Quick answer: The security company KPIs worth a year-end review are ten operating numbers: installs completed, repeat customer rate, active service agreements, referral rate, average project size in cameras, callback rate, support response time, new reviews, projects larger than your previous largest, and email list size. Pull them from your job sheet, compare them with last year, and pick three to improve with one concrete action each.
Why track operating numbers, not just the year’s totals?
Your accountant will tell you what the year earned. That figure explains what happened, but not why, and it arrives too late to change anything. The ten numbers in this review are the causes behind the totals: how many jobs you finished, how many of them came back to bite you, how many customers stayed, and how many new ones arrived through people who trust you.
They also have a practical advantage for a small company. Every one of them can be counted from records you already keep, a job sheet, a calendar and an inbox, without new software. Two hours in December and a one-page summary are enough. The point is not a dashboard; it is three decisions for next year that you can check again in twelve months.
What are the 10 numbers?
| # | Number | Definition | Where it comes from | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Installs completed | Installation jobs handed over in the calendar year | Job sheet, completed date | Capacity and workload |
| 2 | Repeat customer rate | Share of this year’s customers who had a job with you in an earlier year | Job sheet, customer name | Whether customers come back |
| 3 | Active service agreements | Agreements in force on December 31, plus how many renewed | Agreement list | The base of work you start next year with |
| 4 | Referral rate | Share of new customers introduced by a customer or a trade partner | Job sheet, source column | Reputation turning into work |
| 5 | Average project size | Cameras per installation job, not currency | Job sheet, camera count | Whether jobs are growing |
| 6 | Callback rate | Share of installs that needed an unplanned return visit within 30 days of handover | Job sheet, callback flag | Install and handover quality |
| 7 | Support response time | Median hours from a customer request to your first reply | Inbox, phone log, service tickets | What customers feel day to day |
| 8 | New reviews | Count of new public reviews and their average rating | Your business profile | What prospects see before they call |
| 9 | Larger projects | Jobs larger or more complex than your previous largest | Job sheet, size and type | Whether you are moving up |
| 10 | Email list size | Contacts who agreed to receive email from you | Email tool or contact sheet | How many people you can reach without paying for it |
How do you calculate them without arguing with yourself?
Fix the definitions once
Most year-end reviews fail because the definition moves when the number looks bad. Write the definitions above at the top of your review sheet and keep them for at least three years, so each year compares with the last one.
- Installs count handover dates, not signed dates; a job signed in December and handed over in January belongs to next year.
- Callbacks are unplanned visits caused by the install or the handover: a camera aimed wrong, a recording schedule not set, a user who cannot log in. Customer-caused damage and new requests are not callbacks.
- Response time uses the median, not the average, so one weekend outage does not hide eleven good months.
- Larger projects means more cameras than your previous largest job, or a new type of job: a second building, a public bid, a site with compliance documentation.
- Email list counts only contacts who agreed to receive email. In the US, CAN-SPAM applies; in Canada, CASL sets consent rules for commercial email. Verify the requirements for your use.
A worked example
Suppose the job sheet shows 48 installs handed over this year, of which 9 needed an unplanned return visit within 30 days. The callback rate is 9 ÷ 48 = 18.75%, about 19%. If the same 48 jobs used 552 cameras, the average project size is 552 ÷ 48 = 11.5 cameras. If 14 of 31 new customers arrived through a customer or a partner, the referral rate is 14 ÷ 31 = 45%. These figures are illustrative; use your own.
How do you pull the numbers from your job sheet?
A single job tab with one row per job is enough. If you already use the simple CRM sheet, add any missing columns from this list:
- Job ID, customer company, job type (Install, Service, Callback)
- Handover or completed date
- Camera count
- Source (Repeat, Customer referral, Partner referral, Web, Bid, Other)
- Callback within 30 days (Y or N)
- Service agreement signed (Y or N)
- First request time and first reply time, for service jobs
With the jobs in a tab named Jobs, column C as job type, D as cameras, E as completed date and G as the callback flag, three formulas cover most of the review in Google Sheets or Excel:
Installs completed: =COUNTIFS(Jobs!C:C,”Install”,Jobs!E:E,”>=”&DATE(2026,1,1),Jobs!E:E,”<=”&DATE(2026,12,31))
Average project size: =AVERAGEIFS(Jobs!D:D,Jobs!C:C,”Install”,Jobs!E:E,”>=”&DATE(2026,1,1),Jobs!E:E,”<=”&DATE(2026,12,31))
Callbacks: =COUNTIFS(Jobs!C:C,”Install”,Jobs!G:G,”Y”,Jobs!E:E,”>=”&DATE(2026,1,1),Jobs!E:E,”<=”&DATE(2026,12,31)), then divide by the installs cell.
