AT A GLANCE
Useful plumbing business KPIs connect enquiries, estimates, accepted work and completed jobs. Define the time period, eligible records and denominator for every percentage. Keep gross margin, cash collected and job completion separate because they measure different parts of the business.
Keep the denominator with the result
The same six accepted jobs are 50% of the twelve qualified enquiries. These percentages answer different questions.
Define a cohort before calculating a rate
A cohort is the group of records you are comparing: for example, qualified enquiries received in one week. Some may still be waiting for a decision at the end of that week. Mark those as unresolved instead of quietly treating them as wins or losses.
Decide whether a report follows the original enquiry date, the estimate date or the acceptance date. A report grouped by acceptance date can be useful, but it will not answer the same question as conversion of last week’s enquiries.
Use a small metric dictionary
| Measure | Calculation or rule | Important boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiry-to-estimate rate | Enquiries with an estimate ÷ qualified enquiries | Use the same cohort |
| Estimate acceptance rate | Accepted estimates ÷ estimates in the defined group | Show undecided estimates |
| Open-work age | Time since the defined starting event | State whether calendar or business hours |
| Completion count | Jobs explicitly marked complete in the period | Not the same as paid invoices |
| Gross job margin | (Revenue − direct cost) ÷ revenue | Needs reconciled actual costs |
| Cash collected | Receipts in the accounting period | Not the same as job revenue |
Read the example carefully
In the fictional graphic, twelve qualified enquiries lead to eight estimates and six acceptances. Six divided by eight is 75% estimate acceptance. Six divided by twelve is 50% enquiry-to-acceptance. Both are correct, but they describe different stages.
If two of the eight estimates are still undecided, report that fact. Otherwise a comparison with another period may look worse simply because one group has had less time to respond. There is no industry benchmark implied by these sample numbers.
Pair numbers with an exception review
Look at enquiries without an owner, estimates without a next action and accepted jobs with an unresolved change. These records often tell the office what to do today more clearly than a single percentage. Include the person responsible for the process in the review.
For Canada financial examples, label amounts CAD and use the same basis throughout the report. Do not compare a before-tax estimate with an after-tax receipt as if they were the same value.
Verify the reporting inputs
Ask a software vendor to open the records behind a count, explain the filters and show how duplicate or test entries are excluded. A chart with no definition or drill-down can hide inconsistent status rules.
Flor Plumbing’s public demo is not a source of business performance results. Advanced financial reporting and accounting sync are not generally available. Use the metric dictionary to define what your current records can support and what a proposed system must demonstrate.
Common questions
What is a good estimate acceptance rate?
There is no single target established by this guide. First define your eligible estimates, unresolved work and reporting period, then compare consistent data from your own business.
Is a completed job the same as collected revenue?
No. Completion is an operational state; collected cash comes from the payment record. Keep the measures separate and reconcile them when needed.
Bring your workflow to the demo
Explore the fictional request-to-approval journey, then discuss the capabilities your business needs.
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