If you make decisions with no information about your choices then you’re just guessing.

And if you have a business, it’s especially critical to have information to support your choices and make performance-based decisions.

It makes no difference whether you call it business metrics, business data, or key performance indicators, what you’re doing is using numbers your activities are producing to tell the story of your business’ performance. And what is important is that you track what you do. However, if you get this information and still don’t understand what it means or how to use it, your decision making is still guesswork.

What is a business metric?                        

According to WorkPuls.com*, a business metric is a quantifiable measure businesses use to track, monitor and assess the success or failure of various business operations. The problem is that many owners of cheer or gymnastics gyms, dance studios, swim or music schools or childcare centers like you don’t have a way to uncover critical business information and don’t know how they would use it if they did have it. And they can’t cut out the guess work so they can make decisions that will lead them to success.

Achieving goals and reaching success is dependent on a company’s ability to be knowledgeable of their own performance. Developing and using effective metrics are the facts knowledge is built upon.

Business management software is helpful – especially if it is business management software that is tailored to children’s activity centers like your gym, dance studio, swim or music school or child care centers like Jackrabbit Technologies’ software is – because it has key features that make it easy to get and use your critical business data.

What does Jackrabbit online class management software do for you?

Jackrabbit helps you uncover your key performance indicators and does it in a way that is easy to see, understand and use.  And, honestly, if you have business data and still don’t understand what it means or how to use it, your decision making is still guesswork.

Can you get rid of the guesswork and make good decisions?

One of the most information-rich areas of Jackrabbit’s software is its reporting. There are practically endless report options for business owners or managers to use their data to understand such things as where to expand, where to cut, where to make changes and where to add controls.

You don’t have to wonder whether your newest Tuesday at 4 class is successful or which of your instructors is requested most often or if your ad in the local monthly magazine brought you any business. There are reports in Jackrabbit that tell you all of this information – and more – and give you visibility into your business data. You can even expose this information directly on your executive dashboard and know what is going on in your business at any moment. And use that information to make better decisions.

“Reporting helps us to more quickly and easily manage our data and to understand where we stand at any given point that we want to pull information. It’s one of the most powerful features of the software.” Carrie Mendlow, Office Manager, Making Waves Swim School

What can you do with good business data?

Having good business data enables you to be specific about your business.  You can give your employees more detailed information about improving their job performance. You can carve out marketing campaigns that only use vehicles that drive the best results for you. You can figure out if you have a few classes that bring back more students – year-after-year – than any others.  You can cut out the waste in your organization and maximize your efficiencies so that your revenues more easily grow and your costs of doing business go down. You can see what works and replicate it so that your business successes become sustainable because you can replicate your success.  

“We’re able to establish targets and markers using report data so we all know when we are doing our jobs well and can actually see the growth. We’re also able to compare progress today against historical data. Again, this eliminates guessing.  Our weekly check-ins tell us if we’re on track and can move on to other projects or if we’re lagging behind and we need to discuss why and roll out a plan to move us back on track.” Jennifer Hood, Owner, Jump Gymnastics, Vancouver

Learn more about viewing key metrics on Jackrabbit’s dashboard.

An article that you may also like:

Best Practices for Maintaining Accurate Revenue Reports

*WorkPuls.com provides a time tracking and employee monitoring solution that helps clients increase their workforce efficiency.