The five numbers every clinic owner should check each month.
Rebooking rate, cancellations, utilisation, what each practitioner bills against what they cost, and a 12-week cash forecast: how to pull each one and what to do when it drops.
The short version: a full diary doesn't tell you whether the clinic is healthy. Five numbers do. Pull them on the same day each month, write them in one place, and act on a drop within the month, not at the end of the financial year.
1. Rebooking rate
What it is: the share of patients who left an appointment with their next one already booked.
How to pull it: your booking system's retention or rebooking report, for last month. Filter by practitioner.
What it tells you: whether patients are finishing their care. It moves before revenue does, so it's your earliest warning that the diary is about to thin out.
If it drops: look at checkout first (is the next visit being recommended in the room and booked at the desk?), then at the practitioner whose number fell.
2. Cancellations and no-shows
What it is: late cancellations and no-shows as a share of all appointments, plus how many cancellations were rescheduled.
How to pull it: appointment or cancellation reports, filtered by status.
What it tells you: how much booked time you're losing, and whether your follow-up is working. A high cancellation rate with a high reschedule rate is a timing problem. A high cancellation rate with a low reschedule rate is lost revenue.
If it rises: check when your reminders go out (they should land before the cancellation window closes), whether the policy is accepted at booking, and whether someone follows up every cancellation the same day.
3. Utilisation
What it is: booked hours divided by the hours each practitioner was available to see patients.
How to pull it: most systems show this per practitioner. If yours doesn't, compare appointment hours with rostered clinical hours.
What it tells you: whether you have a demand problem or a capacity problem. Low utilisation means you need more bookings from the patients you have before you hire. High utilisation with a waitlist means it may be time to add hours or people.
If it's low: don't start with ads. Start with the lapsed list and the rebooking rate.
4. What each practitioner bills against what they cost
What it is: for each practitioner, revenue per hour worked compared with their cost per hour (wage, super, leave, and any commission).
How to pull it: revenue by practitioner from your booking system, and costs from payroll. Divide both by hours worked.
What it tells you: whether a full diary is actually paying for itself. The gap between the two has to cover rent, reception, software, insurance and your own wage. A practitioner who is fully booked on short, low-fee appointments can be busy and still not pay their way.
If the gap is thin: look at the mix of services they're booked for, appointment lengths, and whether your prices have kept up with your costs.
5. A 12-week cash forecast
What it is: week by week for the next three months, the cash you expect to come in and the bills that are due.
How to pull it: a simple spreadsheet. Income from the diary and your average weekly takings, then wages, rent, super, tax and other fixed costs on the weeks they actually leave the account.
What it tells you: whether you can afford the next hire, the next piece of equipment or a quiet month, before you commit. Profit and cash aren't the same thing. A profitable clinic can still miss a payroll week.
If a week goes negative: you've found it with weeks to spare. Move a payment, chase what's owed, or fill the diary for the weeks before it.
Make it a 30-minute habit
Pick a day, say the first Monday of the month, and put it in the calendar. Pull the five numbers, write them next to last month's, and choose one thing to fix. Your accountant will help you read them, but nobody else is responsible for knowing them.
Check cash more often than the rest. Ten minutes every Monday on what came in, what went out and what's due is enough.
Template: the monthly numbers sheet
| Number | Last month | This month | Change | One action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rebooking rate (overall) | ||||
| Rebooking rate (lowest practitioner) | ||||
| Late cancellations + no-shows | ||||
| Cancellations rescheduled | ||||
| Utilisation (clinic) | ||||
| Billed per hour vs cost per hour (each practitioner) | ||||
| Lowest week in the 12-week cash forecast |
Where Robyn fits
Robyn works the patients behind the first two numbers: the ones who left without a next booking and the ones who cancelled. She texts them in your clinic's voice and handles the replies. See how Robyn works.