A complete example report

Here’s what the customer actually gets.

We’ve used a fictional local workshop to show the scores, findings and complete action plan—without publishing the questions or the scoring method behind them.

Read the example findings

One useful picture of the whole business.

The report looks across money, customers, sales, daily operations, people and how much still comes back to the owner. The point isn’t to hand out a fancy score. It’s to work out what is really getting in the way.

Just so it’s clear: Harbour Auto & Service is a made-up business. We created it to demonstrate the report without using anyone’s private information. The assessment questions and scoring method are proprietary and are not published.
Example client

Harbour Auto & Service

Owner-operated automotive workshop · Central Coast NSW
Fictional demonstration
Annual revenue $1.18 million
Team 7 people
Trading history 11 years
Owner hours 58 per week
Complete Small Business Barometer

Harbour Auto & Service

Customers trust this business and there is enough work coming in. The trouble is that too much still depends on the owner, the numbers don’t show which jobs really make money, and good enquiries sometimes fall through the cracks.

Current pattern: too much still comes back to the owner
62 out of 100
Primary constraint

The owner is the operating system.

Quoting, quality control, difficult customer conversations and many daily decisions still return to the owner. This protects standards in the short term but limits capacity, creates bottlenecks and makes the business difficult to step away from.

Strongest commercial asset

Customer trust and local reputation.

Repeat customers and referrals provide a valuable base. The opportunity is to make that trust belong to the business and team—not depend almost entirely on the owner’s personal relationships.

Six-area diagnostic

Financial control
48
Customers & sales
78
Market position
71
Operations
57
People & leadership
59
Owner freedom
38
Finding 01

Demand is healthier than conversion discipline

Referrals are strong, but enquiries and declined quotes are not consistently tracked. The business cannot yet distinguish a lead problem from a follow-up problem.

Finding 02

Revenue is visible; true job profitability is not

The owner reviews turnover and the bank balance, but cannot reliably compare margin by job type after technician time, rework and owner involvement.

Finding 03

Delegation exists without sufficient authority

Staff perform routine work but escalate decisions because limits, standards and measures are not explicit. Delegation has moved tasks—not ownership.

Cross-checks and possible blind spots

Strong service vs unmeasured follow-up The owner rates customer service highly, yet the business does not record response time, declined-quote follow-up or reasons customers do not proceed.
Profitable overall vs unclear job margin The business reports a profit, but pricing decisions are not supported by consistent labour recovery, job-level margin or rework information.
Capable team vs decision bottleneck The team is described as experienced, while normal exceptions still return to the owner. Authority may be less developed than capability.
Growth goal vs owner capacity The owner wants 15% growth but is already working 58 hours. More demand without operating change may intensify the current constraint.

Three priorities—in order

1

Create financial visibility by job type

Track labour recovery, parts margin, discounts, rework and owner intervention across the three most common job categories before changing marketing or staffing.

2

Transfer defined decisions—not just tasks

Give the service adviser clear authority for quoting variations, customer recovery and scheduling within agreed limits and escalation rules.

3

Install a simple enquiry-to-booking measure

Record every phone and online enquiry, source, outcome, quote value and follow-up. Review conversion weekly before spending more on lead generation.

First 30 days

  • Establish baseline margin for three core job types
  • Record all enquiries and declined quotes
  • Document five recurring owner-only decisions
  • Delegate one decision with limits and measures
  • Review progress for 20 minutes each week

90-day outcomes

  • Job-level margin visible and used in pricing
  • Enquiry conversion measured by source
  • Routine variations resolved without the owner
  • Owner hours reduced from 58 toward 48 weekly
  • A four-week owner-absence plan documented
For accountants, bookkeepers and advisers

A win for your client. A new income stream for you.

Partners offer the complete Barometer at the standard $250 retail price. You keep $150 and Business Barometer Australia receives $100 to prepare the completed report.

  • Partner-branded invitation and report
  • A practical reason for a stronger advisory conversation
  • Quarterly reassessment capability
  • A unique partner code and referral link to identify introduced orders
  • You retain the client relationship
Owner report access