Management Reporting Rhythm & Trend Watch¶
A documented schedule for what gets reviewed, by whom, and how often. Plus a list of trends to watch and the thresholds that trigger action.
Audience: Dan, managers, supervisors, anyone responsible for reviewing operational metrics
Why this exists: Master plan items G1 and G4. Scott Recycling already has excellent dashboards (sr_dashboards, sr_operations_kpi, sr_reports). The gap is rhythm — without a schedule, dashboards become decoration. People glance at them, not act on them. This document defines what to look at and when, so review actually happens.
Reporting Pyramid¶
Information flows up the pyramid; decisions flow down.
┌──────────────────┐
│ ANNUAL REVIEW │
│ Strategic plans │
│ Budget cycle │
└────────┬─────────┘
↑
┌──────────────┴──────────────┐
│ QUARTERLY REVIEW │
│ Strategic + financial │
│ Long-trend analysis │
└──────────────┬──────────────┘
↑
┌────────────────┴────────────────┐
│ MONTHLY REVIEW │
│ P&L by location/stream │
│ KPI trends │
│ Compliance check │
└────────────────┬────────────────┘
↑
┌──────────────────┴──────────────────┐
│ WEEKLY REVIEW │
│ Operations, sales, queue health │
│ Inventory, fleet, staff │
└──────────────────┬──────────────────┘
↑
┌────────────────────┴────────────────────┐
│ DAILY REVIEW │
│ Yesterday's performance, today's plan │
│ Cash, alerts, exceptions │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
Daily Review (5-15 minutes)¶
What¶
A quick check of yesterday's performance, today's plan, and any exceptions.
Who¶
- Each shift supervisor — for their team
- Dispatcher — for today's routes
- Manager — overview of all areas
When¶
First 15 minutes of each business day, before the operational floor opens.
What to look at¶
| Item | Source | Action threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Yesterday's pickup count | sr_operations_kpi daily |
-20% from average → investigate |
| Yesterday's WIP backlog | sr_operations_kpi WIP |
Growing 3 days in a row → escalate |
| Today's scheduled pickups | Dispatcher dashboard | Driver capacity issue → reroute |
| Today's high-priority customers | CRM Queue A/B/C/D | Whale needs attention → flag |
| Overnight alerts | /opt/monitoring/health.log |
Any >>> ALERT: → investigate |
| New helpdesk tickets | Helpdesk module | High priority → assign |
| Cash drawer reconciliation | Daily cash report | Discrepancy → investigate |
| Yesterday's safety incidents | Safety log | Any → review and document |
| Pending RFP responses | RFP tracking (CRM tag) | Deadline in <3 days → flag |
Output¶
A 1-paragraph "today's status" message in Slack/email/standup. Not a meeting unless something needs discussion.
Weekly Review (30-60 minutes)¶
What¶
Aggregate data, look at week-over-week trends, identify slow-moving issues that don't show up daily.
Who¶
- Department leads — for their area
- Manager — for cross-department coordination
- Optional: Dan attends if available
When¶
Monday morning, before the week's operations ramp up.
What to look at¶
| Item | Source | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Pickups completed last week | sr_operations_kpi weekly rollup |
Hit target? Trend vs. last 4 weeks? |
| Pounds processed last week | sr_operations_kpi |
Hit target? Bottleneck zone? |
| WIP at end of week | sr_operations_kpi WIP |
Higher or lower than 4 weeks ago? |
| Customer call queue status | sr_management_fixes queues |
Queue A backlog growing? Why? |
| Pickup blast results | sr_pickup_blast analytics |
Response rate OK? Which segments? |
| CRM pipeline | CRM dashboard | New leads, qualified, won, lost, value |
| Inventory aging | Aging report | Items >60 days? Markdown decisions? |
| Driver performance | Fleet + KPI | Any drivers with issues? On-time rate? |
| Safety incidents | Incident log | Any patterns? Same zone? Same shift? |
| Customer complaints | CRM + helpdesk tags | Any patterns? Same customer? Same issue? |
| Sales channel performance | Marketplace orders | eBay vs. Amazon vs. Walmart this week? |
| Cash position | QBO + bank balance | Sufficient runway for the next 2 weeks? |
| Open RFPs | RFP tracking | Deadlines this week? Capacity to respond? |
Output¶
A weekly summary doc (markdown or Slack post) with key metrics + the ONE thing that needs attention this week.
Monthly Review (1-2 hours)¶
What¶
P&L by stream/location, comprehensive KPI review, compliance check, planning for next month.
Who¶
- Dan + each business lead
- Accountant for the financial portion (or in writing)
- Optional: department leads for their area
When¶
First Tuesday after month-end (gives a few days for QBO close).