Repeat customer rate and referral rate are easiest with a pivot table on customer and source. Reviews come from your business profile, and response time from a simple log of the first request and first reply for each service job.
What does the year-end review table look like?
Copy this table into the first tab of your review sheet. Fill in last year and this year, then write one target and one action only for the three numbers you choose to work on.
| Number | Last year | This year | Change | Target next year | One action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Installs completed | |||||
| 2. Repeat customer rate | |||||
| 3. Active service agreements | |||||
| 4. Referral rate | |||||
| 5. Average project size (cameras) | |||||
| 6. Callback rate | |||||
| 7. Support response time (median hours) | |||||
| 8. New reviews (count, average rating) | |||||
| 9. Larger projects (count) | |||||
| 10. Email list size |
How do you read the numbers together?
Single numbers mislead; pairs explain. Look for these patterns before you choose what to change:
- Installs up, callback rate up: the crew is rushing handovers. More jobs are not helping if each one costs a free return trip.
- Installs up, service agreements flat: agreements are not being offered at handover, when the customer is most satisfied.
- Good reviews, low referral rate: customers are happy but nobody asks them for introductions.
- Average size flat, larger projects zero: you may be declining or not bidding on bigger work rather than losing it.
- Response time rising, repeat rate falling: the service side is overloaded, and customers notice it before you do.
- Email list growing, repeat rate flat: you are collecting addresses but not sending anything useful.
What should you change next year?
Choose three numbers, not ten. For each one, write a single action you can check by March. Typical pairings:
- Callback rate: configure recorders and cameras in the shop before site day with a bench test routine, and use one handover checklist on every job.
- Active service agreements: put the agreement in every proposal as an option, with visits, firmware updates and health checks listed.
- Referral rate: ask at the 30-day follow-up call and set up one or two trade partners with a written co-referral agreement.
- Larger projects: bid on one job above your usual size. Bring us the opportunity before you say no; a project review before you quote helps size the recorder and coverage. If your average job is moving past what your standard recorder handles, standardize on the next size: the CS-N220 P16H-AI prints 20 channels with 16 PoE ports, and the CS-N440 P16H-AI prints 40 channels with 16 PoE ports.
- Email list size and repeat rate: send one useful email per quarter to customers who agreed to receive it.
Put the three actions on the calendar with a date, and review the same ten numbers at mid-year with the same definitions.
What to tell your customer
“Every year we review the systems we installed and maintained. For your site, we checked how quickly we responded to your requests and whether anything needed a return visit, and here is what we will do differently next year. If your needs have changed, this is a good time to talk about it.”
FAQ
Which security company KPIs matter most for a small installer?
If you track only three, choose callback rate, active service agreements and referral rate. Callback rate shows install and handover quality, service agreements show the base of work you start each year with, and referral rate shows whether satisfied customers are turning into new ones. The other seven explain why those three move.
Should average project size be measured in cameras or in currency?
Use cameras per installation job for this review. A camera count compares cleanly from year to year and between crews, and it does not change when hardware costs move. Your accountant tracks the financial side; this review is about the size and type of work your company can deliver.
What counts as a callback?
An unplanned return visit within 30 days of handover caused by the install or the handover itself: a camera aimed wrong, a recording schedule left unset, a user who cannot log in. Customer damage, new requests and scheduled maintenance visits are not callbacks. Write the definition down and keep it the same every year.
How long should a year-end review take?
About two hours if your job sheet is up to date: one hour to pull the ten numbers, thirty minutes to fill in the review table and read the pairs, and thirty minutes to choose three actions and put them on the calendar. If it takes much longer, the first action for next year is keeping the job sheet current.
