Making Metrics Matter – KPIs for Small Businesses

By ACC Finance Team
Follow Us:

In this week’s episode, I sat down with Dan DeGolier, CEO of Ascent CFO Solutions, to dig into making metrics matter, and how small businesses can start to think about this subject.

Some of the highlights from our conversation included:

✅ Why “cash is king” still matters – regardless of your growth stage.
✅ The biggest mistake small businesses make with dashboards – think noise vs. insight!
✅ How to make KPIs work best across teams – tip: link them to bonus schemes.
✅ The difference between tracking leads… and tracking the right ones.
✅ Power BI vs Excel – when to upgrade and when to keep it simple.

If you’ve ever looked at a spreadsheet and didn’t know where to start, then this one’s for you.

Business Book Bonus:

Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business

Blue Ocean Strategy: How To Create Uncontested Market Space And Make The Competition Irrelevant

Follow Us:
Author
Black GBP (£) currency symbol inside a black circle, representing finance, money, and UK currency transactions

ACC Finance Team

ACC Finance are a team of experienced CFOs and management accountants who combine executive financial leadership with practical commercial judgement to work closely with founders and leadership teams to strengthen margins, improve cash flow, and guide critical financial decisions.
Date:

Apply for a Financial Health Check

Gain independent clarity on profitability, cash flow, and financial controls before your next stage of growth.
Applications are reviewed to ensure a strong fit.

Find Out More or Become A Guest: 
Speak to us at The Fractional CFO Show

Read our next articles

Gulliver Moore built a £2 million creative agency, Sunday Treat, working with Google, Revolut and Canon without a penny of external investment. His approach to managing the working capital cycle is straightforward, and most agencies learn it too late.
By ACC Finance Team
Many profitable founder-led service businesses fail for one simple reason: they run out of cash. A well-built cash flow forecast ensures you stay ahead of risk, not reacting to it.
By ACC Finance Team
Most agency founders experiencing cash pressure assume it is a revenue problem. It rarely is. The more common cause is working capital: the gap between money that has been earned and money that has actually arrived.
By ACC Finance Team
Most founder-led service businesses reach a point where the decisions outgrow the finance function supporting them. Revenue increases, headcount expands, and the financial implications of each choice become more consequential. This is typically the point at which founders first encounter the idea of a fractional CFO.
By ACC Finance Team
Revenue is up. The team is busy. The pipeline looks strong. But cash feels tighter than expected, and the monthly numbers never quite line up with what is happening on the ground. This is where the accrued and accrual distinction stops being accounting theory and starts being a practical problem.
By ACC Finance Team
Most agency founders can quote their EBITDA. Far fewer can explain why it moved last month, what is driving it, or how to improve it deliberately. This article gives you the information you need to understand EBITDA in your business.
By ACC Finance Team