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Understanding Key Metrics

Learn what each metric means and how to use it to improve your business.

Overview of Key Metrics​

Your analytics dashboard shows several important metrics. Understanding these numbers helps you track performance and make informed decisions.

Top Row Metrics (Dynamic)​

These metrics change based on your selected date range.

📦 Items Sold​

What it shows: Total quantity of items sold during the selected period.

Format: Number (e.g., 150 items)

Trend Indicator:

  • Green arrow (↗) = Increase compared to previous period
  • Red arrow (↘) = Decrease compared to previous period
  • Percentage shows rate of change (e.g., +15.2%, -3.4%)

Why it matters:

  • Shows customer demand and sales volume
  • Indicates business activity level
  • Helps forecast inventory needs

Example:

  • Today: 25 items sold (+20% vs yesterday)
  • Last 7 days: 150 items sold (-5% vs previous week)

💰 Revenue​

What it shows: Total money earned from sales during the period.

Format: ETB (Ethiopian Birr) - e.g., 45,000 ETB

Includes:

  • All completed cash sales
  • Initial payments from loan sales
  • Full payments on credit accounts

Trend Indicator: Green/red arrow with percentage change

Why it matters:

  • Your business income for the period
  • Shows financial performance
  • Indicates sales effectiveness

Example:

  • Today: 12,500 ETB (+30% vs yesterday)
  • This Month: 380,000 ETB (+12% vs last month)

:::tip Revenue vs Receivables Revenue is money received. Receivables is money still owed. Both are important for understanding cash flow. :::

Bottom Row Metrics​

🏦 Receivables​

What it shows: Total money customers still owe you from loan sales (outstanding balances).

Format: ETB - e.g., 25,000 ETB

Includes:

  • All unpaid loan balances
  • Partial payments (remaining amounts)
  • Overdue and current loans

Color Coding:

  • Yellow/Orange: High outstanding amounts
  • Red: Overdue loans needing attention

Trend Indicator: Shows if receivables are growing or shrinking

Why it matters:

  • Cash you're expecting to collect
  • Indicates credit policy effectiveness
  • Shows potential cash flow
  • Risk assessment for business

Healthy Receivables:

  • Consistent with your credit policy
  • Mostly current (not overdue)
  • Manageable percentage of revenue (typically 15-30%)

Unhealthy Receivables:

  • Growing faster than revenue
  • Many overdue accounts
  • Too large relative to daily cash flow

📈 Estimated Profit​

What it shows: Approximate profit from sales during the period.

Format: ETB - e.g., 18,000 ETB

Calculation: Revenue minus estimated costs (buying prices)

Note: This is an estimate based on your pricing. Actual profit may vary based on expenses not tracked in inventory.

Why it matters:

  • Shows business profitability
  • Indicates pricing effectiveness
  • Helps evaluate product margins
  • Guides pricing decisions

Trend Indicator: Green/red arrow showing profit trends

Profit Margin: Compare profit to revenue to see your margin percentage.

Static Metrics​

These don't change with date ranges - they show current counts.

🏪 Branches​

What it shows: Total number of your business locations/branches.

Why it matters:

  • Shows business scale
  • Context for performance metrics
  • Branch comparison baseline

👥 Employees​

What it shows: Total number of staff members (active employees).

Why it matters:

  • Shows team size
  • Context for sales performance
  • Staffing analysis

Using Date Range Filters​

Change the time period to see metrics for different ranges:

Today​

  • Use for: Daily performance monitoring
  • Compare to: Yesterday
  • Best for: Quick daily check-ins

Last 7 Days​

  • Use for: Weekly trends and patterns
  • Compare to: Previous 7 days
  • Best for: Weekly performance reviews

Last 30 Days​

  • Use for: Monthly performance overview
  • Compare to: Previous 30 days
  • Best for: Monthly planning and analysis

This Month​

  • Use for: Current month progress
  • Compare to: Previous month
  • Best for: Month-to-date tracking

Custom​

  • Use for: Specific period comparison
  • Compare to: Any other period
  • Best for: Seasonal analysis, special events

Interpreting Trend Indicators​

Trend Display:​

  • Green arrows (↗): Performance is improving
  • Red arrows (↘): Performance is declining
  • Percentage: Exact rate of change

Trend Calculation:​

  • Today: Compared to yesterday
  • Last 7 Days: Compared to previous 7 days
  • Last 30 Days: Compared to previous 30 days
  • This Month: Compared to previous month

+15.2%: Performance increased by 15.2% -3.4%: Performance decreased by 3.4%

Making Data-Driven Decisions​

If Revenue is Down (Red Arrow):​

  1. Check which branches are underperforming
  2. Look at item performance for slow sellers
  3. Review if you're focusing on low-margin products
  4. Consider promotions or marketing
  5. Train staff on sales techniques

If Items Sold is High but Revenue is Low:​

  1. You might be selling too many low-priced items
  2. Consider raising prices on popular items
  3. Focus on higher-margin products
  4. Review discount practices

If Receivables is Growing Fast:​

  1. Tighten credit terms for new loans
  2. Follow up on overdue accounts more aggressively
  3. Consider requiring larger initial payments
  4. Review which customers are reliable payers
  5. Adjust credit policies
  1. Continue current strategies
  2. Consider expanding successful approaches
  3. Look for opportunities to scale up
  4. Invest in inventory for popular items
  5. Reward high-performing staff

Metric Relationships​

Understanding Connections:​

High Items Sold + High Revenue = Good

  • Selling lots at good prices

High Items Sold + Low Revenue = Review Pricing

  • Selling cheap items or too many discounts

Low Items Sold + High Revenue = Premium Sales

  • Selling expensive items (verify profit margins)

High Receivables + Low Revenue = Credit Issue

  • Too much credit, not enough collections

High Revenue + High Profit = Excellent

  • Successful sales with good margins

Advanced Metric Usage​

Calculating Average Sale Value:​

Revenue ÷ Number of Sales = Average Sale Value

Tells you the typical transaction size.

Calculating Profit Margin:​

(Profit ÷ Revenue) × 100 = Profit Margin %

Shows percentage of revenue that's profit.

Monitoring Collection Rate:​

Revenue ÷ (Revenue + Receivables) × 100

Shows what percentage of sales you're collecting immediately.

Pro Tips​

  1. Check trends daily - Even 5 minutes helps
  2. Compare similar periods - Monday to Monday, not Monday to Sunday
  3. Look for patterns - Day of week, time of month effects
  4. Set targets - Define what "good" looks like for your business
  5. Act on data - Don't just observe, make changes
  6. Track changes - Note when you change something to see impact

Next Steps​

Learn how to analyze detailed performance by branch, product, and sales:

Performance Analysis →

Next: Performance Analysis →