What every UK small business should track monthly

Most UK SME owners feel they should have a 'dashboard' but are not sure what should be on it. The answer is not 50 metrics. It is 12 — chosen deliberately because each one tells you something different about the health of the business, and together they catch nearly every problem early.

This is the practical monthly check-in every UK SME owner should run, in the order they should run it, with the actions each one triggers.

The 12 metrics, grouped into four questions

The dashboard should answer four commercial questions:

• Are we making money? (3 metrics)
• Are we collecting it? (3 metrics)
• Are we investing it well? (3 metrics)
• Are we commercially healthy? (3 metrics)

One hour a month, once a month, same time every month. That is the discipline. Below is what actually goes on the dashboard.

Are we making money?

1. Revenue (month and YTD vs LY)

Not just this month's revenue. This month vs same month last year, and YTD vs LY YTD. Direction matters more than level. Up vs last year is healthy; flat is a question; down for 3 months is investigate.

2. Gross margin %

The percentage gross margin for the month. Compare to the 12-month rolling average. If the current month is more than 2 percentage points below the rolling, investigate: pricing drift, cost drift, or mix shift.

3. Operating profit %

Operating profit divided by revenue. Sector benchmarks vary, but most UK SMEs should be above 8%. Below that, you are structurally fragile.

Are we collecting it?

4. Debtor days

Trade receivables ÷ revenue × 365. Month-on-month trend is what matters. Rising debtor days = cash tightening. Every 7 days added to debtor days on a £600k business = £11,500 of cash going missing.

5. Bank balance

End-of-month cash balance, adjusted for known upcoming outflows (VAT, PAYE, lease). True 'free cash' after known obligations.

6. 8-week cash forecast low point

Project the next 8 weeks of cash. What is the lowest point? If it drops below 2 weeks of operating costs, you have a pressure situation approaching regardless of how the current balance looks.

Are we investing it well?

7. Stock days (for product businesses)

Inventory ÷ COGS × 365. Rising = buying faster than selling, or sell-through slowing. Deliberate build-up (seasonal, launch) is fine; accidental build-up is working capital going missing.

8. Revenue per employee

Total revenue ÷ full-time-equivalent headcount. Tracked over time. The most revealing single productivity metric — is the business getting more or less efficient per head?

9. Marketing spend vs new customers

Cost of customer acquisition. Month-by-month trend is more important than absolute level. Rising CAC without rising LTV means marketing is getting less efficient.

Are we commercially healthy?

10. Pipeline (B2B) or forward order book

For service and B2B businesses: value of pipeline at various stages. For product businesses with advance orders: forward order book in units and value. The leading indicator of next quarter's revenue.

11. Top customer concentration

Revenue from top 3 customers as a % of total revenue. Over 40% is concentration risk. Over 60% is an existential exposure — losing one customer threatens the business.

12. NPS or customer feedback score

A simple regular read on how happy your customers are. Lagging indicator, but the only one most SMEs have. Rising = customer base strengthening; falling = problem approaching.

How to actually run the monthly review

The discipline matters more than the specific format. Best practices:

• Same day each month. First Monday, or 10th of the month. Book it in the diary, non-negotiable.
• Same format each month. A single-page dashboard. Same 12 metrics. Variances from last month and from budget/target.
• Written commentary on anything flagged. Two lines per issue — what moved, why, what we'll do about it.
• Review with someone. Your business partner, your accountant, your commercial advisor, or your LumixAI dashboard. Externalising the review forces honest thinking.
• Actions tracked. Every review produces 1-3 actions. Track them over quarters. A review that never produces actions is a review that is not being read.

What this replaces

A disciplined monthly review with these 12 metrics replaces:

• Daily checking of bank balance (most SME owners do this — it is noise, not signal)
• Quarterly panic about 'how are we doing' (the answer is always in the monthly numbers if you read them)
• Year-end surprises (nothing in year-end accounts should surprise you if you have been reading monthly)
• Reactive decision-making (most SME decisions are better made against a 12-month trend line than against last week's feeling)

The single biggest correlation with UK SME commercial health is whether the owner knows these 12 numbers without looking them up. Not the accountant. Not the bookkeeper. The owner.

Common questions