Business indicators: the types of fundamental indicators

Business / Date: 04-08-2025

Managing a business is not an easy task. No matter how small it is, there are many business indicators that must be monitored for the company to grow in a solid manner. Among the main tools for each sector to be monitored satisfactorily by the entrepreneur are, without a doubt, business indicators. Without them, the manager runs a serious risk of not identifying the correct performance of the company – finding the problems only when it is too late to solve them.

If you do not want to go through this situation and want to always be in control of your business – whether it is an individual micro-entrepreneur , small and medium-sized enterprise or large company, this article is for you. Learn about some of the key business indicators to keep a careful eye on your firm by reading on. Have fun reading!

The importance of indicators for MEIs and SMEs

Business indicators are essential for any company. Whether you are an individual micro-entrepreneur, a micro or small business owner, or the owner of a large company, without these performance indicators, the entrepreneur runs a serious risk of not understanding his or her own business in a broader way – increasing the chances of future problems and even bankruptcy.

For example, you can know the level of productivity of your team, customer satisfaction, the process capacity of your employees, among other situations. In addition, many of these indicators also help the entrepreneur to identify the evolution (or not) of the business over time, based on analysis of results and achievement of goals. By knowing and applying the indicators frequently in your business, you will be able to see, more easily, potential problems related to people and processes. And, by identifying this, you will be able to correct any problems and put your company back on the path to success.

The main business indicators you need to know

Check out some of the business indicators that every entrepreneur should know to solidify their business and be successful on this journey:

Average ticket

The average ticket is one of the most important business indicators for any company, as it allows the entrepreneur to understand the sales dynamics of the business. This performance indicator can be monitored based on sales, for each customer or for each salesperson on your team.

The average ticket should be calculated based on the company's revenue in a given period divided by the number of months being measured. The result of this division should be divided by the number of customers, resulting in the business's average monthly ticket.
By identifying this number, you will be able to have a broader view of the sales sector's performance and investigate potential problems that may be negatively impacting the business's final result.

Gross revenue

Gross revenue is nothing more than the profits obtained by a business in a given period of time. This indicator will allow the entrepreneur to identify the sales capacity of his team and analyze the evolution of the company's results over time. To obtain this indicator, simply identify the unit price of each product or service sold and multiply it by the sales volume.

This means that, when increasing the sales volume or maintaining the volume and raising the prices of each product or service sold, you should see an increase in the company's gross revenue. It is important to emphasize, however, that these changes must be studied before being implemented. After all, they will always have some impact, whether on the customer or on the company - which must be predicted and analyzed in advance.

Turnover rate

The turnover rate is one of the indicators that you need to evaluate in your MEI or SME. After all, it is what helps to evaluate the degree of employee turnover and assists in understanding internal issues within the company.
With it, you can identify potential problems related to leadership, organizational climate and even issues ranging from salaries to undervaluing employees.

Operational breakeven point

The operational break-even point aims to measure how much of the business's gross revenue will be needed to cover all of the company's costs. When the business reaches the break-even point of its operations, it stops generating losses.

The number equivalent to the operational break-even point is the one at which gross revenue is aligned with the total cost of the business. For example, if a company's total costs (fixed and variable) are R$10,000 per month, revenue will need to be R$10,000 per month to cover expenses – and, consequently, allow for the operational break-even point. From this point on, the company will begin to generate profit.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI) is one of the most important business indicators for any company. After all, it measures the income obtained by the company in relation to the amount invested in the business. For example, you can use ROI to calculate the return on a paid advertisement on the Internet, on an investment made in relation to a specific team training, on the purchase of new tools for a sector of the company, among many other situations.

Therefore, it is by calculating ROI that you can measure, in a quantitative way, which investments were worthwhile and which did not deliver the expected return. To calculate ROI, simply subtract the cost from the revenue obtained and divide the result by the cost again.

Conclusion

Knowing business indicators and applying them in practice is essential for any entrepreneur who wants to monitor the performance of their business and create a solid foundation for the company's growth. Therefore, if you are not yet in the habit of monitoring these business indicators in your day-to-day life.

It may be worth reconsidering your position regarding them. Always stay informed about your business as a whole, compare results and always be prepared to correct any errors. This way, it will be much easier to keep your company on track and grow in a sustainable and much more efficient way over time!