Most furnace company owners find out how a month went after it is over, when the bank balance or the bookkeeper tells them. A weekly scoreboard tells them while there is still time to act. We define the numbers, set where each comes from, assign who updates it, and run the first few Monday reviews with you. We are a marketing and business consulting service, not a contractor and not an accounting firm; the scoreboard is about sales and operations activity.
What goes on the page
A furnace scoreboard follows the work from the phone to the membership. A typical version:
| Stage | Number | Owner |
|---|---|---|
| Calls | Calls received; answered rate | Dispatcher |
| Booking | Booked calls by type (no-heat, estimate, tune-up) | Dispatcher |
| Home visits | Estimate visits run | Advisors |
| Sales | Close rate; average ticket | Advisors |
| Follow-up | Open quotes; share contacted in the last 7 days | Advisor or office |
| Memberships | New members; renewals due and done | Office |
| Capacity | Booked hours ÷ available tech hours | Service manager |
| Marketing | Leads by source; cost per booked estimate | Owner or agency |
The weekly owner scoreboard guide explains each line and how to collect it in under an hour a week.
Who it is for
- owners who spend Sunday night adding up jobs by hand
- companies with two or more advisors who need to compare fairly
- shops working with a marketing agency and wanting to see whether leads turn into revenue
- owners thinking about an eventual sale, who need clean history to show a buyer; the group's exit brand, BizSell.ca, works on valuation and exit readiness
What is included
- a written definition for each number, so "close rate" means the same thing every week
- a spreadsheet or dashboard layout matched to your tools
- a source map: where each number comes from and how to pull it
- a Monday review agenda (15 to 20 minutes)
- two months of review support while the habit sets
Reading the numbers
The scoreboard is a diagnostic tool. A few examples of what patterns usually mean:
- Calls up, booked estimates flat: a dispatch or triage problem, not a marketing one. See dispatch and capacity.
- Visits up, close rate down: lead quality or the home visit. See the comfort-advisor process.
- Close rate steady, ticket falling: advisors discounting or skipping tiers.
- Open quotes climbing, contact share falling: follow-up has stopped.
- Capacity above 95% for three weeks: the team is about to start dropping calls.
Timeline and measurement
A first scoreboard is usually running within two to three weeks. Success is simple: the page is filled in on time every week, and decisions in the Monday meeting refer to it. After a season, you have a clean record of how each stage performed, month by month.
The first month
The first month of a scoreboard is mostly about finding the numbers, not judging them. Expect gaps: phone systems that do not split missed and answered calls, CRMs where quotes are never marked lost, job software with no field for membership offers. Each gap is a small project, and fixing them is part of the work.
By the fourth Monday, the page should be complete and trusted. From then on, the meeting is about decisions rather than data. Many owners find that the habit itself is the biggest gain: once the team knows the page is read every week, the numbers start improving before anyone changes a process.
Mistakes to avoid
- Tracking only revenue. It lags; by the time it drops, the cause is weeks old.
- Undefined numbers. If two people calculate close rate differently, the meeting turns into an argument.
- Too many metrics. A 40-line report gets skimmed, then ignored.
- No owner for each number. Shared responsibility means nobody fills it in.
- Using the scoreboard to blame. It works when people use it to fix problems, not to assign fault.
See all services for the systems the scoreboard measures, or pricing for how reporting work is quoted.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need new software for this?
Usually not. Most scoreboards start as a shared spreadsheet fed from your phone system, job software and CRM. Once the numbers are trusted, some shops move them into a dashboard.
How many numbers should be on the scoreboard?
Around eight to twelve. Fewer and you miss a stage; more and nobody reads it. Every number must lead to a decision someone can make that week.
Is this the same as bookkeeping or financial statements?
No. The scoreboard tracks leading activity numbers such as calls, close rates and follow-up. Your accountant handles books, tax and financial statements; we do not provide accounting or tax advice.
Who should update it?
Each number gets one owner: the dispatcher for call numbers, advisors for quotes, the office for memberships. The owner or manager reviews it in a short Monday meeting.