The Founder’s Financial Dashboard: 10 Numbers You Should Review Every Week

Most founders look at too many metrics or not enough. The ones who struggle often have one of two problems: they’re drowning in dashboards with no clear signal, or they’re flying blind until something goes wrong. 

A weekly financial review doesn’t need to be a two-hour exercise. If you have the right ten numbers in front of you, it takes twenty minutes, and it fundamentally changes how you run the business. 

Here are the ten metrics worth looking at every single week. 

1. Cash Balance and Runway 

This is the most basic number and still the one most often ignored until it’s urgent. Know your exact cash balance today and your projected runway at current burn. If that number is under six months, it should be driving decisions right now, not next quarter. 

2. Weekly Burn Rate 

Monthly burn is standard, but weekly burn gives you earlier warning signals. If something spikes like an unexpected hire, a vendor invoice, a one-time cost, you see it faster. Track it as a rolling four-week average to filter out noise. 

3. Net New Revenue (or ARR Movement) 

For SaaS companies, this means new ARR added minus churn and contraction. For others, it’s net new revenue versus the prior week. This is your growth signal. Smooth it over four weeks to see the real trend, not the noise. 

4. New Customer Count 

Revenue is a lagging indicator. New customer count is a leading one. If new customers slow down this week, it shows up in revenue four to six weeks from now. Catch it early.  

5. Churn and Contraction 

Lost revenue is often hiding in plain sight. Track customers who cancelled or downgraded this week. More importantly, look for patterns like is it a specific segment, a certain pricing tier, customers who came from a specific channel? 

6. CAC for the Week 

Divide total sales and marketing spend by new customers acquired. This will fluctuate week to week, but tracking it builds intuition about efficiency. If you’re spending more to acquire fewer customers, the math starts working against you. 

7. Pipeline Value and Velocity 

How much qualified pipeline do you have, and how fast is it moving? A healthy pipeline covers at least three times your revenue target for the period. Velocity tells you if deals are stalling somewhere – that’s usually where to focus sales attention. 

8. Headcount and Payroll Costs 

People are typically 60-80% of startup costs. Know your headcount, know your monthly payroll, and track it week to week. Unplanned hires and role changes have a way of silently inflating burn. Catch it before it compounds. 

9. Gross Margin (Monthly, Reviewed Weekly) 

Gross margin doesn’t change daily, but reviewing it weekly keeps it top of mind. If your margin is slipping, it usually signals something in COGS like hosting costs, professional services, support burden. The earlier you catch margin erosion, the easier it is to fix. 

10. Accounts Receivable Aging 

How much revenue have you invoiced that hasn’t been collected? If customers are paying later and later, your cash position looks worse than your revenue suggests. Flag anything over 30 days and make collecting it someone’s weekly job. 

The point of a weekly review isn’t to obsess over every fluctuation. It’s to develop a feel for what’s normal, so that when something isn’t normal, you notice it fast. Businesses don’t usually fail from a single bad week. They fail because warning signs were visible for months before anyone took action. 

Build the habit now. Twenty minutes a week is cheap insurance.