Numbers guide

The small-shop restoration KPI guide

Eight practical definitions and formulas for following a water-restoration inquiry from first contact through collected revenue.

A restoration KPI scorecard is useful only when every person uses the same stage definitions. Start with a small funnel that can be reconciled from the original inquiry to the invoice. Track counts, rates, and dollars separately so a change in job size does not hide a change in conversion.

The eight-number scorecard

MetricDefinitionFormula
New inquiriesDistinct new requests received during the periodCount of unique inquiries
Contact rateShare with a completed two-way conversationContacted ÷ new inquiries
Qualification rateShare of contacted inquiries meeting your documented fit criteriaQualified ÷ contacted
Inspection set rateShare of qualified opportunities with a scheduled visitVisits scheduled ÷ qualified
Estimate delivery rateShare of completed visits receiving the promised scope or estimateEstimates delivered ÷ completed visits
Authorization rateShare of delivered estimates that become authorized workAuthorized jobs ÷ estimates delivered
Average collected job valueCollected revenue divided by jobs with collections in the periodCollected revenue ÷ collected jobs
Lead-source contributionCollected revenue minus assigned direct job cost and acquisition cost, using your accounting policyUse the same cost policy every period
Choose one cohort method. A calendar-period dashboard can mix leads received this week with jobs collected from older leads. For source evaluation, also run a cohort report that follows inquiries from their received month through a defined maturation window.

Definitions prevent dashboard arguments

New inquiry

Count a person or property request once, even if it arrives by form, call, and text. Preserve each channel as an event, but deduplicate the opportunity. Decide how you will handle repeat losses and multiple properties.

Contacted

Use a two-way exchange. A voicemail, ring, automated reply, or unread email is an attempt—not contact. Track attempts separately if they help coach the process.

Qualified

Write down the criteria: service type, geography, capacity, decision path, and any non-negotiable operating constraint. “Bad lead” is not a definition.

Authorized

Choose the event that counts: signed work authorization, deposit, insurer instruction, or another documented commitment. Use the same event across the team.

Collected revenue

Bookings and estimates are not cash. Tracking collected revenue makes aged receivables visible, but the time lag means you should also monitor authorized value and outstanding balances.

Worked example

Suppose a monthly cohort has 50 inquiries, 34 completed contacts, 24 qualified opportunities, 18 completed visits, 16 delivered estimates, and 8 authorized jobs.

  • Contact rate: 34 ÷ 50 = 68%
  • Qualification rate: 24 ÷ 34 = 70.6%
  • Completed-visit rate from qualified: 18 ÷ 24 = 75%
  • Estimate delivery rate: 16 ÷ 18 = 88.9%
  • Authorization rate: 8 ÷ 16 = 50%

Those are arithmetic examples, not suggested targets. Your source mix, service type, geography, sales process, capacity, and definitions determine whether a rate is acceptable.

A 20-minute weekly meeting

  1. Check whether every new inquiry has a source and owner.
  2. Review the oldest uncontacted and open opportunities.
  3. Compare this week with a four-week rolling view.
  4. Choose one bottleneck and one owner for the next experiment.
  5. Record the change so the next review does not rely on memory.

Do not redesign the process from a tiny sample. Use the dashboard to find the next set of calls or jobs worth reviewing, then inspect the underlying records.