Cycle time

Definition

Days from the first call to a paid invoice, which on insurance work runs long.

Why It Matters

The crew and the equipment are paid weeks before the carrier settles, so cycle time is the whole working-capital question in this trade: a business doubling its revenue on ninety-day cycles needs cash it does not have. It also degrades quietly, because a slipping cycle looks like growth on a revenue line. Ask for days-to-payment by carrier for two years and read the trend by name, since one slow payer usually explains most of it.