Why the daily and monthly data is so important to you and your business

Working with numbers for business measurement was never on the radar in the beginning of your career, nor has it ever been one of your passions. This is understandable — that kind of work is never exciting. When a passion for data entry accuracy is lacking, many errors may occur in that data entry because the only thing on one’s mind is, “I want this over with!” That is also very understandable!

This is the No. 1 reason why you should have a competent person responsible for any data entry that is used to measure your business. A numbers person may be a little quirky in your mind, but they love numbers and working with them to see what kind of outcome they get, which is very similar to your quirky passion of working on an engine through diagnostics to see what kind of performance you can get. Two kinds of quirky people working together can really achieve greatness.

Without accurate data, the only thing you can really watch is your bank account. If it is low, a shop owner can panic and start to do things that can dramatically affect their business in a negative way.

So why is data information so important in today’s business?

1. Daily data entry into the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) allows you and your team to visually see and focus in on what is really important in the shop, namely proper productivity “accountability,” such as labor sales, inspections and hours billed for the day and per invoice compared to objectives. This lets you know if you are informing and educating clients professionally on proper safety and reliability of their vehicle, which can be determined by measuring the amount of deferred work from completed inspections. As you move closer to reaching the objectives — and that does take time — everyone can see that they are fully engaged as a solid team and working professionally on behalf of the client. That is a culture very hard to find today and when it is in place, all of you should hold your head up high.

2. Your monthly report should sum up the entire month in ALL revenue and operating expense categories measured against budgets and objectives, allowing you to see how you are doing. It should also give you a quantifiable analysis and measurements that allow you to see into the future based on what you are accomplishing each month. This complete report points out the strong areas of the business that are really working well, along with the weak areas of the business to be addressed and in order of importance. Prioritizing management’s actions can help improve efficiency in achieving the desired results. This kind of report allows you to be accountable not only to the business team with your defined and measured actions, but it also lets you know if you are doing your job properly in order for the business to move forward and prosper. It talks to you and pats you on the back mathematically, or will kick you mathematically as well as to say “pay attention.”

Renew your focus in ensuring your data being entered daily and monthly is accurate and always completed in a timely manner. You should have a daily routine for entering the KPIs. Instruct your bookkeeper to enter accurate monthly data, targeting the 10^th of the month following or sooner if possible. This would provide back to you a very timely report and analysis of the business so you can continue to work on your business effectively and not get caught in the trap every single day of working in your business. The occasional day in the business is understandable, but your No. 1 priority and your job is to manage the team, which in turn is called managing the business.

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