Small business KPI dashboard: the monthly KPIs worth tracking

Growth and profit

• Revenue against budget. Are sales where the plan said they would be? Formula: actual revenue - budgeted revenue (and as a % of budget). A shortfall that repeats month after month means the plan needs revisiting, not just the month. In the sample: $163,156 (+$18,015 against the budget).
• Revenue growth rate. Is the business getting bigger, and how fast? Formula: (this period's revenue - the earlier period's) / the earlier period's x 100. Compare with the same month last year as well as last month, to see past seasonal swings. In the sample: +12.9% (on the prior month; +38.4% on the same month last year).
• Gross margin. How much of each sale is left after the direct cost of delivering it? Formula: (revenue - cost of revenue) / revenue x 100. A margin that falls while sales rise points to discounting, or to direct costs rising faster than prices. In the sample: 73.0%.
• Operating margin. Does the business make money from its normal trading? Formula: operating result / revenue x 100. Shows whether overheads are growing faster than gross profit. In the sample: −38.1%.
• Net profit margin. What share of revenue is kept after every cost, interest and tax? Formula: net income / revenue x 100. A gap from the operating margin is interest, tax and one-off items: check which. In the sample: −38.1%.

Cash

• Cash balance. How much money is in the bank at the end of the month? Formula: closing balance of every bank account, reconciled. A balance alone does not say how long it lasts: read it with burn and runway. In the sample: $1,454,444.
• Net burn rate. How fast is cash going out, net of what comes in? Formula: cash out - cash in, per month (averaged over several months). One month can be lumpy; an average over several months is steadier. In the sample: $75,795.
• Cash runway. How many months until the cash runs out at the current burn? Formula: cash balance / net monthly burn. Recalculate after every hire, lost customer or new contract. In the sample: 23 months (on the forecast).
• Operating cash flow. Does the trading itself bring in cash? Formula: net income + non-cash costs +/- the change in working capital. Profit with negative operating cash flow means cash is getting stuck.

Working capital

• Days sales outstanding (DSO). How long do customers take to pay? Formula: receivables / revenue x days in the period. Compare with your payment terms and with last month. In the sample: 36 days.
• Days payable outstanding (DPO). How long does the business take to pay its suppliers? Formula: payables / cost of goods sold x days in the period. Rising DPO frees cash, until suppliers start to object. In the sample: 32 days.
• Overdue receivables. How much of what customers owe is past its due date? Formula: receivables past due / total receivables x 100, from the aging report. Name the largest late payers; an average hides them.
• Current ratio. Can the business pay what falls due within a year? Formula: current assets / current liabilities. Below 1, bills due within a year exceed what will come in.

Add these if they apply

• Working capital, if a lender sets a covenant on it. How much do current assets exceed current liabilities? Formula: current assets - current liabilities.
• Quick ratio, if stock is a large part of your current assets. Can the business pay its short-term bills without selling stock? Formula: (current assets - inventory) / current liabilities.
• Days inventory outstanding (DIO), if you hold stock. How long does stock sit before it is sold? Formula: inventory / cost of goods sold x days in the period.
• Cash conversion cycle, if you buy stock or materials before you sell. How many days is cash tied up between paying suppliers and being paid? Formula: DSO + DIO - DPO.
• Contribution margin, if you sell several products with different costs. What does each product or service contribute after its variable costs? Formula: (revenue - variable costs) / revenue x 100.
• EBITDA, if lenders or investors ask for it. What is the operating result before depreciation and amortization? Formula: operating result + depreciation + amortization.

How should a KPI dashboard be laid out?

MONTHLY KPI DASHBOARD - [Company] - [Month]
Columns: This month | Last month | Same month last year | Target | On track?

GROWTH AND PROFIT
  Revenue against budget
  Revenue growth rate
  Gross margin
  Operating margin
  Net profit margin

CASH
  Cash balance
  Net burn rate
  Cash runway
  Operating cash flow

WORKING CAPITAL
  Days sales outstanding (DSO)
  Days payable outstanding (DPO)
  Overdue receivables
  Current ratio

Off track: [what moved, why, and what happens next]

The sample values: Northbridge Analytics, September 2026

What makes a KPI dashboard useful?

• Keep the list short and fixed. A KPI earns its place by changing a decision. Change the list deliberately, with a note, not every month.
• Calculate each one the same way every month. A changed definition looks exactly like a changed business.
• Show a comparison for every number: last month, the same month last year, and the target.
• Close the books first. A dashboard built on unreconciled figures moves when the bookkeeping catches up, not when the business does. The month-end close checklist covers what to finish first.
• Put it in the monthly report. The dashboard is the key metrics section of the monthly management report, right after the summary.

Or have it written for you

• Your ledger. QuickBooks Online and Xero; NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Zoho Books and Business Central in beta.
• Every month on the 1st. The report is refreshed on the 1st of every month for the month just ended, as a draft that waits for your approval.
• History from day one. The first connection reads the trailing 24 months, so the first report already compares each month with the same month last year.
• Cash, 13 weeks out. A weekly cash forecast beside the open invoices and bills falling due.
• A second reviewer. A second, independent AI reviewer reads every monthly narrative, and an AI explanation that cites a source outside your books is discarded, not published.