Are You Tracking the Right Numbers—Or Just Keeping Yourself Busy?
If your e-commerce or CPG brand is doing $10M+ in revenue, you’ve already proven you can build something great. But here’s a reality check: Are you tracking numbers that actually drive profit, or just staring at dashboards to feel productive?
As a Fractional CFO, I see this mistake all the time—brands drowning in 50+ KPIs, obsessing over vanity metrics, and waiting until they “perfect” their data tracking before taking action.
That’s a one-way ticket to slow decisions, wasted resources, and stalled growth.
💡 The brands that scale and exit for top dollar don’t track everything. They track the right things.
In this guide, I’ll break down:
✅ The only metrics that actually drive revenue, profit, and valuation
✅ How to structure your scorecards for maximum clarity and impact
✅ Why starting with manual tracking beats automation—at first
By the end, you’ll know exactly how to simplify your data, make better decisions, and build a business that’s both scalable and sellable.
The Problem with Tracking Too Many Metrics in E-Commerce & CPG
If everything is important, nothing is important.
I’ve worked with too many e-commerce founders and CPG CEOs who track way too many numbers—and then wonder why:
❌ Their team is overwhelmed and confused
❌ They spend hours in meetings analyzing data but never taking action
❌ They can’t identify the real drivers of profitability
The 80/20 rule applies here: 20% of your metrics will drive 80% of your results. Focus on those, and your decision-making will become exponentially sharper.
🚨 Biggest offenders I see?
- Tracking vanity metrics (like social media followers) instead of profit drivers
- Measuring everything instead of only what impacts cash flow, margins, and valuation
- Waiting to automate everything before acting
It’s time to strip it down. Get clear. Focus on high-impact numbers—not distractions.
The Only Metrics That Matter for Scaling a $10M+ E-Commerce or CPG Brand
These are non-negotiable if you want to scale and, eventually, sell your business for top dollar.
1. Revenue Growth Metrics (Because Growth Without Profit is Useless)
📌 Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) – How much does it cost to acquire a new customer? If it’s creeping up, you have a problem.
📌 Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) – The total revenue a customer brings over time. LTV:CAC should be at least 3:1.
📌 Repeat Purchase Rate – Especially critical for CPG and e-commerce brands. If it’s under 30%, you have a retention problem.
📌 Average Order Value (AOV) – More revenue per order = more profit without needing more customers.
2. Profitability & Cash Flow Metrics (Because Revenue is a Vanity Metric)
📌 Contribution Margin – Forget gross margin. This tells you your actual per-order profitability. If it’s under 25-30%, your business is running thin.
📌 Operating Cash Flow – Revenue means nothing if your cash flow is negative.
📌 Inventory Turnover – If your inventory is sitting too long, your cash is trapped. Fast-growing brands turn inventory 4-8x per year.
3. Operational Efficiency Metrics (Because Scaling Inefficiencies = Scaling Headaches)
📌 Return Rate – High return rates kill margins. Keep it under 10%, unless you’re in fashion (20-30% is normal).
📌 Order Fulfillment Time – Slow shipping = lost customers. If you’re taking 48+ hours to process orders, fix it.
4. Exit-Readiness Metrics (Because You Want to Sell for Top Dollar, Right?)
📌 EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) – Buyers don’t care about revenue. They care about profitability. Aim for 10-20% of revenue.
📌 Net Revenue Retention (NRR) – If existing customers spend more over time, your brand is built to last.
📌 Gross Margin Trends – Consistently improving gross margins? Your valuation is increasing. Shrinking margins? You’re becoming less attractive to buyers.
🔥 Takeaway: If a metric doesn’t impact revenue, profit, or valuation—it’s a distraction.
How a Fractional CFO Recommends Structuring Your Scorecards
🔹 Keep it Simple: No more 50-metric dashboards. 10-15 metrics per department—max.
🔹 Set Clear Targets: LTV:CAC must be 3:1 or higher. Contribution margin should be at least 30%. Define success.
🔹 Review Weekly: Numbers mean nothing if they don’t lead to action.
The Habit-Based Approach to Tracking (Before You Automate)
Here’s the right way to build a data-driven growth system:
1️⃣ Start manually – Assign department heads to input their numbers weekly. No automation yet.
2️⃣ Assign ownership – Every metric should have an owner. No missing data. No excuses.
3️⃣ Review every Monday – This keeps the team accountable and ensures action.
4️⃣ Automate later – Automate only after you’ve refined the most impactful metrics. Otherwise, you’re just automating noise.
The Bottom Line: Simplify, Focus, Scale.
Here’s what you need to remember:
✔ Track fewer, but better, metrics.
✔ Ignore vanity numbers. Focus on what actually moves the needle.
✔ Manual before automation. Track habits first, then automate later.
✔ Use scorecards to drive action. If it’s not helping you make better decisions, cut it.
What’s Next? Work with a Fractional CFO Who Knows E-Commerce & CPG.
🚀 Want to see how your numbers stack up?
I help e-commerce and CPG brands cut through the noise and focus on what actually drives growth and profitability.
🔹 Book a consultation and get a custom audit of your key business metrics.
🔹 Walk away with a clear plan to optimize cash flow, scale smarter, and increase your brand’s valuation.
👉 Click here to schedule your call—let’s make your data work for you, not against you.
📊 Download Our Free Scorecard Template Here – Plug-and-play KPI tracking for your leadership team.
