Help centre / Money & accounts / Track the numbers that matter (KPIs)
Track the numbers that matter (KPIs)
On the Impact page, choose Add measure and say where its figure comes from: entered by hand, or fed from your accounts (cash, reserves or an income group). Record one value per month with a short commentary. Accounting-fed measures update when you choose Update from accounts.
Set up a measure
- Open the Impact page and choose Add measure.
- Give it a name the board will recognise, for example "Course places filled".
- If your accounting software is connected, pick where the figure comes from: Entered by hand, the number of payers or £ total of an income group, cash at bank, or free reserves. Money feeds set the unit to £ for you.
- Pick the good direction (higher or lower is better) and, if you have one, a target.
- Choose a group so the measure sits with related ones on the page.
- Add a short description of how it's counted, so whoever records it next year counts the same way.
- Choose Add measure.
Record a monthly reading
- On the measure's card, choose Record value.
- Check the month, enter the value, and add a line of commentary saying what moved and why. The board sees this next to the chart.
- Choose Save.
There's one reading per measure per month. Saving the same month again simply corrects it, so don't worry about getting it wrong first time.
What happens next
Each measure builds a history you can see as a chart, with its target line if you set one. Measures fed from your accounts fill in this month's reading when you choose Update from accounts. Figures you entered by hand are never overwritten by the feed.
Common questions
We changed how we count something
When you record the first value counted the new way, tick the box saying the counting method changed. We then skip the comparison with the month before, so you aren't shown a misleading change figure.
Can we retire a measure?
Yes. Edit it and choose Retire this measure. It leaves the scorecard but keeps its history, and you can bring it back later.
Which measures should a small charity start with?
Start with three or four you already talk about at meetings. Meadowbank Community Trust tracks cash at bank, free reserves, course places filled and volunteer hours. Fewer measures, kept up to date, beat a long list nobody fills in.