Metrics only matter if they change what you do. A regular review turns your dashboard from a report into a decision engine. Here's a cadence that works for small teams, and how to make each review end in an action rather than a nod.
Review fast-moving, high-stakes numbers weekly: cash, net burn, runway, new MRR, pipeline. Review slow-moving numbers monthly: net revenue retention, cohort curves, CAC payback, gross margin. Weekly keeps you out of trouble; monthly catches strategic drift.
If all four are green, the review is over in minutes. If one is red, it becomes the week's focus.
The discipline that separates useful reviews from theater: each one ends with the single metric furthest from target becoming an owned action item, with a name and a date. "Churn is up — Sam to interview the three cancellations and report Friday." No decision, no point.
The review only survives if pulling the numbers is trivial. If it takes an hour to assemble the dashboard, you'll skip it on busy weeks — exactly when you most need it. A template that refreshes from a pasted export in minutes is what keeps the cadence alive month after month.
The template we recommend gives you weekly-relevant numbers (runway, new MRR, churn) and the monthly deep-review set (NRR, cohorts, unit economics) in one file, so both reviews run off a single refresh.
Weekly: fast-moving, high-stakes numbers — cash, net burn, runway, new MRR, pipeline. Monthly: slower strategic metrics — net revenue retention, cohort curves, CAC payback and gross margin.
End every review with the single metric furthest from target becoming an owned action item with a name and a date. A review that ends without a decision is just a status update.
About 15 minutes if your dashboard refreshes easily: check runway, new MRR vs target, churn events, and one leading indicator. If all are on track, you're done quickly.
Page built 2026-06-14 from public, dated buying-intent signals. Updated as new signals land.