What business "variables" do you track?

[GOS_Queen]

I have a young friend that is starting to manage a private OD practice's optical . He asked for my help in setting up some systems for his office.

Since both his and my backgrounds are in corporate opticals, I feel I know what stats are tracked by that organization.

I am curious as to what stats are tracked in private practice such as ~ 2nd pairs, ave $$ sale, specific lenses (progressives, a/r, etc) ??

Do any of you track such things or do you just look at how you did against last year??

Thanks ~

[rbaker]

Essentially, the size of the enterprise should not make any difference in operational analysis. Most of the business processes are the same it’s just a difference in scale. The “stats” that you stated in your post “2nd pairs, ave $$ sale, specific lenses (progressives, a/r, etc)” are derived from the accounting process.

This being understood, you will realize that all of the business processes that you wish to track must be components of the chart of accounts of your accounting system. In today’s business environment a computerized accounting system is an inexpensive and easily implemented solution. Any of the off the shelf applications will serve the business well. Microsoft offers Money and Small Business Accounting, and QuickBooks, Quicken and Peachtree fill out the roster of under $500.00 solutions.

These applications come with preconfigured charts of accounts and with the assistance of your CPA you can customize it to meet your specific needs. Once this is done you will be able to track, in real time, any of your business processes. If you have any specific questions email me.

Life will be good.

[For-Life]

It all depends on what the goals of the business are.

But definitely a forecast should be done.

[rbaker]

First things first. You can not think of what might be until you have a firm grasp of what actually is. Additionally, business forecasts must be integral to an existing accounting system. Otherwise, you are just whistling in the dark.

[optigrrl]

When I took over the dispensary everything was done on paper and the only things they tracked were:

Capture Rate
Monthly Sales
Annual Sales
Best Day
Best Month

I needed more information but had little time so I put together spread sheets in excel to track the following:

Same as the above
AND
Frames sold: units/dollars, ave. $ frame sold/month/yr
RX's sold: units/dollars, ave. $ rx sold/month/yr
Accessories sold: units/dollars, ave$ sold/month/yr
% of ophthalmic rx's to sun rx's
Lab costs vs. rx sales
Frame costs vs. frame sales
(we don't have an inventory system)
Accessory costs vs. sales
Annual Performance report - this compares the difference in $ and % from each month in the current year to the same month in the previous year. (I did this for every year the optical has been open)
Individual sales - same way
Number of transactions: ave $ per transaction/month/yr
Brand of frames sold in units

and a few others I can't remember off the top of my head.

I have discovered a trend in spending since I started. The ave. $ per frame, rx and overall transactions have gone up considerably. So I have started to introduce a wider selection of high-end products and the results were spectacular. Last year, 40% of my frame sales were for frames that retail for $250 and up.

[For-Life]

First things first. You can not think of what might be until you have a firm grasp of what actually is. Additionally, business forecasts must be integral to an existing accounting system. Otherwise, you are just whistling in the dark.

Well you really should have an idea of what you are going to do before you start. It is important, because that will set the tempo for how you develop your operations.

Oh, I also wanted to say that the plans should not just be for one year, but for the short, medium and long term (3 to 5 years).

[Snitgirl]

Hi Gos Queen, to add to the rest of the comments, tracking where new patients are coming from is really important. This will help with advertising, marketing, etc.


Also, does the practice have a recall system? If so, do they recall via mail, or via telephone? Its good to track this as well so they can focus on the one that brings in more patients.

No patients, no business...

[GOS_Queen]

Thanks for all the answers ~ I appreciate it so much!


Snitgirl - to answer your question, I am pretty sure this practice has a recall system but I don't know much about it.

Hopefully, I'll get to sit down with my friend soon and see what's up with what he needs.