Most electrical contracting owners learn how a month went when the bookkeeper closes it, three or four weeks too late to change anything. A weekly scorecard fixes that. It is one page, ready by Monday at nine, with ten numbers that show whether the shop is booked, priced, run and paid the way you planned. This guide explains each number, what a warning looks like, and what to do about it.
It is a business management tool. We are consultants and marketers, not electrical contractors, and the scorecard has nothing to do with electrical safety or code compliance.
The ten numbers
The answer, in one table. Each is explained below.
| # | Number | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booked crew-days, next two weeks | Whether the schedule is full |
| 2 | Backlog in weeks | Whether you're turning customers away |
| 3 | Quote close rate, last four weeks | Whether prices and follow-up are working |
| 4 | Gross margin on menu jobs | Whether the price book is holding |
| 5 | Estimate versus actual hours | Whether jobs are running long |
| 6 | Unbilled-materials checks | Whether parts are leaking |
| 7 | Cost per booked job, by channel | Whether marketing pays |
| 8 | Share of crew-days in target job types | Whether the service mix is shifting |
| 9 | Receivables over 30 days | Whether cash is coming in |
| 10 | Callbacks and owner hours | Whether quality and delegation are holding |
1. Booked crew-days for the next two weeks
Divide booked crew-days by available crew-days for the next ten working days.
- Below 70%: turn marketing up, especially for quick-turn job types, and check the quote pipeline.
- 70–90%: a healthy range for most shops.
- Above 95% for several weeks: narrow marketing to high-margin work, raise prices on low-margin work, and check your hiring triggers in your capacity plan.
2. Backlog in weeks
How far out is your next open slot for a typical job? A backlog of one to two weeks often signals a well-run shop. Past three or four weeks, customers start calling competitors, and reviews start mentioning waits. A growing backlog is a pricing signal as well as a hiring signal: if customers wait four weeks at your price, the price may be too low.
3. Quote close rate
Quotes accepted divided by quotes sent, over the last four weeks, by job type.
A falling close rate on one type points to price or presentation. A falling rate across all types often points to follow-up. Check whether every quote over your threshold got a same-day text and a follow-up call. See office systems for the sequence we recommend.
4. Gross margin on menu jobs
Revenue minus direct cost, divided by revenue, for all jobs priced from the flat-rate menu in the past week.
If it sits below target, look for three causes: discounts, jobs that should have left the menu, or input costs that have moved. The price book guide covers the review process.
5. Estimate versus actual hours
For closed jobs, compare hours quoted (or built into the menu price) with hours worked. Track it by job type and by tech.
- Consistently over: the menu's labour times are too optimistic, or a specific task is harder than modelled.
- One tech over on everything: a training or support issue, not a pricing one.
- Consistently under: good news, and possibly room to sharpen prices to win more work.
6. Unbilled-materials checks
Pick a sample of closed jobs each week and compare parts pulled from stock or the van with parts billed. The gap is money leaving the business. Even a small daily amount per tech adds up to a large annual figure. Make the check routine, not an accusation.
7. Cost per booked job, by channel
Marketing spend divided by booked jobs, for each channel and each target job type. Compare it with the allowable cost per booked job from your margin plan.
A channel that sits above the allowable cost for a full quarter is losing money unless its close rate or job value improves. The margin marketing service explains how to set the allowable cost.
8. Share of crew-days in target job types
If you set a target service mix, track the share of crew-days going to each type every week. The number moves slowly, so look at the four-week trend. If it isn't moving, check whether dispatch rules and marketing actually changed. The service mix guide explains how to set the targets.
9. Receivables over 30 days
Total invoiced but unpaid for more than 30 days, and the largest three accounts. This number matters most for shops with commercial and builder work. A rising figure is an early warning for cash flow, long before the bank balance shows it. Assign each overdue account to a named person with a follow-up date.
10. Callbacks and owner hours
Two short measures of quality and delegation:
- Callbacks: jobs needing a return visit, as a share of jobs completed. Rising callbacks cost margin and reviews.
- Owner hours on quoting and dispatch: if the owner still spends most of the week on the phone, growth will stall at the owner's capacity. A falling number means the systems are working.
How to run the Monday meeting
Keep it to twenty minutes:
- Read the page together; no slides.
- Pick at most three numbers that moved the wrong way.
- Assign one action each, with an owner and a date.
- Check last week's actions first, before anything new.
Keep the scorecard history in one file. After three months, the trends tell you more than any single week.
Common mistakes
- Too many numbers. Twenty metrics means none get read.
- No targets. A number without a target range is trivia.
- Prepared by the owner. It stops the first busy week.
- Reading without acting. Every red number needs a name and a date.
- Changing definitions. Keep calculations consistent, or trends become meaningless.
Getting started this week
Start with four numbers: booked crew-days, close rate, menu margin and receivables. Add the rest over a month. If you'd like the scorecard built from your own systems, see our office systems and job costing service, the pricing, or contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need special software for this?
No. A spreadsheet fed from your job-management and accounting software works. Many field-service tools can produce most of these numbers; the habit of reading them weekly matters more than the tool.
Who should prepare the scorecard?
Your office manager, dispatcher or bookkeeper, by a fixed time each Monday. The owner reads it and makes decisions. If the owner prepares it, it tends to stop the first busy week.
How is this different from my monthly financial statement?
The statement tells you what happened a month or more ago. The scorecard shows leading signals, such as backlog, close rate and unbilled materials, in time to change the result.
Should I share it with the team?
Share the parts your team can influence, such as estimate versus actual hours and callbacks. Keep financial details to the people who need them.