1. Cash on Hand (and How Long It Lasts)
This is the most fundamental number in your business. Not revenue. Not profit. Cash.
You need to know two things: how much cash you have right now, and how many weeks or months that covers if nothing else comes in. This is your runway, and it should never surprise you.
When clients start working with us, one of the first things we establish is real-time visibility into cash position. Because “I think we’re fine” isn’t a financial strategy.
2. Accounts Receivable Aging
Revenue on paper means nothing if you can’t collect it. Your AR aging report shows who owes you money and how long they’ve owed it.
The longer an invoice sits unpaid, the less likely you are to collect it. If you don’t know your AR aging off the top of your head, you might be celebrating sales that never actually become cash.
3. Gross Profit Margin
Revenue tells you how busy you are. Margin tells you whether that busyness is actually working.
Your gross profit margin shows what’s left after you pay for the direct costs of delivering your product or service. If this number is shrinking, growing revenue won’t save you. You’ll just be running faster on a treadmill.
Healthy businesses know their margins by service line, by client type, or by project. They don’t just track the overall average.
4. Monthly Burn Rate
How much does it cost to keep the lights on every month? This includes payroll, rent, software, insurance, and all the other fixed costs that hit whether you have a good month or a bad one.
When you know your burn rate and your cash position, you can calculate your runway instantly. That’s the kind of clarity that lets you make confident decisions instead of reactive ones.
5. Net Income (Actual, Not “Adjusted”)
Are you actually profitable? Not “profitable if you exclude that one thing” or “profitable on a cash basis.” Actually profitable, according to your books.
This number should be clear, accurate, and something you can explain to a board member, a lender, or a potential buyer without hedging. If you find yourself qualifying your profitability, something in your reporting needs to change.
The Real Test
Here’s a simple exercise: set a timer for 60 seconds and try to write down these five numbers from memory.
If you can do it, your financial operations are serving you well. If you can’t, your reports might be creating noise instead of clarity.
The fix isn’t working harder or paying closer attention. It’s building systems that surface the right information automatically, so the numbers you need are always at your fingertips.
For Nonprofit Leaders
Your version of these five numbers includes cash reserves (how many months of operating expenses you have saved), restricted vs. unrestricted cash, and key grant compliance metrics. Board members shouldn’t need a finance degree to understand your reports. If they do, we can help you fix that.
For Business Owners Running on EOS
These five numbers should live on your Scorecard. If your weekly leadership meeting doesn’t include a quick cash and margin check-in, you’re missing the Data Component’s real power. We run on EOS too, and we build reporting that actually fits the system.
