“Reporting” and “analytics” are constantly lumped together for good reason.
Both revolve around data.
Both have the power to answer business questions.
Both create understanding and support decision-making.
While reporting and analytics are overlapping disciplines, I apply them for my clients with the following distinctions in mind:
Use a REPORT when you need to know…
What happened
What is happening right now
Use ANALYTICS when you need to know…
Why it happened
What will probably* happen next
*Note: “Probably” isn't a non-committal caveat. Predictive analytics are literally based on probability, so I just can’t bring myself to leave that word out.😊
Lay Of The Land
Reporting is the most practical place to start for using data to grow a Home Services company because we really don’t know what questions to explore with analytics until we know where you stand right now.
Key metrics to track with reporting (by job type and over time):
Gross margin
Labor costs as a % of revenue
Job materials costs as a % of revenue
% Missed calls
Job conversion rate
Job cancel rate
Membership conversion rate
Average revenue per job (overall, by technician, by campaign)
Average marketing spend per job (by campaign)
Your reports will give you some answers that you like and some that you definitely do not, which will prompt a new set of questions. This is where you can get specific enough to pose meaningful analytics questions.
Think about the difference between…
“Why is gross margin so low? It seems like it should be higher since we changed vendors.”
“Why hasn’t gross margin increased over the past 6 months despite changing vendors and seeing a 5% decrease in average equipment cost per job?”
Reporting and analytics build upon each other. When you have a strong picture of where you are, you can dig into how you got here and how to change that picture.
How To Begin
Use the reporting tools that come with your field service and accounting software. Take advantage of their built-in reporting options.
Export the data from your software to create your own reporting. You can do SO much more with the raw data than with pre-built dashboards.
Get help. Lean on someone who knows how to work with data. It could be someone in-house who has experience and interest in reporting or an outside expert. The key is to join business understanding with experience in transforming data into a usable tool.
Resources
KPI Guide: If you like the list of metrics above, you may find this guide from ServiceTitan helpful. You don’t have to be a ServiceTitan user to download the guide, but you do have to provide your email address.
Book a Call: I help my clients with reporting and analytics. We ALMOST ALWAYS start with reporting because it serves an immediate need. If that sounds valuable to you, connect with me, or see plan options here.
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