30 essential KPIs for companies.

A KPI is a quantifiable metric that measures performance against a strategic objective. SMEs typically use between 8 and 12 KPIs per dashboard. This guide also includes a summary table, a real case and a checklist to launch your first scorecard.

Principles for selecting KPIs that work.

Before the list, three fundamental principles:

1. Less is more: better to measure 10 indicators that are reviewed and acted upon than 50 no one looks at.
2. Every indicator must have an owner responsible for follow-up and acting when it drifts.
3. KPIs must be connected to the company's strategic objectives, not isolated metrics.

Financial KPIs (the 8 essentials).

#	KPI	Formula	Frequency	Typical SME benchmark
1	Gross margin	(Revenue − COGS) / Revenue	Monthly	25-45% by sector
2	EBITDA	Operating profit + Depreciation	Monthly	> 10% of sales
3	Operating cash flow	Collections − Operating payments	Monthly	Positive and growing
4	Days sales outstanding (DSO)	(Accounts receivable × 365) / Sales	Monthly	30-60 days
5	Days payable outstanding (DPO)	(Accounts payable × 365) / Purchases	Monthly	30-60 days
6	Debt-to-equity ratio	Total debt / Equity	Quarterly	< 2.5
7	Break-even point	Fixed costs / Contribution margin	Quarterly	Company-specific
8	ROI	(Profit − Investment) / Investment	Per project	> 15% annual

Gross margin measures direct profitability of your activity. EBITDA indicates operating profit generation capacity. Operating cash flow measures cash the operation generates. DSO and DPO are the most critical treasury KPIs. The debt-to-equity ratio relates debt to equity. The break-even point indicates sales level needed to cover fixed costs. And ROI measures return on investments made.

Commercial KPIs (the 8 your sales team needs).

#	KPI	Formula	Frequency	Typical benchmark
9	Conversion rate	Wins / Opportunities	Monthly	15-35% B2B
10	CAC (customer acquisition cost)	Marketing+sales spend / New customers	Monthly	< LTV/3
11	LTV (lifetime value)	Average revenue × relationship duration	Annual	> 3× CAC
12	LTV/CAC ratio	LTV / CAC	Quarterly	> 3
13	Average ticket	Sales / Number of orders	Monthly	Business-specific
14	Pipeline velocity	Days from lead to close	Monthly	B2B: 60-120 days
15	NPS	% Promoters − % Detractors	Quarterly	> 30 good, > 50 excellent
16	Retention rate	Repeat customers / Total customers	Annual	> 80% B2B

Operational KPIs (the 8 that measure efficiency).

#	KPI	Formula	Frequency	Benchmark
17	Productivity	Output / Resource used	Weekly	Sector-specific
18	Lead time	Time from order to delivery	Weekly	Per customer commitment
19	Defect rate	Non-conformities / Total produced	Weekly	< 2% industrial
20	On-time delivery	Deliveries on time / Total deliveries	Monthly	> 95%
21	Capacity utilisation	Actual output / Theoretical capacity	Monthly	75-85% optimal
22	Cost of poor quality	€ waste + rework + warranty	Monthly	< 5% of sales
23	OEE	Availability × Performance × Quality	Daily	> 65% good, > 85% world class
24	First-contact resolution	Solved on first contact / Total	Monthly	> 70%

People KPIs (the 6 that reveal organisational health).

#	KPI	Formula	Frequency	Benchmark
25	Voluntary attrition	Voluntary exits / Average headcount	Quarterly	< 15% healthy
26	Absenteeism	Hours lost / Theoretical hours	Monthly	< 5%
27	eNPS	% Employee promoters − % detractors	Half-yearly	> 20 good
28	Training hours per employee	Training hours / Headcount	Annual	20-40 hours
29	Time to fill vacancy	Days from opening to hire	Per vacancy	< 60 days
30	Accident frequency rate	Accidents × 200,000 / Hours worked	Monthly	< 5 in office

How to present KPIs: the scorecard.

An effective SME scorecard fits on one page and shows the 10-15 most relevant indicators with:

• Current value.
• Target.
• Trend (improving or worsening vs prior period).
• Status traffic light (green, amber, red).

Review should be monthly for operational and commercial KPIs, quarterly for financial and people KPIs. The golden rule: if you arrive at the monthly meeting and data is not updated, the scorecard does not exist operationally.

Real case: a 25-employee professional services firm.

