in money?
- Tells you
- The top line, location by location.
- Lives in
- Your register, online store or invoicing app.
- Check
- Daily for a store, weekly for project work.
- Red line idea
- Below the same week last year, if you have it. If not, below your 8-week average.
Money made
5Gross margin: is the work worth doing?
- Tells you
- Sales minus the direct cost of the goods or the job, as a percent of sales.
- Lives in
- Your accounting app, plus job costs or the cost of goods.
- Check
- Weekly. Costs arrive late, so daily numbers lie.
- Red line idea
- A drop you would act on, for example 3 points under your 8-week average.
Costs and cash
6Labor as a share of sales: is the schedule right?
- Tells you
- Wages for the location ÷ sales for the same days.
- Lives in
- Your time clock or payroll app, plus sales.
- Check
- Weekly.
- Red line idea
- Above your best 4 weeks by a margin you pick.
Costs and cash
7Cash: can you pay next week’s bills?
- Tells you
- Cash in the bank today, and money customers owe you that is over 30 days late.
- Lives in
- The bank feed in your accounting app, and its unpaid invoices report.
- Check
- A daily glance, and act weekly.
- Red line idea
- Cash under the number of weeks of bills you want in reserve.
Where does each number hide?
Print this. Fill in the last column with your own lines.
| Number | How to work it out | Usually lives in | Check | Your red line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New leads | Count of new inquiries, by location and source | Forms, call log, ad accounts, social inboxes | Daily | |
| Minutes to first reply | Median of (first reply time − lead time) | Call log, inbox, customer list app | Daily | |
| Jobs or orders booked | Count booked, and booked ÷ leads | Scheduling app, job app, online store | Daily | |
| Sales | Total sales, by location | Register, online store, invoicing app | Daily or weekly | |
| Gross margin | (Sales − direct costs) ÷ sales | Accounting app, job costs | Weekly | |
| Labor share | Location wages ÷ location sales | Time clock or payroll app | Weekly | |
| Cash | Bank balance; unpaid invoices over 30 days | Bank feed, accounting app | Daily glance |
Why one column for each location?
- Averages hide trouble. In the example, the average reply time looks fine. One location is at 95 minutes.
- Compare each location to its own past, not only to the others. A small location will always have fewer leads.
- Each number needs one owner. Name the person who acts when a number crosses its line.
How do you build it without buying another tool?
3 ways. Start at the top.
| Way | Cost | Your time each morning | It breaks when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. A shared spreadsheet, filled in by hand | $0 | 15 to 30 minutes for 3 locations (our estimate) | Someone forgets, or the sheet stops matching the apps |
| 2. Scheduled exports into the spreadsheet | $0 to a small app fee | 5 to 10 minutes (our estimate) | An app has no export, or changes its file |
| 3. A live view connected to each app | A one-time build | About 5 minutes, to read it (our estimate) | Nothing to copy. Someone keeps the connections working |
Run way 1 for 2 weeks first. You will learn which numbers you actually look at. Then automate only those.
What should you leave off?
- Numbers you cannot act on this week, like website visits or followers.
- Totals with no location split.
- Any number nobody owns.
How we help
On a free mapping call, we write down where each of these 7 numbers lives in your apps. That list is the plan for your one view, and it is yours either way.
Want every location on one screen, live, on accounts in your name?
Claim my free AI-Native MapOne of your apps closed, with no export? That link is an integration. Or start with a free 20-minute map.
Sources
- Oldroyd, McElheran and Elkington, “The Short Life of Online Sales Leads,” Harvard Business Review, March 2011. hbr.org/2011/03/the-short-life-of-online-sales-leads