How to Track Business Progress
Tracking the progress of your business is essential to its long-term success. There are basically three things you can monitor in your business to evaluate and track your progress: your inputs (resources), outputs (your products or services) and the outcomes (the results you get).
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Instructions
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Buy business tracking software. This type of program allows you to enter detailed information into a database, and then compare it to previously imputed data, determining how well the business is doing. Simple programs may track only economic gain while more expensive software may be able to account for changes in the company's size, number of employees, interaction with investors and other details.
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Use spreadsheets and timetables. By recording details on paper, you can better see what is changing and what still needs to be done. You can easily create different spreadsheets for financial progress, business transactions and achievements.
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Establish benchmarks to track your business progress. Rather than setting a few large goals, think of "step" goals that can take less time to achieve. Not only does this give you a sense of accomplishment, but it also helps you track changes in the company.
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Don't track money and sales only. Instead, consider tracking challenges your employees are facing, successes stimulated by new techniques or changes caused by moving to a larger location.
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Use the PerformanceHub website as a tracking tool (see Resources below). The website provides a series of tools to help you decide how your business is changing and how you can make the most of it. It also offers case studies, so you can see how other companies are tracking their progress. However, comparing your business to others is not a good way to track progress. Many internal factors determine how a business progresses and changes, and it is essentially impossible to know what others are doing. Always focus on comparing your business' present state to its past positions.
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Tips & Warnings
Break down the year into quarters or even monthly blocks, so you can better track progress without getting overwhelmed.
If you're tracking money, consider focusing on total numbers rather than income only. Investing heavily during a quarter indicates progress, even if your income is reduced during that period.
