Key Metrics by Industry
Why It Matters
Every trade runs on a handful of numbers that tell you, week to week, whether the business is healthy: the recurring-revenue share in a service trade, the rebooking rate in a salon, inventory turns in a retail shop. Knowing them before you buy sharpens diligence, and watching them after you own it is the job. This gathers the operating metrics each industry guide names, so a searcher can size up a trade at a glance. Each row links to the guide where the numbers are explained.
Metrics by Industry
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| Metrics to Watch | |
|---|---|
| Accounting or Bookkeeping Practice | Client retention by service line · Recurring monthly engagements versus annual work · Realization on billed hours · Fee levels versus market · Staff capacity through peak season |
| Auto Body Shop | Insurance versus retail revenue mix · DRP scorecard standing and cycle time · In-house ADAS calibration share · Supplement capture per repair order · Paint-booth and bay utilization |
| Auto Repair Shop | Bay utilization · Average repair order · Technician hours billed versus available · Repeat-customer share · Parts margin |
| Car Wash | Cars per day against weather · Membership count and churn (if program exists) · Revenue per car · Chemical and utility cost per car · Downtime on tunnel or bay equipment |
| Childcare Center | Enrollment versus licensed capacity · Enrollment by age band (infant slots first) · Staff-to-child ratio compliance · Teacher turnover · Waitlist depth by classroom |
| Commercial Cleaning | Top-five customer revenue share · Contract renewal and rebid calendar · Margin by account · Supervisor-to-crew coverage · Complaint and inspection scores |
| Convenience Store or Gas Station | Gross profit by category, inside versus fuel · Foodservice sales share and growth · Fuel gallons and margin per gallon · Inside-sales trend against the prior year · Tank test and monitoring compliance |
| Dental Practice | Production by provider · Hygiene revenue share · Active patients and recall effectiveness · New patients per month · Collections versus production |
| Dog Grooming | Rebooking rate · Forward appointment fill · Groomer tenure and retention · Revenue per groomer per day · Product and supply cost share |
| E-Commerce | Contribution margin by SKU and channel · Fully loaded ad cost share of revenue · Inventory turns and aging · Account health (ratings, policy flags) · Repeat-purchase rate |
| Electrical Contracting | Service and compliance revenue share · Work-in-progress versus billings · Backlog weeks by contract type · Non-owner master electricians on staff · Change-order capture rate |
| Fencing | Bid win rate and average job value · Commercial contract backlog and remaining months · Service and warranty revenue share · Material cost as a share of job price · Installs per crew per week in season |
| Franchise Resale | Unit revenue versus FDD Item 19 medians · All-in royalty and ad-fund load as a share of sales · Same-unit sales versus the prior owner's trailing year · Labor share against the franchisor's model P&L · Franchisor field-visit scores and compliance notices |
| Funeral Home | Calls served, split burial and cremation · Revenue per call against the trailing year · Preneed contracts written and trust deposits made · Family review score and response time · On-call coverage hours per licensed director |
| Gym or Fitness Studio | Monthly member churn · Active members from the billing system, not the CRM · Average revenue per member · New joins by channel · Deferred-revenue balance |
| Home Care Agency | Caregiver turnover and open shifts · Billed hours by payer · Client census and referral pipeline · Missed-visit rate · Time-to-fill for new caregivers |
| HVAC | Service-agreement revenue share · Booked calls versus technician capacity · Average ticket by job type · Maintenance-agreement renewals · Install backlog and close rate |
| Insurance Agency | Policy retention by line · Book revenue by carrier (concentration watch) · Loss ratios by carrier (contingent commissions) · New business by producer · E&O incident log |
| Landscaping | Recurring-contract revenue share · Stops or properties per crew-day · Contract renewal rate · Weakest-quarter cash coverage · Crew labor cost as a share of revenue |
| Laundromat | Turns per machine per day · Collections versus utility usage (the honesty check) · Wash-dry-fold volume and labor cost · Machine downtime · Rent as a share of gross income |
| Liquor Store | Margin by category · Inventory turns by category · Purchases (distributor invoices) versus reported sales · Shrinkage · Basket size and traffic |
| Med Spa | Revenue per provider · Membership revenue share and churn · Rebooking rate · Injector retention · Deferred-treatment liability balance |
| Moving | Booked jobs versus crew capacity · Referral and repeat share of bookings · Damage-claim rate and cost · Cost per booked lead by channel · Review rating trajectory |
| MSP | Monthly recurring revenue and churn · Revenue per endpoint or seat · Contract renewal calendar · Ticket volume per technician · Client security posture exceptions |
| Optometry Practice | Medical eye care share against routine exams · Optical capture rate and dispensary margin · Exams per day per doctor · Managed-vision-plan mix and reimbursement trend · Active patients and recall effectiveness |
Method
These are the KPIs distilled from each industry's buy guide, the numbers the guide argues actually move value and risk in that trade. They are a starting checklist for what to request and track, not an exhaustive dashboard; the industry guides explain why each one matters and what a healthy reading looks like.