Finance
The Four Numbers a Founder Should See Every Week
Founders can have a full dashboard and still be surprised. Four numbers, reviewed weekly and each with a named owner, cover most of what you need to see.
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A founder can have a full dashboard and still be surprised. The problem is rarely too little data. It is that nobody has agreed on the few numbers that decide the week.
Four are enough to start. They cover the business end to end, and they are few enough that every one gets discussed.
Why four
Past about five numbers, the weekly meeting spends its time deciding which ones matter. Under four, whole parts of the business go unseen. Four numbers, each with one owner, gives you a view of cash, customers, sales and delivery without turning the meeting into a report-reading session.
Cash: what you can actually spend
The bank balance, less what is already committed over the next few weeks. The question it answers is simple: how many weeks can we operate if nothing comes in? It should be a figure someone can state, not a feeling. The owner is whoever runs payments and the bank.
Overdue receivables: what you are owed and late
The total overdue, and how long it has been overdue. Every late-paying customer is an interest-free loan from you. The question is who is already chasing the largest one. The owner is whoever invoices and collects.
Pipeline against plan: what is coming
Not the total pipeline, which always looks healthy, but the pipeline set against what the plan needs. If the next four weeks convert at the usual rate, do you reach the target? The owner is whoever sells.
Margin on delivery: what you keep
Revenue less the direct cost of delivering the work, as a percentage. A business can grow while its margin shrinks, and it looks fine until the cash squeeze arrives. The question is which jobs or customers pulled it down. The owner is whoever leads delivery.
The owner matters more than the number
A number without a name next to it gets discussed, nodded at and left. A number with one owner arrives with an explanation and a plan, because someone knew they would be asked. We wrote about this in The Meeting Isn't the Problem. The same logic applies here: the number is the easy part.
How to start this week
Pick one source for each number. Name one owner for each. Set a fixed twenty-minute slot and ask the same question of each number every week. Within a month you will know which numbers move, and which owners need support.
If you want to see where your own rhythm stands, start with the free five-question Management Rhythm Check, or book a 20-minute Review and we can look at which numbers your business should be watching.