The Monthly Numbers Review Checklist

Why this matters

The shops that drift into trouble rarely get one big surprise. They miss a slow bleed for months because nobody sat down with the numbers on a schedule. A monthly review catches a margin slipping, a receivable aging, or a cost creeping while it is still a small, cheap fix. This card is the set of numbers to pull and the questions to ask each month, so nothing hides until year-end. Skip it and you fly the business on the bank balance alone, which lies. See related: Cash vs Profit for why the balance is not the score.

Phase 1: Money in

Start with what came through the door and where it came from.

• Compare this month's booked revenue to last month and to the same month last year.
• Check revenue per tech and per day; flat revenue with more techs on the payroll is a warning.
• Review your close rate on quotes: how many went out, how many were won.
• Look at where the work came from, so you know what is actually feeding the pipeline.

Phase 2: Money out and margin

Revenue that does not keep any margin is just motion. Find the work that looks busy and earns little.

• Pull gross margin overall and by job type; the busy work that barely clears cost is the one to catch.
• Compare labor cost as a share of revenue against your target.
• Scan the biggest expense categories for anything that jumped without a reason you can name.
• Check parts and materials cost as a share of revenue; a rising ratio is a pricing or a waste problem.

Phase 3: Cash and what is owed

Profit on paper does not clear payroll. Read the cash and the receivables next.

• Read the cash position and a short forward look: does payroll clear over the next few weeks.
• Age your receivables: what is owed, how old it is, and who is slow to pay.
• Check what you owe suppliers and when, against what is coming in.
• Confirm the taxes you owe are set aside, not already spent.

Phase 4: The operations behind the numbers

The numbers are symptoms. These are some of the causes.

• Review callback and warranty rate; rework is margin you already lost, twice.
• Check jobs completed versus scheduled, and where the leaks were.
• Look at overtime; steady overtime is either a staffing gap or a scheduling one, and both cost you.

Phase 5: Act on it

A review that changes nothing is a report nobody needed.

• Pick the one number trending wrong and name a specific action, with an owner and a date.
• Write down what you decided, so next month's review can check whether it worked.

References

• See related: Cash vs Profit: Why They're Different; Reading Your Profit and Loss Statement
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), financial management and key performance indicators
• IRS, recordkeeping for small business