What to look at¶
| Item | Source | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly P&L | QBO | Profit vs. plan? Revenue mix? |
| P&L by stream | Cost-per-pound methodology | Which streams are profitable? Trending? |
| Revenue per pound | Combined operations + finance | Up or down vs. last month? |
| Cost per pickup | Combined ops + finance | Trending? Driver utilization? |
| Customer counts | CRM | Active customers, new this month, churned this month |
| Top 20 customers by volume | Customer segmentation queries | Any changes? Whales healthy? |
| Top 20 customers by revenue | Customer segmentation queries | Same — different list per the revenue methodology |
| Material stream mix | sr_reports |
Shifting? Why? |
| Marketplace channel mix | marketplace_order (when populated) |
Channel margins? Returns? |
| Compliance status | Compliance calendar | All deadlines met? Any audit prep? |
| Safety summary | Incident log | Number, severity, root cause analysis |
| Staffing | HR | Hires, departures, open positions, turnover rate |
| Equipment status | sr_maintenance |
PM completed? Outstanding repairs? |
| Backups verified | EXP monitoring | Restore test still passing? |
| Cash flow | QBO | This month, next month, AR aging |
| Pipeline value | CRM | Value of open opportunities |
| RFP win rate | RFP tracking | Won, lost, no-bid, win % |
Output¶
A monthly management report (1-3 pages) covering financial summary, operational KPIs, exceptions, decisions needed.
Quarterly Review (2-4 hours)¶
What¶
Strategic + financial deep dive. Trend analysis. Course corrections.
Who¶
- Dan + accountant + key leadership
- May include outside advisors (attorney, consultant) for specific topics
When¶
Within 2 weeks of quarter-end.
What to look at¶
| Item | Source | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterly P&L | QBO | Trending toward annual targets? |
| Year-over-year comparison | QBO + historical | Growth or decline? Where? |
| 3-month trend on every metric above (monthly review items) | All sources | Is the direction acceptable? |
| Master plan progress | sr-docs/strategy/operational-master-plan.md |
What got done? What's stuck? |
| Customer churn analysis | Customer segmentation | Which customers left? Why? |
| New customer acquisition | CRM + sales | Pipeline → close rate, average time-to-close |
| Tier 1 customer (whale) health | Per-customer review | Any at risk? Any opportunities? |
| Commodity price trends | External + market analysis | Affecting our margins? |
| Regulatory environment | Compliance officer | Any pending changes? Action needed? |
| Insurance review | Insurance register | Coverage adequate? Renewals coming? |
| R2 / certification status | Compliance | Next milestones? |
| IT / infrastructure | EXP runbook + monitoring | Any chronic issues? Capital needs? |
| Major capital decisions pending | All | Approved, deferred, rejected? |
| Strategic adjustments | Master plan | Any pivots needed? |
Output¶
A quarterly business review (3-5 pages) with financial summary, KPI trends, master plan progress, decisions made, and decisions deferred.
Annual Review (Half day to full day)¶
What¶
Comprehensive strategic review and next-year planning. The big one.
Who¶
- Dan + accountant + attorney + key leadership
- Possibly outside advisors
When¶
December for fiscal year planning, January for operational year planning, your call.
What to look at¶
- Full year P&L — vs. prior year, vs. plan
- Tax planning — with accountant
- Budget for next year — by stream, by department, by capex item
- Strategic plan refresh — is the growth strategy still right?
- Master plan refresh — what's in scope for the next 12 months?
- Headcount plan — hires, promotions, role changes
- Capital projects — new equipment, facility, IT
- Insurance renewal
- Compliance recertification (R2 if applicable, DOT, HIPAA training, etc.)
- Vendor reviews — keep, replace, negotiate
- Customer concentration risk — is any single customer too large a share?
- Succession plan refresh
- Disaster recovery test — actually run it once a year
Output¶
Annual operating plan (5-10 pages) + budget + capital plan.
Trend Watch — Metrics That Demand Action When They Move¶
These are the leading indicators that should trigger management attention even outside the regular review cadence.
