The five numbers every small business owner should know by the 10th of the month

Most owners we meet can tell you their turnover to the euro and nothing else. Turnover is the least useful number on the list. Here are the five that actually predict whether the business is in trouble, and how to get each of them in ten minutes a month.

1. Cash in the bank, minus what is already spoken for

Open the business account. Subtract this month’s VAT, payroll, rent and any tax instalment due. What is left is your real cash. Owners who look at the raw balance feel rich on the 1st and panic on the 20th.

How to get it: bank balance, minus a short list of known upcoming payments. Keep the list in a note on your phone.

2. What customers owe you, and how old it is

Unpaid invoices are not income until they are paid. List every open invoice with its due date. Anything over 30 days gets a phone call this week, not another polite email.

How to get it: an aged debtors report from your invoicing software, or a simple three-column list: customer, amount, days overdue.

3. Gross margin on your main product or service

Take what you charge, subtract what it costs you to deliver it directly: materials, subcontractors, the hours you pay for. What is left has to cover everything else and still leave a profit. If this number is under 40 percent for a service business, pricing is the first conversation to have.

How to get it: one typical job, honestly costed, once a quarter.

4. Fixed costs per month

Rent, insurance, software, phone, loan repayments, your own minimum pay. This is the amount the business must earn before a single euro of profit exists. Most owners underestimate it by a third because subscriptions and “small” direct debits add up.

How to get it: scan three months of bank statements once, add up everything that repeats, divide by three.

5. Break-even sales

Fixed costs divided by gross margin. If your fixed costs are €4,000 a month and your margin is 50 percent, you need €8,000 of sales a month just to stand still. Knowing this number changes how you quote, how you chase, and when you say no.

The habit matters more than the spreadsheet

Put a recurring reminder on the 10th of every month. Write the five numbers on one line in a notebook or a note. Compare with last month. That is the whole system. When one of them moves the wrong way two months in a row, that is when you act, or call someone.

This monthly check is exactly what we do together in the Momentum mentoring package: two sessions a month, your numbers on the table, and a plan for the next four weeks. If you would rather start smaller, the free intro call is thirty minutes and you leave with your five numbers.

This article is general information, not advice for your specific situation. Rules and thresholds change; check the current Revenue guidance or ask us before you act.