KPIs that actually matter at scale

Single-truck operators run on intuition. Multi-truck operators need numbers. The right KPIs catch problems before they become customer losses.

Five KPIs every multi-truck operation should track weekly.

1. Stops per tech per day. Benchmark: 18–22 for residential, 12–16 for mixed routes. A tech consistently below benchmark either has a quality problem (taking too long) or a routing problem (too much windshield time).
2. Callback rate by tech. % of stops that needed a return visit within 7 days. Benchmark under 5%. Identifies training needs by individual.
3. Revenue per stop. Total monthly revenue / total monthly stops. Tracks both pricing and account quality. Trending down = you're adding cheap accounts faster than premium ones.
4. Net account count. New starts minus cancels, weekly. Benchmark: positive every week during season. Negative weeks during peak season are a red flag.
5. Days sales outstanding (DSO). Average days to collect after invoice. Benchmark under 30 for auto-billed; under 45 for manually invoiced. Climbing DSO predicts cash crunches before the bank balance shows them.

Monthly KPIs.

- Gross margin %
- Customer acquisition cost (CAC) per channel
- Lifetime value (LTV) per channel
- Tech turnover rate (rolling 12 months)
- Net Promoter Score (NPS) from a brief customer survey

Dashboarding. A spreadsheet works. Most modern routing software (Skimmer, Pool Office, Pooltrac) export the underlying data. Set up a weekly Monday-morning ritual: pull, review, identify one thing to act on for the week.

The trap. Tracking 30 KPIs and acting on none. Pick five. Review weekly. Add or rotate annually as the business changes.