The six numbers to look at every Monday

Most owners look at the bank balance and the sales board. Neither tells you where the business is going. These are the six numbers I looked at every Monday morning for eighteen years, on one sheet of paper, before I did anything else.

1. Managed properties, net

Properties that came under management this week, minus properties that left. Not the total. The movement. The total hides a leak; the movement shows it.

2. Market appraisals booked

Sales and lettings, counted separately. This is the top of the funnel. If this number drops, everything below it drops six to twelve weeks later, by which point it is too late to do anything about it.

3. Instructions won, and the fee on each

How many appraisals turned into instructions, and at what fee. If the conversion is good but the fee is falling, somebody is discounting to win. If the fee is fine but the conversion is poor, somebody needs help with the pitch.

4. Rent arrears over seven days

The total and the number of tenancies. Arrears grow quietly. Seven days is the point where a phone call fixes it. Thirty days is the point where it costs you a landlord.

5. Pipeline, in pounds

Every agreed sale and every agreed let, with the fee it will bring in and the month you expect it. This is the only forward-looking number on the sheet, and it is the one that tells you whether you can afford the hire you are thinking about.

6. Cash in the business account

The client account is not your money. The business account is. Know the number, know what is going out in the next fortnight, and never be surprised by the VAT.

How to use it

One page. Same six numbers. Every Monday, same time, before the first phone call. Write this week next to last week. After a month you will see patterns you never saw before. After a year you will be running a different business.

If you want to know what your numbers say about the value of your agency, the Owners’ Score takes three minutes.