What Every Trade Business Owner Should Track Every Single Week

Most trades business owners have no idea how their business is actually doing until tax time.

They know they are busy. They know money is coming in. But they could not tell you their close rate, their average job value, or how much is sitting unpaid in outstanding invoices.

That is like driving without a speedometer. You might be fine. Or you might be about to run out of gas.

The 5 numbers that matter

Check these 5 numbers every Monday morning. It takes 15 minutes. After a month you will spot problems weeks before they become emergencies.

1. Revenue booked

How much new work did you sell this week? This is the total dollar value of jobs booked, not completed or invoiced. Just booked.

This number tells you what your pipeline looks like 2 to 4 weeks from now. If revenue booked drops for 2 weeks in a row, your schedule is about to get thin. That is your signal to market harder, follow up on old quotes, or call past customers.

2. Revenue invoiced

How much did you bill this week? This is the total of invoices sent.

Compare this to revenue booked. If you are booking $15,000 per week but only invoicing $10,000, there is a gap. Either jobs are not getting finished or invoices are not going out on time.

3. Revenue collected

How much cash actually hit your account this week? This is the number that pays your bills.

If you invoiced $12,000 but only collected $7,000, your receivables are growing. That means customers owe you money and you have not collected it yet. This is the most important number in the list.

4. Outstanding invoices over 14 days

How much money is owed to you that is more than 14 days past due?

Invoices under 14 days are normal. Over 14 days is a problem. The longer an invoice sits unpaid, the less likely it gets paid at all. FreshBooks data shows that invoices over 30 days have a 50% lower collection rate.

If this number is growing, your follow-up process is broken. Fix it this week.

5. Close rate on estimates

How many of the estimates you sent turned into actual jobs?

Divide jobs won by estimates sent. If you sent 10 estimates and won 4, your close rate is 40%.

Below 30% means your pricing is too high, your follow-up is too slow, or your estimates do not look professional enough. Above 50% might mean you are leaving money on the table by pricing too low.

How to track them

You do not need fancy software. A simple spreadsheet works. Or check the reporting dashboard in your field service tool.

The point is not precision. The point is trend. You want to see these numbers every week so you notice when something shifts.

Monday morning. 15 minutes. 5 numbers. That is the habit that separates trades businesses that grow from ones that just stay busy.