A furnace company owner needs about ten numbers, once a week, on one page. Together they follow a job from the first call to the membership, so you can see which stage is leaking while there is still time to fix it. This guide lists the numbers, defines each one, explains where it comes from and who should update it, and shows how to run a short Monday review. It is about sales and operations activity, not accounting; your bookkeeper or accountant handles financial statements and tax.
FurnaceBusiness.ca is a marketing and business consulting service for heating companies, not a contractor. We build scoreboards like this for clients, but you can build one yourself from this guide.
Why weekly, and why one page
Monthly reports arrive too late in a furnace business. A cold snap can fill and empty the board within two weeks, and a follow-up gap can lose a month of replacements before anyone notices. Weekly numbers let you correct course inside the season.
One page matters because a long report gets skimmed. Every number on the page should lead to a question someone can answer, and a decision someone can make, that week.
The ten numbers
1. Calls received
All inbound calls to your booking lines, including missed calls. Source: phone system. Owner: dispatcher.
2. Answered rate
Calls answered by a person ÷ calls received. Source: phone system. Owner: dispatcher. A falling answered rate in peak weeks is the first sign the board is overloaded.
3. Booked calls by type
Bookings split into no-heat or repair, replacement estimate and maintenance. Source: job software. Owner: dispatcher. Watch the estimate line; it often drops when it turns cold.
4. Estimate visits run
Replacement estimate visits that actually happened, not just booked. Source: job software or CRM. Owner: advisors.
5. Close rate
Signed proposals ÷ estimate visits run, for the same period. Source: CRM. Owner: advisors. Report it by advisor as well as overall. Define it once (visits to signed, not quotes to signed) and never change the definition mid-season.
6. Average ticket
Total value of signed replacement proposals ÷ number signed. Source: CRM or job software. Owner: advisors. Read it next to close rate; one can hide the other.
7. Open quotes and contact share
Number of unsigned quotes, and the share with a logged contact in the last 7 days. Source: CRM. Owner: advisor or office. This is the single best early warning for quote follow-up problems.
8. Membership attach rate
New memberships ÷ eligible service and maintenance calls. Source: job software. Owner: office. See the membership capacity math guide for setting a target.
9. Renewals due and done
Renewals due this month and how many are complete. Source: CRM. Owner: office.
10. Capacity used
Booked tech hours ÷ available tech hours for the coming week. Source: job software. Owner: service manager. Above about 90 to 95% for several weeks running, calls start getting dropped.
Optional: leads by source and cost per booked estimate
If you advertise, add leads by source and marketing spend ÷ booked estimates. Owner: owner or agency.
A layout you can copy
| Line | This week | Last week | 4-week average | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calls received | Dispatcher | |||
| Answered rate | Dispatcher | |||
| Booked: no-heat/repair | Dispatcher | |||
| Booked: estimates | Dispatcher | |||
| Booked: maintenance | Dispatcher | |||
| Estimate visits run | Advisors | |||
| Close rate | Advisors | |||
| Average ticket | Advisors | |||
| Open quotes / % contacted 7 days | Advisor or office | |||
| Membership attach rate | Office | |||
| Renewals due / done | Office | |||
| Capacity used next week | Service manager |
The 4-week average column matters. Single weeks bounce around; the average shows the trend.
Running the Monday review
Fifteen to twenty minutes, same time every week, with the people who own the numbers. A simple agenda:
- Two minutes: anything missing from the page? Fill it in or note why.
- Five minutes: which number moved most against the 4-week average? Why?
- Five minutes: one decision for this week. For example: protect two more estimate slots per day; call every quote older than 10 days; push five member visits into next week.
- Three minutes: who does what by when. Write it on the page.
Keep the tone practical. A scoreboard used to blame people stops getting filled in.
Reading the patterns
Most problems show up as a pair of numbers moving in opposite directions:
| Pattern | Likely cause | Where to look |
|---|---|---|
| Calls up, estimates booked flat | Triage or capacity | Dispatch and capacity |
| Estimate visits up, close rate down | Visit quality or lead quality | Comfort-advisor process |
| Close rate steady, ticket down | Discounting or skipped tiers | Option design |
| Open quotes up, contact share down | Follow-up stalled | Quote follow-up |
| Attach rate down | Plan not offered at close-out | Membership plans |
| Capacity above 95% for 3 weeks | Overloaded board | Overtime, sub-trade help or member rescheduling |
Worked example
Say last week your shop received 210 calls and answered 168 (80%). It booked 22 estimates, ran 19 visits and signed 6 (32% close rate) at a $7,100 average. There were 41 open quotes, and 15 had a contact in the last 7 days (37%).
Reading it: the answered rate is low for a cold week, and only about a third of open quotes are being followed up. Two decisions for this week: put an overflow person on the phones from 3 to 6 p.m., and have the office call every open quote older than 7 days. Next Monday, the page tells you whether either worked.
Setting it up in four weeks
- Week 1: list the numbers and write a one-line definition for each.
- Week 2: find where each comes from; note any you cannot get yet.
- Week 3: fill in the first page, even with gaps. Hold the first Monday review.
- Week 4: fix the gaps, agree on owners, and keep going.
Most shops have a trustworthy page by the end of the second month. After a full season, you also have a clean history of your business, which helps with planning, hiring and, eventually, a sale.
If you want help building and running it, see the owner reporting service, or call, text or email.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to fill in the scoreboard?
Once set up, most shops spend 30 to 60 minutes a week across all the people who update it. The first month takes longer, while you work out where each number comes from.
Should the scoreboard include profit?
Profit belongs in your monthly financials from your bookkeeper or accountant. The weekly scoreboard tracks activity numbers that predict revenue, so you can act before the month closes.
What if our numbers are embarrassing?
Most shops' first scoreboard is uncomfortable. That is the point: you cannot fix a stage you cannot see. Use the first month as a baseline, not a judgment.
Can our marketing agency fill in the lead lines?
Yes, and they should. Leads by source and cost per booked estimate let you see whether marketing spend turns into work.