Simple Reporting Metrics Every Contractor Should Track

Lead source, response time, and close rate tell you more than most dashboards ever will. Most contractors either track nothing or try to track everything — both approaches leave money on the table. The goal is a small set of numbers you can actually look at every week.

The three metrics that matter most

• –Lead source: where each new lead came from (Google, referral, repeat, social, etc.)
• –Response time: how long between first contact and first reply from your team
• –Close rate: what percentage of estimates turn into booked jobs

What these numbers tell you

Lead source shows you where to invest your marketing budget and where to stop spending. Response time tells you whether your follow-up process is actually working or just theoretically in place. Close rate shows whether your pricing, presentation, or targeting needs work. Each metric points to a specific lever you can pull.

How to start tracking without a complex system

Ask every new customer how they found you and log the answer. Check how long it took to reply to your last 10 leads. Count how many estimates from last month turned into jobs. You don't need custom software to start — but once you're tracking these consistently, the right software makes the patterns much easier to act on.