A recently implemented strategy is a pick-up and delivery service. "This seems to have increased revenues, but with increased fuel and labor costs, it may be a wash," Vegas acknowledges.
Another revenue-boosting strategy the company has adopted is converting from a cash-only business to one that accepts credit cards, a move initiated a little more than a year ago, with beneficial results.
It also makes weekly cold-call sales calls to prospective customers, and that has proved to be its most productive method of increasing sales, Stout says. An in-house development project to build a Web site is currently underway as well.
Long-term goals at Piston Parts are to maintain market share and to achieve annual sales growth of 5% to 10%, which Vegas describes as "modest." Going forward, the company will continue to rely on its financial information to help determine if it is remaining on track with its plan.
"We try to provide services and products for our customers that are the best anywhere," Vegas says. Keeping a close watch on the numbers helps the company deliver on that promise.
Healthcare providers differ from other types of businesses in certain ways, but the same basic guidelines apply when it comes to keeping track of a practice's financial health. Revenue, expenses and productivity are the key areas that must be tracked, and that can be done by monitoring a variety of performance areas, such as total gross charges or net revenue per practitioner.
"The numbers I pay most attention to are monthly and daily receivables compared to the same year-earlier periods," says Dr. Dan Duffy, who owns a dental practice with two locations.
"I always keep a close eye on the ebb and flow of assets, liabilities and equity, and I use that information to make important long-term decisions."
No matter how big or small a business might be or what stage of development it's in, paying attention to the right financials and metrics can help improve its performance. For Gary Boccio, who started Extreme Graphics, a total printing solutions business, about three years ago, outlays for expenses top the list.
"I use QuickBooks for my accounting, and it's very useful having the numbers right there in front of me," Boccio says. "Besides paying attention to my outgoing spending, I also look at the sales summary, which shows me which areas are generating most of my revenues. It presents everything in a nice pie chart, which makes it easier for me to grasp."
Graphics work for business cards, letterhead and other stationery is Boccio's largest sales silo and, fortunately, his most profitable. At least once a month he reviews the numbers to determine what's moving and what's not. "It also gives me a handle on cyclicality," he says.
Although Extreme Graphics is still a fairly new business, Boccio is already identifying some patterns. For example, October through January appears to be a period of consistently strong revenue and good cash flow, with performance tailing off a bit in the subsequent months. "I look at the full-year numbers because it's important for me to keep track of where I'm headed," he says.
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