The 7 Numbers Every Home Services & Handyman Pro Should Track Weekly

Why most business dashboards fail

Staring at a spreadsheet with 30 different numbers is like trying to fix a leaky faucet while someone's yelling at you about a clogged drain. You get overwhelmed and fix nothing. For a handyman, an independent electrician, or a remodeling contractor, time is money. You don't have hours to dig through reports. This guide focuses on just a few vital signs. These aren't just numbers from your accounting software; they're early warning signals that tell you if your truck is running on empty *before* you're stuck on the side of the road.

Metric 1: Monthly Project Revenue

Let's call this your **Monthly Project Revenue**. This is the total money you bring in from completed jobs – the painting contract, the HVAC repair, the kitchen remodel deposit, the handyman hourly work. For most home service businesses, your revenue changes week to week based on completed jobs and payments. You need to know this absolute number. Then, compare it to last week and last month. Is it going up, staying flat, or dropping? If you expect more work (and you should!), a flat or falling revenue number is your first sign that something is off with your job pipeline or pricing. For example, if your average HVAC service call brings in $350, and you expect 20 calls a week, you're aiming for $7,000 in weekly revenue. Keep an eye on that number.

Metric 2: Job Acquisition Cost (JAC)

This is your **Job Acquisition Cost (JAC)**. It's how much you spend to get one new paying job. Add up all your marketing money for the month – that's your Facebook ads, your local flyers, your Angie's List fees, even the cost of the coffee you bought a referral partner. Divide that total by the number of *new, completed jobs* you got that month. If you spent $500 on flyers and got 10 new painting jobs, your JAC is $50. If you also spent $200 on Google Local Services Ads and got 2 new plumbing calls, those calls cost you $100 each. If this number keeps climbing but you're not making more money per job, your marketing is getting expensive. Track it every month. If you're running Google Ads for "emergency electrician near me," check it weekly.

Metric 3: Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

This is your **Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)**. It's the total money you expect to make from one customer over the entire time they hire you. For a handyman, maybe Mrs. Smith hires you for a small repair ($150), then for deck staining ($800) next year, and furnace filter changes ($75) twice a year for five years. That adds up! To figure this out for your business: Take the average price of one job (e.g., $400 for a typical electrical service call). Multiply that by how many times a customer usually hires you in a year (maybe 1.5 times for repeat plumbing customers). Then multiply that by how many years they typically stay your customer (say, 5 years for a good remodeler). So, $400 x 1.5 x 5 = $3,000 CLV. If your CLV is much higher than your JAC, you're building a valuable client base. Aim for CLV to be at least 3 times your JAC. A homeowner who calls you for every repair is gold.

Metric 4: Repeat Customer Rate

For home services, we'll call this your **Repeat Customer Rate**. Instead of "churn," think about who *doesn't* call you back. This is the percentage of customers who hire you again within a set time (say, 12 months) after their first job. If you had 100 customers last year, and 30 of them hired you again this year, your repeat customer rate is 30%. A low repeat rate means you're constantly finding *new* people, which is expensive. A high rate means you're doing great work and building trust. Track this quarterly. If it's low, ask yourself: Did I follow up? Was the quality top-notch? Did I make it easy for them to rebook? For an HVAC tech, returning clients for yearly maintenance is huge. For a painter, a client hiring you for their next room, or referring a friend, shows you're doing well.

Metric 5: Cash on Hand (Runway)

This is your **Cash on Hand (Runway)**. It's how many months you can keep your truck fueled, your tools maintained, and your bills paid if no new money comes in. Take your current bank balance. Divide it by the average amount of money you spend each month (your rent for the workshop, insurance, gas, payroll for an assistant, loan payments for your van, materials not covered by client deposits). If you have $15,000 in the bank and spend $5,000 a month, you have a 3-month runway. Never let this number drop below 3 months without a clear plan to bring in more cash or cut costs. This number stops you from being surprised when the truck needs new tires and your bank account is empty. Look at this every single month.

Metric 6: Estimate-to-Job Conversion Rate

This is your **Estimate-to-Job Conversion Rate**. You get calls or emails (leads). You give them a price (estimate). Do they hire you (job closed)? This rate tells you how many of your estimates turn into actual paying work. If you give 10 estimates for deck repairs and get 3 jobs, your conversion rate is 30%. Track this: How many calls turn into estimates? How many estimates turn into signed contracts? If your rate is falling, either you're getting calls from people who can't afford your prices (bad leads), or your estimates are too high, or you're not selling yourself well enough. For a remodeler, if your conversion rate for kitchen remodels drops from 50% to 25%, you need to find out why. Is your bid process slow? Are materials costs pushing you out of budget? This metric helps you fix the right problem.

Metric 7: Customer Referral Score (CRS)

This is your **Customer Referral Score (CRS)**. For home services, word-of-mouth is gold. This score tells you if your clients are happy enough to tell their friends about your work. After a job, send a quick text or email asking: "On a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [Your Business Name] to a friend or neighbor?" Scores 9-10 are your "Promoters" – they'll sing your praises. Scores 0-6 are "Detractors" – they might say bad things. The rest are "Passives." Subtract Detractors from Promoters to get your CRS. A high CRS means you'll get more calls from referrals, which are often the best, lowest-cost leads. A low score means you need to fix your service before your reputation gets hit. Check this every few months. For a painter, a happy customer showing off a newly painted room is better than any ad.

How to build your weekly dashboard

You don't need fancy software. Grab a simple Google Sheet or even a notebook. Make columns for: Metric Name, Last Week's Number, This Week's Number, Change, and Notes. Every Monday morning, before you load up the truck, spend 15 minutes filling this out.

* **Monthly Project Revenue:** Get this from your QuickBooks, Wave Apps, or FreshBooks. * **Job Acquisition Cost & Customer Lifetime Value:** This might take a little digging in your job records and marketing spend. * **Repeat Customer Rate & Estimate-to-Job Conversion:** Use your CRM (like Jobber, Housecall Pro, or even a detailed spreadsheet) where you track leads and completed jobs. * **Cash on Hand (Runway):** Your bank account balance and your accounting software will give you this. * **Customer Referral Score:** Tally up those survey responses.

This isn't busywork. It's your weekly check-up. Knowing these numbers keeps your home service business healthy and growing without stress.

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