Operational trends¶
| Metric | Watch for | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| WIP backlog (pounds in process) | Growing | Increasing 3 weeks in a row | Investigate bottleneck zone |
| Days from intake to processed | Increasing | Average >7 days | Capacity issue at sorting or tech bench |
| Pickups per route | Decreasing | <X per day average | Route density problem or driver issue |
| Customer call wait time | Increasing | >2 minutes average | CSR staffing |
| Email response time | Increasing | >24 hours average | CSR or process issue |
| First-call resolution rate | Decreasing | <70% | Training gap or product issue |
| Order ship time | Increasing | >48 hours | Shipping bottleneck |
| Marketplace return rate | Increasing | >5% | Listing quality or grading issue |
| Inventory aging | Increasing | >20% items over 60 days | Pricing or listing problem |
| WIP per employee | Increasing | Significantly above baseline | Throughput issue |
Customer trends¶
| Metric | Watch for | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| New customer acquisition rate | Decreasing | <5 new/month | Marketing or sales issue |
| Customer churn rate | Increasing | >2% per quarter | Service issue, run churn detection script |
| Whale customer volume | Decreasing | -10% in a month from any whale | Personal call from Dan |
| Top 20 customer mix | Significant shift | Major customer drops out | Account manager call |
| Net Promoter Score | Decreasing | -10 points | Service issue, customer survey |
| Customer concentration | Increasing | Top customer >20% of revenue | Concentration risk — diversify |
| Pickup frequency for regulars | Decreasing | -25% from typical | Customer health check |
Financial trends¶
| Metric | Watch for | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue per pound | Decreasing | -10% over a quarter | Pricing or stream mix issue |
| Gross margin % | Decreasing | -3 percentage points | Cost increase or pricing weakness |
| Net margin % | Decreasing | -2 percentage points | Operating leverage issue |
| Days sales outstanding (AR) | Increasing | >45 days | Collections issue |
| Cash on hand | Decreasing | <8 weeks of payroll + fixed costs | Cash flow concern |
| Marketing spend | Increasing without revenue follow | ROI <break-even | Marketing efficiency issue |
| Labor cost as % of revenue | Increasing | >50% | Productivity issue |
| Fuel cost as % of revenue | Increasing | >12% | Route efficiency or fuel price |
| Insurance cost as % of revenue | Increasing | +1 percentage point | Claim history, market hardening |
Compliance trends¶
| Metric | Watch for | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety incidents per quarter | Any increase | Any incident at all | Root cause analysis |
| HIPAA training compliance | Decreasing | <100% of required staff | Schedule training |
| DOT inspection findings | Any | Any out-of-service finding | Immediate fleet review |
| Hazmat storage duration | Approaching 12-month limit | Any item flagged | Schedule disposal |
| Vendor cert expiration | Approaching | <30 days | Verify renewal |
Technology trends¶
| Metric | Watch for | Threshold | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXP disk usage | Increasing | >85% | Plan capacity expansion |
| Database growth rate | Increasing | >5% per month | Vacuum, archive, optimize |
| Backup file size | Sudden change | -50% or +50% in one night | Investigate backup integrity |
| Cron failure count | Any | Any cron stale 2x interval | Check journalctl |
| Active alert count in monitoring | Any | Any >>> ALERT: not addressed |
Address |
| SSL cert days-to-expiry | Decreasing | <14 days | Force renewal |
Trend Action Discipline¶
A trend means nothing without action. The discipline is:
- Notice — the trend is moving the wrong direction (hourly monitoring catches some, daily/weekly review catches the rest)
- Investigate — why? Single incident or systemic? Internal or external cause?
- Decide — what's the action? No action is also a decision (note it).
- Act — implement the decision
- Monitor — did the action work? Trend should change.
- Document — capture the lesson for future similar situations
A trend that moves the wrong direction for 3 review cycles in a row without action is a management failure, not a metrics failure. The review cycles exist to force action.
Setting Targets¶
Targets should be:
- Realistic — based on historical performance and reasonable improvement
- Measurable — quantifiable, comparable over time
- Time-bound — quarterly or annual, not "someday"
- Connected to incentives — bonuses, promotions, recognition tied to hitting them
Avoid:
- Vanity metrics — total pounds processed without context
- Game-able metrics — anything that can be inflated without value creation
- Lagging-only metrics — net profit is important but it's lagging; pair with leading indicators
- Too many metrics — pick 5-10 that matter, ignore the rest
Dashboard References¶
The dashboards already exist. The reporting rhythm is about USING them.
| Dashboard | Located | Used in |
|---|---|---|
| Calls Dashboard | sr_dashboards | Daily, weekly review |
| Attendance Dashboard | sr_dashboards | Weekly, monthly |
| Transfer Location Dashboard | sr_dashboards | Weekly |
| Daily Production Overview | sr_dashboards | Daily |
| Truck Location Map | sr_dashboards | Daily (live) |
| KPI Dashboard | sr_operations_kpi | Daily, weekly, monthly |
| Pickup Weight Report | sr_reports | Weekly, monthly |
| Sort Transfer Report | sr_reports | Weekly |
| Glass Report | sr_reports | Monthly |
| Instant Truck Report | sr_reports | Daily |
| Certificate Reports | sr_reports | Monthly (for compliance) |
| CRM Pipeline | Odoo CRM | Weekly, monthly |
| QBO P&L | External | Monthly, quarterly, annually |
| Custom dashboards (future) | Per the financial dashboard design | Monthly, quarterly |
Review Schedule¶
This document itself should be reviewed and updated:
- Annually at the annual review
- Triggered when major dashboards change or new ones are added
- Triggered when business priorities shift (e.g., a new growth strategy)
Related¶
sr-docs/software-guides/operations/kpi/— KPI dashboard documentationsr-docs/software-guides/dashboards/— All operational dashboardssr-docs/software-guides/reports/— All reports~/Desktop/sr-analysis/financial-kpis-dashboard-design.md— financial dashboard design~/Desktop/sr-analysis/cost-per-pound-methodology.md— methodology that feeds the financial side~/Desktop/sr-analysis/customer-segmentation-by-revenue.md— customer review framework- Master plan items G1, G4