non-financial metrics
non-financial metrics

Non-Financial Metrics Every Business Owner Should Track

Business owners are constantly tracking financial metrics of key performance indicators (KPIs), financial statements, and bank statements. While these financial metrics are key to monitor on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis, non-financial metrics are just as important to track. Oftentimes these KPIs can be incredibly insightful to the financial team, CFO, investors, and management. Below are examples of non-financial metrics that we recommend business owners monitor regularly.

Conversions

A conversion happens every time someone takes an action related to your business. Depending on the activity you’re monitoring, it could be a prospect converting into a lead, or a lead converting into a customer.

Knowing the conversion rate for a specific advertising campaign can help you evaluate how well paid advertisements are working, showing how many people actually click on a link, purchase through the link, or view a specific item. You can also track how many customers make repeat purchases, identifying actions more likely to lead to those repeat customers. 

Buying cycle is a related KPI that looks at how long it takes to gain a conversion. By understanding the average amount of time it takes a lead to become a customer, you can get better insights out of sales forecasts that translate into cash flow. Combining conversion rates with a buying cycle can help the CFO or business owner project future revenue for a specific period of time. 

Shopify and Square are two of our top picks for tracking conversion metrics. With all of your customer data in one secure, cloud-based app, you can track conversion rate and buying cycle with ease, and also identify factors that may be having a negative impact on these KPIs. For example, you may be able to get to the bottom of an increase in abandoned online shopping carts by digging into your conversion data, thereby leading to an opportunity to find a solution.

Team Metrics

Headcount is especially important in businesses primed for rapid expansion. Utilizing projected sales and revenue indicators can help business owners determine how many additional employees the company will need to hire to keep up with future demand. Don’t forget to include all employees, including part-time, remote, and contract employees, as their roles may need to shift. How well are your current employees keeping up with the current level of customer demand? They may have the capacity to take on more business; alternatively, they may be at a point where additional workload would result in delayed services or deadlines, negatively impacting the customer experience.

One of the biggest assets any business has is its employees. As a business owner, you should be keeping track of your employee satisfaction rate, no matter how small or large your staff is. Offer your employees a survey, a meeting, or anything that allows their voices to be heard. 

Gusto gives you total control of your payroll, human resources, and all staffing concerns. Ready to onboard additional employees? Gusto makes the process simple and effortlessly integrates with your existing cloud-based accounting system, such as Xero.

Customer Service and Online Reputation

Response times and resolution rates are incredibly important to customer satisfaction. If your company fails to keep up with customer support inquiries, delays wait times, or has poor issue resolution rates, customers are quick to share their negative experiences with others. Utilizing a CRM or other cloud-based app to track these metrics can quickly show how your business is doing in real-time and where there is room for improvement. We like Monday.com or Pipedrive as easy-to-use tools to help manage customers. 

Reviews are one of the most important indicators that any business should be tracking. A business’s reputation is everything, and even ​​one negative review could be detrimental if it’s left unaddressed. Ensure you are managing reviews on different channels, including social media. Almost every business will have the experience of getting a negative review from time to time. The most important thing you can do is address the issue head-on and continue to amass positive reviews on the same platform. If a particular aspect of the business or product is mentioned on multiple occasions, it might be time to make some changes. Good reviews provide great marketing material to showcase customer testimonials. 

Understanding all aspects of your business is essential for success. Using cloud-based accounting apps to track vital KPIs can help business owners pinpoint areas for improvement or opportunities for growth. You can also collaborate with an outsourced CFO to help you utilize both the financial and non-financial metrics to inform future business growth plans. If you’re ready to start tracking your KPIs through a cloud-based accounting app, contact us to see how we can find the right solutions for your growing business. 

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