A payroll and accounting firm in Valladolid (25 employees, 480 active clients) decided to implement a scorecard because management information arrived late and decisions were made "by intuition".

Final selection of 12 KPIs (out of 30) prioritised against the strategic plan:

• Financial: gross margin by service line, DSO, monthly EBITDA.
• Commercial: lead conversion rate, NPS, annual retention rate.
• Operational: average monthly client closing time, error rate in payroll, average response time to client query.
• People: attrition, half-yearly eNPS, training hours.

Result after 12 months: client retention rose from 84% to 91%, NPS went from 22 to 48, EBITDA improved 3.1 percentage points on sales. Leadership reduced time spent "requesting data" by 70% because the panel was generated automatically every Monday.

Typical mistakes when implementing KPIs.

• Too many indicators: starting with 50, no one reviews them, all are abandoned.
• Ownerless indicators: no one responds when a KPI drifts.
• Indicators not updated: the scorecard dies if data arrives two months late.
• Indicators with no target: measuring without knowing what is good or bad produces no decisions.
• Vanity metrics: indicators that look nice (followers, impressions) but do not connect with business outcomes.
• No action on variance: if red does not trigger action, the indicator is decorative.

Mini-glossary.

• KPI (Key Performance Indicator): metric measuring progress toward an objective.
• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results): objectives methodology popularised by Google.
• Balanced Scorecard: framework organising KPIs across four perspectives (financial, customer, processes, learning).
• OEE: Overall Equipment Effectiveness, global equipment efficiency.
• LTV: Lifetime Value, total revenue a customer generates during the relationship.
• CAC: Customer Acquisition Cost, cost to acquire a new customer.
• NPS: Net Promoter Score, indicator of customer loyalty.
• eNPS: Employee Net Promoter Score, NPS equivalent for employees.

Frequently asked questions.

How many KPIs should an SME have?

Between 10 and 15 at top management level (CEO/general manager scorecard). Each area can have 5-10 additional operational KPIs for internal management. If you exceed 20 KPIs in the main scorecard, focus is lost and the system fails.

What is the first KPI to implement if I have none?

It depends on your business bottleneck. If cash is short: DSO. If commercial is the issue: conversion rate and NPS. If operational: on-time delivery and defect rate. The rule: start with the metric linked to problem #1 of your strategic plan.

Do I need specific software for KPIs?

No. For SMEs, a well-designed Excel or Google Sheet covers 95% of needs in the first 12 months. From 30 employees, or if you want to consolidate data from several systems (ERP, CRM, web), tools like Power BI, Google Looker Studio (free) or Metabase are accessible alternatives with low or zero cost.

How often should the scorecard be reviewed?

Operational and commercial: monthly with the leadership committee. Financial and people: quarterly. Critical KPIs of an active project: weekly. Once a year it is wise to review the KPI selection itself (retire those no longer adding value, add new ones if strategy has changed).

Who should be responsible for each KPI?

The functional head of the affected area. Gross margin: finance director. NPS: commercial director. Defect rate: operations director. eNPS: people director. The owner is not the one who "holds the data" but the one who answers for the figure and proposes action on variance.

How do I connect KPIs with variable compensation?

Carefully. KPIs linked to variable pay are aggressively "optimised" (sometimes perversely: if I pay per number of orders closed, my salesperson will close low-profit orders). Recommendations: cap at 3 KPIs per person, combine quantitative and qualitative indicators, and review annually to detect distortions.

Checklist: 10 steps to implement your scorecard.

1. Review your strategic plan and extract the 3-5 key objectives.
2. For each objective, define 2-3 KPIs measuring progress.
3. Cap the total at 12-15 KPIs.
4. For each KPI, define formula, data source, frequency and owner.
5. Set each KPI's target with criterion (not invented).
6. Design the visual scorecard (one page, green/amber/red traffic light).
7. Automate data collection (avoid "asking for it manually each month").
8. Schedule monthly review on the calendar with a fixed agenda.
9. Establish a response protocol when a KPI turns red.
10. Review the KPI selection annually.

Do you need to define your company's KPIs and build a scorecard that lets you lead with data? Let's talk and I'll help you select the most relevant indicators for your business and put them in operation.

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By Ángel Ortega Castro · independent consultant in strategy, quality and digitalisation for SMEs. Based in Aranda de Duero (Burgos), Castilla y León.