What is a metrics tracking report?
A metrics tracking report is a document that consolidates data from multiple sources (e.g., databases, CRM systems, ERP software) to track and display key performance indicators (KPIs) (e.g., operational efficiency, financial performance, customer satisfaction), enabling teams and organizations to monitor performance and create presentations for stakeholders and executives.
Metrics tracking reports are typically created using flexible tools like Google Looker Studio, Power BI, Google Sheets, or platform-specific solutions to enable high customization and integration of multiple data sources.
What to include in a metrics tracking report?
An actionable metrics tracking report balances context and specificity based on the audience (executives, managers, and analysts) and their use cases.
Executive metrics reports
Executive reports for CFOs, CEOs, and stakeholders show the organization's bottom-line impact. Reviewed weekly, monthly, or quarterly, they include:
- Financial performance analysis: revenue, profit margins, cost analysis
- Operational efficiency analysis: productivity metrics, resource utilization
- Customer satisfaction analysis: NPS, customer retention rates
- Add text for additional context to translate metrics for non-technical audiences. Present in slide decks and simplified Looker Studio reports.
Manager metrics reports
Manager reports have cross-departmental views with drill-downs to see performance by team, project, region, and process. They help align teams, define strategies, and include:
- Cross-departmental reporting: overall performance, project, or region reporting across departments
- Goal tracking: compare current performance vs objectives
- Audits for prioritization and spotting issues
- Benchmarking for performance and process mapping
- Process, resource, and efficiency analysis
Operational Metrics Reports
Operational reports for analysts and managers have granular, customizable KPIs to solve technical issues. Monitored hourly, daily, or weekly, they cover:
- Production: output rates, defect rates, downtime
- Supply Chain: inventory levels, order fulfillment, lead times
- Customer Service: response times, resolution rates, feedback scores
- IT: system uptime, incident response, user satisfaction
Operational metrics reports are highly customized, built in flexible tools like Google Sheets or Looker Studio to enable data cleaning, blending, annotations, and integrating multiple sources.
How to build a metrics tracking report?
To build a metrics tracking report, connect your data sources, choose a template on Looker Studio or Sheets, build your queries by selecting metrics and dimensions, choose charts to visualize your data, customize the report, design and share via link, PDF or email.
Here’s the breakdown:
Connect data sources
Define and connect the data sources to bring to your report. Common sources are ERP systems for operational data, CRM for customer data, financial software for financial metrics, and HR systems for workforce analytics.
To connect your data sources, go to portermetrics.com, choose the data sources to bring to your report.
You can follow these tutorials on connecting your data:
Choose a template
Choose from dozens of metrics tracking report templates in Google Sheets or Looker Studio, designed for use cases like operational monitoring, financial analysis, customer satisfaction, and resource management.
Learn to copy Looker Studio templates.
While templates are the starting point. Make them specific for your business or organization. Map your specific metrics, especially custom KPIs, operational data, financial metrics, and all the fields and metrics that you define as "performance" and "efficiency".
Depending on your reporting tool—Google Sheets or Google Looker Studio, pick any of the dozens of templates created by our team and customers to solve your metrics tracking use cases, such as operational monitoring, financial analysis, customer satisfaction, and resource management.
Select metrics, dimensions, and charts
Once your report template is downloaded, you may 1)modify it or 2) create a blank page to build it from scratch. Whatever the case, setting up a query always follows these steps:
- Select the data source and the account connected to it
- Choose metrics (e.g. Revenue, productivity, customer satisfaction, etc.).
- Choose breakdowns to segment your data (e.g. by date, department, region, etc.)
You can follow these tutorials on adding data to your reports
Design
To make your metrics tracking reports truly white-label you can add logos, colors, fonts, and styling to mirror your brand.
Follow these tutorials to design your metrics tracking reports:
Share
Share your metrics tracking reports via links, PDF, schedule emails, and control permissions.
KPIs to include in a metrics tracking report?
Metrics tracking reports should include a mix of operational, financial, customer, and efficiency metrics and KPIs to fully understand the performance of the organization towards business goals. They include:
Operational KPIs measure the efficiency and effectiveness of processes:
- Efficiency metrics: output rates, resource utilization, cycle times
- Quality metrics: defect rates, error rates, compliance rates
- Customer metrics: satisfaction scores, retention rates, service levels
Financial KPIs compare your financial performance to the cost, including:
- Revenue: total revenue, revenue growth
- Profitability: profit margins, net income
- Cost: operational costs, cost savings
Customer KPIs compare the input with the output from one process stage to another
- Satisfaction: NPS, customer feedback
- Retention: churn rate, repeat purchase rate
- Engagement: interaction rates, service usage
To analyze these metrics KPIs, segment them by:
- Department: operations, finance, customer service
- Time: Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly
- Project: phase, objective
- Customer: demographics, behavior, feedback
- Process: steps, efficiency, bottlenecks
