Most field service companies already have a weekly report with too many numbers on it. The weekly report is for running the operation (our field service reporting guide covers it). A scorecard is different. It is a monthly page the owner reads with the managers, where each number has one name next to it and a target written before the month started.
The test of a good scorecard is that every row leads to a conversation with a specific person. If a number goes red and nobody knows whose it is, it does not belong on the page.
The template
Copy this into a spreadsheet. One tab per month, or one row per KPI with a column per month.
| # | KPI | Formula | Owner | Target | Last month | This month | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Revenue | Invoiced revenue for the month | Owner | ||||
| 2 | Jobs completed | Count of jobs marked done | Ops manager | ||||
| 3 | Average ticket | Revenue ÷ jobs completed | Service manager | ||||
| 4 | Revenue per technician | Revenue ÷ techs on the board | Ops manager | ||||
| 5 | On-time arrival rate | Arrivals inside the promised window ÷ all arrivals | Dispatch lead | ||||
| 6 | First-time fix rate | Jobs fixed on the first visit ÷ jobs needing a fix | Service manager | ||||
| 7 | Callback rate | Return visits for the same issue within N days ÷ jobs | Service manager | ||||
| 8 | Utilization | Hours on site ÷ paid hours | Ops manager | ||||
| 9 | Drive share | Drive hours ÷ paid hours | Dispatch lead | ||||
| 10 | Booking lead time | Days from request to first available slot (median) | Office manager | ||||
| 11 | Close rate on estimates | Estimates accepted ÷ estimates sent | Sales or service manager | ||||
| 12 | Days to collect | Average days from invoice to payment | Office manager |
Trend is one of three marks: up, flat, down, compared with the same month last year if you have it (seasonality makes month-to-month comparisons misleading in most trades).
Why these twelve
The list covers four questions an owner needs answered every month.
Are we selling enough? Revenue, jobs and average ticket. Revenue alone hides whether you did more jobs or bigger ones. Splitting it tells you whether to work on demand or on pricing.
Are the trucks productive? Revenue per technician, utilization and drive share. A full calendar with a low utilization number means the time is going to driving and waiting, which our piece on booked vs utilized explains.
Are customers getting what we promised? On-time arrival, first-time fix and callback rate. These are the three promises a customer notices first: did you show up when you said, fix it, and stay fixed.
Is the cash and the pipeline healthy? Booking lead time, estimate close rate and days to collect. Lead time rising means demand is outrunning capacity. Days to collect rising means your cash is sitting in customers' accounts.
A worked example
Illustrative numbers for an example company with 8 technicians. Not real data.
The red row is not the end of the conversation. It is the start. The dispatch lead comes to the next review with the late arrivals broken down by hour and by tech. Our guide on how to measure on-time arrival shows how to slice it.
How to set targets
Do not copy targets from someone else's company. Set them from your own last 6 to 12 months:
- Pull each KPI for every month you have.
- Take the same month last year as the baseline, if you have it. If not, use the median of your recent months.
- Set the target a small step better than the baseline, one you can name a reason for reaching ("we are adding a second dispatcher", "we are narrowing windows on first jobs").
- Write the target before the month starts. A target written after you see the number is a description, not a target.
How to adapt it
Small shops (2 to 5 trucks). Cut to six rows: revenue, jobs, average ticket, on-time arrival, callback rate, days to collect. The owner owns most of them, and that is fine. The point is to look every month.
Install and project trades. Replace jobs and average ticket with projects completed, revenue per crew-day and schedule slips (projects that finished after the promised date).
Recurring route businesses. Add stops per route-day and churn (accounts cancelled ÷ active accounts).
Per-technician view. Run rows 3, 5, 6, 7 and 8 per tech on a second tab. Use it for coaching, not ranking. A tech with a low first-time fix rate may be getting the hardest calls.
Where the data comes from matters. On-time arrival and utilization need arrival and done times per job. If you use CrewLink, the Reports page shows on-time rate with CSV exports, a PDF report and a weekly report email, and time on site is recorded when a job is marked done. Any system that timestamps arrival and completion will feed this scorecard.
What to take away
- A scorecard is a monthly page where every number has one owner and a target written in advance.
- Twelve rows cover selling, truck productivity, customer promises and cash.
- Compare with the same month last year, not last month, because most trades are seasonal.
- A red row is a task for its owner, due at the next review.
Common questions
What KPIs should a field service company track?
Start with revenue, jobs completed, average ticket, revenue per technician, on-time arrival, first-time fix rate, callback rate, utilization, drive share, booking lead time, estimate close rate and days to collect. Smaller shops can start with six of these.
What is the difference between a KPI report and a scorecard?
A report lists numbers for running the week. A scorecard is shorter, monthly, and assigns each number an owner and a target. The scorecard drives decisions; the report supports them.
How often should we review the scorecard?
Monthly, in a short meeting with the owners of each row. Weekly is too noisy for most of these numbers, and quarterly is too slow to fix anything before it costs you a season.
Should technicians see their own scorecard?
Yes, if it is used for coaching and the numbers are fair. Explain each metric, show how it is calculated, and account for job mix before comparing one tech with another.