A dashboard review isn’t intended to make you nervous or to worry you about your ability to run your practice. Instead, like the dashboard on the auto, it’s intended to make you aware of dangers ahead. With a practice dashboard you can more easily visualize the key data you need to manage your practice more effectively. This “instrument panel” answers the questions, “How are we doing?” and “Compared to what?”

HOW ARE WE DOING?

Every business owner needs to ask “How are we doing?” If you don’t know how you’re doing, how do you know if you are in trouble? For example: You may sense that fewer patients have come into the office this month, but if you don’t track this information and put it where you can see it, you won’t know for sure.

In your busy life, you need a way to keep this information in front of you regularly.

COMPARED TO WHAT?

The second question, “Compared to what?” helps you keep the information in perspective. If you see that gross collections were $45,000 for this month, you wouldn’t know if this was good or bad unless you compared it to last month or last year at this time.

Comparative data is just as important as current data.

Here are the key steps in the process of setting up your practice dashboard:

1. Set up a system. Work with your CPA or financial advisor to set up a process to collect and display the infor-mation you want to see on a weekly and monthly basis, possibly on a spreadsheet or in your financial software.

2. Post information regularly. Set up a regular procedure for putting information into the dashboard spread-sheet, at a minimum weekly. Once it’s set up, the input process should take only a few minutes every week.

3. Review regularly. Each Monday, view last week’s data, and early in the month, review last month’s dashboard.

The best monthly review time is shortly after the begin-ning of the month, when you have all the data from last month. Mark a half-hour appointment on your calendar no later than the fifth of the month to look at the information.

If you input the information each week, you’ll be seeing month-to-date information, which shows if you are on track with the monthly totals for the previous months.

For example: Let’s say you are tracking new patients. If you have 10 new patients the first week of the month, and last month you had 40 new patients total, you are probably right on track.

4. Take necessary actions. After you have completed your dashboard review, take necessary corrective action or celebrate if your practice is on course.

What should be included in the practice dashboard? Don’t try to track everything; focus on only the most essential data. Here are some possible key indicators:

Once you have set up your practice dashboard and have developed the good financial habit of recording the information and reviewing it regularly, you’ll be much more confident of your financial situation.

The concept of “knowledge is power” works here very well. The knowledge you derive from the dashboard will help you to keep your practice on track and power it to even greater financial success.

Jean Murray, MBA, PhD, is a business professor at Palmer College of Chiropractic and principal of Planning for Practice Success (P4PS). She can be contacted at 866-940-7526 or through her Web site, www.dcpracticesuccess.com.