The 7 Key Numbers Snapshot The numbers every small business should be tracking From Clarity HQ & The Drift: Why Small Businesses Fail and How to See It Coming by Aynsley Damery | aynsleydamery.com/the-drift | Available on Amazon Print it. Pin it to your wall. Give it to your accountant. These seven numbers tell you whether your business is getting stronger or weaker, this month, not nine months after year-end. 1 Revenue Growth Profit & Loss Is the business moving forward or stalling? Important, but misleading on its own. Revenue can grow while profitability collapses. Where to find it: Compare total revenue this period to the same period last year. Calculate the percentage change. 2 Gross Profit % Profit & Loss Is the delivery model economically viable? The most sensitive signal across all seven reasons. Falls when the model is unclear, the business serves everyone, or pricing is wrong. Where to find it: Gross Profit divided by Revenue, as a percentage. Found on your Profit & Loss report. Track monthly. 3 Operating Profit (EBITDA) % Profit & Loss Is the business producing returns after overheads? This is where hidden costs show up, particularly the cost of an owner doing work that should be delegated. Where to find it: Operating Profit (before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation) divided by Revenue. On your Profit & Loss report. 4 Core Cash Target Cash Does the business have enough reserve to survive disruption? The number most owners have never calculated. The gap between target and actual tells you how exposed you are. Where to find it: Taxes due plus two months of overheads. Compare to your current cash balance. The gap is your exposure. 5 Cash Days Cash How fast does cash cycle through the business? When this stretches, the business bleeds cash even if profitable on paper. Explains why the bank account feels tight when revenue looks fine. Where to find it: Receivable days + WIP days + inventory days minus payable days. Your accountant can calculate this from your Balance Sheet and P&L. 6 Business Return Balance Sheet Is the business generating a return on the capital invested? Answers the question most owners avoid: would I be better off putting my money somewhere else? Where to find it: Operating Profit less market rate salaries for the owner-managers, divided by a deemed valuation of the business (Operating Profit x 2.5 as an example). Your accountant can calculate this from your accounts. 7 Revenue per Employee Efficiency Is the business scaling or just adding cost? Benchmark: push above 100k. When flat or falling while headcount grows, every new hire is diluting the business. Where to find it: Total Revenue divided by total number of full-time equivalent employees (including owner, subcontractors and consultants). Track quarterly.