Business Reporting and Statistics

If you’re not doing some form of business reporting or looking at your business statistics, you can’t be sure that your business is meeting goals and functioning properly. It’s necessary to set clear, measurable goals that can be supported by data. In this article, you’ll learn how to make the most out of your business statistics and reports to boost your business!

It might seem tedious and unnecessary, but the truth is, without a business report, it’s like a shot in the dark.

Here, we’re exploring the ins and outs of measuring success in business through business reporting and statistics.

What is a business report?

A business report is a set of data and statistics that provide information about a company’s performance, organised for specific business-related purposes. Business reports lay the foundation for any business and helps with decision-making based on the numbers.

Oftentimes, governments require business reports for company taxes and it also helps offer firm data for potential investors. But, most of all, business reports help business owners better understand where they are and where they want to go in the future.

Business reporting and statistics allow business owners to:

• Assess risks and opportunities
• Make connections and find trends
• Find investors
• Build more efficient systems
• Address specific issues
• See progress over time
• Communicate and collaborate clearly
• Inform the government of the state of your business

What are the most common business statistics?

When it comes to business reporting, there are many statistics you might use. Depending on your industry and goals, these are some of the most common business statistics you might use in your business reports.

Profitability

At the end of the day, if your business isn’t profitable, is it really a business? Profitability is important. Knowing whether or not you’re earning more than you’re spending is key to most business reports. It’s extremely informative about what’s going well and where you can make changes.

A few profitability statistics include:

• Gross Profit Margin
• Net Profit Margin
• Net Income

Social Media Metrics

It’s no secret that social media is a huge part of any modern business. So, in many cases, it makes sense to include social media metrics in your business reports. Incredible for demographics and customer knowledge, some social media statistics include:

• Engagement
• Followers
• Conversions
• Audience Demographics

Sales Trends

Different from profitability statistics, sales trends focus more specifically on products and services sold. It helps to understand what products are bringing in the most revenue and how effective your upselling tactics are.

A handful of sales trend statistics include:

• Sales Revenue
• Cost Breakdown
• Up/Cross Sells
• Total Orders

HR Statistics

HR or human resources statistics measure what’s going on with your employees. Instead of focusing only on customers, products, and revenue, it’s about how your systems are working for the people who work at your company. After all, great companies take care of their employees first. Then, those employees are more likely to take care of your customers.

Here are a few HR statistics:

• Employee Turnover Rate
• Employee Satisfaction
• Injuries on the Job
• Workplace Safety Statistics
• Happiness in the Workplace

 ROI Measurements

Since business reports can be used to find investors, you can include some ROI or return on investment measurements to help them understand what they’re in for. However, even if you don’t have investors, these figures can help you understand how your investments are working for your business.

Some ROI measurements include:

• Return on Assets
• Return on Equity
• Debt-Equity Ratio

Customer Overview

It’s so important to know who your customers are, what they want, and how they’re interacting with your business. Customer overviews help to hone in on what it costs to earn a new customer, how many customers are coming back to your business, and how much they’re spending within your company.

A few customer overview figures include:

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
• Average Revenue per Customer
• Number of New Customers
• Customer Retention

What is the ‘bottom line’?

We all know the term ‘bottom line.’ But, it’s a bit vague in terms of what it actually means. The term came from the bottom-most line on a balance sheet which is usually the net income. More generally though, it’s often used to describe the most important measurement in a particular business.

For example, you might refer to the bottom line as a reason to not care if your employees are happy so long as you’re business shows profits. You might also use it to make a point by saying, “That’s the bottom line. No further discussion.”

In some cases, looking only at the bottom line (in terms of net profits) is encouraged. However, focusing solely on the bottom line can also lead us astray.

Pro and Cons of Only Looking at the Bottom Line

Why You Should Include Happiness in Business Statistics

Happiness usually isn’t the bottom line for many businesses. In our modern society, we’ve come to believe if you’re not hustling every day or blasting your competition out of the water that you’re not really in business. But, we’d argue that it really depends on your outlook.

If your bottom line is only about profit margins and net income, you might have more money than you ever dreamed -- a nice house on the coast and employees eager to impress. But, are you happy? How’s your family? Do your employees trust you? Will they be loyal if things suddenly change?

If happiness isn’t part of your overall bottom line, well - what’s the point?

Money can buy happiness, but only to a certain extent. One study found that, globally, money will improve your overall well-being until your reach around $60,000 per year in US dollars. That’s a salary of around $80,000 in Australian dollars. After that, it really doesn’t make a difference. In fact, going over the threshold can cause different problems.

When you focus solely on starting a business that makes the most money, you risk letting go of everything else that’s important to happiness. You might choose extra hours at the office over having dinner with your kids. You might hop on a work call on a family holiday one too many times. You might waste time managing multiple companies when a single successful one would actually lead to a more functional lifestyle.

Of course, a profitable business is necessary, and more money can improve your life in many ways. Moreover, the way you use your money is also essential. Giving back to the community and focusing on others instead of yourself is often a key to happiness in business.

How are you caring for your employees? What are the work conditions like for those below you? How’s your work/life balance? Were you able to relax on your last holiday? What do people say about your leadership? How often are you volunteering and giving to those in need?

There aren’t any hard and fast rules about finding balance between focusing on the bottom line and including happiness in the mix. It’s different for everyone. The point is, including happiness in your business reporting and making sure to measure happiness in your business is just as important to long-term success as a solid bottom line.

Check out CEO and Founder of Physio Inq, Jonathan Moody, talk about why he uses Happiness has a leading business indicator here.