Most industries came to a halt last year when the pandemic shut down businesses around the world. When manufacturers adjusted operations, taking necessary precautions to protect employees, it created a ripple effect of shortages in other areas, including lumbar, tile, and other supplies used to build houses. Amidst all the uncertainty, it may seem easier to ignore performance metrics. In this climate, however, they are more important than ever before.
Tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) can help business owners keep their operations running smoothly. KPIs are essentially prioritized metrics that owners and managers need regular access to make decisions. When determining which KPIs are important to track, know that it varies by industry. Keep reading to discover some key metrics to help leaders in the construction industry understand your firm’s performance.
Here are a few KPIs to consider:
- Net income: Net income is what is left of your revenue after you’ve subtracted expenses and tax liability. Tracking changes in your net income and understanding when, why, and how it changes can help provide better forecasting for future business decisions.
- Days in Accounts Receivable: When an invoice is issued, how long until the payment comes in? Days in accounts receivable provide this average. If the number is trending far past the terms negotiated on the contract, it may be time to shift the collection efforts, so cash is coming in to help offset the initial costs of future work.
- Liquidity: Measuring liquidity tells an owner how likely they are to meet short-term obligations (anything under a year). Take current assets and divide them by the total of current liabilities to get this statistic.
- The average revenue per hour worked: Knowing how much revenue each employee or subcontractor generates can help an owner better cost out jobs and plan for jobs that make more money for the firm. In addition, it allows them to see where staffing is benefitting the company. If you have an employee who has a low average revenue per hour worked ratio, consider whether their assistance frees up other workers to handle more revenue-generating activities (i.e., business pitches instead of handling the books).
- Time and cost rate: When bidding out future jobs and planning for a steady stream of income for your business, knowing how long it will take certain projects and the average cost is imperative. It allows companies to predict their timeline better so that clients are not always delayed because a current job is running late and tying up workers.
- Bid development: Cashflow forecasting models need to know not only what upcoming projects there are (and the expected impact on the construction firm) but the jobs currently in the bidding pipeline. Estimating the profit, when the contract would begin and end, and the likelihood that the bid will be chosen can be an early indicator of cash flow bottlenecks. If the bid pipeline is looking lower, it’s time to start finding more business.
In addition to these more traditional KPIs, the following also impact profitability.
- Safety: Safety accidents can cause worker injury meaning staff shortages and higher employment costs.
- Quality assurance: Do certain employees, subcontractors, or types of projects usually lean toward cost overruns, errors that need correcting, missed site inspections, or low customer satisfaction? All of those concerns can eat away at the expected profit from a job.
- Worker performance: If workers are not efficient and effective with their time, they could be causing quality assurance issues or cost overruns from wasted time on the clock.
While there are many other KPIs that construction firms can choose from, we find that these are often the top indicators of financial health and areas of opportunity. If you would like a second look at your KPIs or help establish some, give our team of professionals a call today.