Key takeaways
- Define every stage before calculating conversion
- Pair speed and volume metrics with quality, margin, and customer outcomes
- Use cohorts and date ranges that match the business question
- Keep estimated, billed, collected, and realized revenue separate
Moving-company KPIs are only useful when the underlying records mean the same thing every week. Before building a dashboard, define the stages, date basis, owner, formula, and action for each metric. This guide gives a practical starter set without pretending that one benchmark fits every market, service mix, or season.
The KPI definition card
| Decision | Definition to write down |
|---|---|
| Unit | Lead, estimate, booked job, completed job, invoice, payment, or crew shift |
| Cohort | Records entering the stage during a stated date range |
| Numerator | The exact outcome being counted |
| Denominator | The population eligible for the outcome |
| Date basis | Created, sent, booked, move, invoice, or payment date |
| Owner | The person who reviews it and can change the process |
| Action | What happens when the metric moves up or down |
Moving-company KPIs and formulas
| KPI | Formula | Use it to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Lead response time | First meaningful contact attempt − lead created | Are new inquiries receiving timely attention? |
| Contact rate | Leads with a meaningful contact ÷ leads received × 100 | Can the team reach the people it is acquiring? |
| Estimate rate | Written estimates ÷ qualified opportunities × 100 | Where do qualified moves stall before pricing? |
| Estimate-to-booking rate | Booked jobs ÷ estimates sent × 100 | Are scope, price, and follow-up working together? |
| Lead-to-booking rate | Booked jobs ÷ leads in cohort × 100 | What share of a defined lead cohort becomes work? |
| Average booked value | Booked quoted value ÷ booked jobs | What is the mix of services and move sizes? |
| Estimate variance | (Actual billable amount − estimate) ÷ estimate × 100 | Where are assumptions or scope controls weak? |
| Revenue per crew day | Realized move revenue ÷ crew days | How productively is capacity being used? |
| Schedule utilization | Booked operating hours ÷ available operating hours × 100 | How much planned capacity is committed? |
| Labor utilization | Billable or job hours ÷ available paid hours × 100 | How much paid capacity becomes customer work? |
| Gross margin by job | (Revenue − direct job costs) ÷ revenue × 100 | Which work is profitable after direct delivery cost? |
| On-time arrival rate | Jobs within promised window ÷ completed jobs × 100 | Are schedule promises operationally realistic? |
| Reschedule rate | Jobs rescheduled ÷ booked jobs × 100 | What causes avoidable schedule changes? |
| Damage or claim rate | Jobs with a recorded claim ÷ completed jobs × 100 | Where should training or process review focus? |
| Collection rate | Collected amount ÷ amount due × 100 | Is completed work turning into cash? |
| Cancellation rate | Canceled jobs ÷ booked jobs × 100 | When and why is booked demand falling away? |
| Review-request completion | Completed jobs with request sent ÷ eligible completed jobs × 100 | Is the agreed feedback step actually happening? |
Separate leading from lagging indicators
| Leading signals | Lagging outcomes |
|---|---|
| Response time, contact rate, estimate rate | Booking rate and booked value |
| Schedule utilization, dispatch readiness | On-time arrival and reschedule rate |
| Scope completeness, estimate review | Estimate variance and gross margin |
| Invoice delivery, payment reminders | Collection rate and aging balance |
Worked example: one weekly lead cohort
The following numbers are illustrative, not Reelow benchmarks. Suppose 80 leads entered the pipeline during one week. The team qualified 50, sent 40 written estimates, and 16 later booked. Lead-to-booking rate is 16 ÷ 80 = 20%. Estimate-to-booking rate is 16 ÷ 40 = 40%. Those rates answer different questions, and both should keep the same original weekly cohort even when bookings happen later.
Build a weekly scorecard
Put a small set of leading and lagging indicators on one page. For example, review response time and estimate rate for this week's pipeline, then review completed-job margin, on-time arrival, and collection rate for work delivered. Always show the comparison period and the record count beside a percentage.
Common KPI mistakes
Averages without volume
A 100% conversion rate from two leads is not the same signal as 40% from 100 leads.
Mixed date bases
Booking-month revenue and move-month revenue answer different questions; label both.
Estimated equals collected
Quoted value, invoice value, and settled cash should never be silently combined.
Speed without quality
Fast response can coexist with poor contact, margin, or customer outcomes.
One company-wide benchmark
Service mix, geography, season, and crew model change what “good” looks like.
No action owner
A metric that has no reviewer or decision attached will become dashboard decoration.
Use the CRM as the measurement system
A metric is only as reliable as the event that creates it. Define when a lead enters the pipeline, when an estimate is considered sent, when a job becomes booked, and when payment is considered collected. Reelow connects estimates, dispatch, payments, and payrollrecords so an owner can trace a number back to the work behind it. Segment the results by lead source, service type, crew, and service area before drawing conclusions. The lead-conversion guideand profit-margin guideexplain two of the most important supporting definitions.