Column	Description
Category	Groups the KPI (e.g. Financial, Customer, Marketing)
KPI Name	What you’re tracking (e.g. Monthly Revenue)
Description	What that KPI means in plain terms
Target	What your goal or benchmark is
Actual	What you’ve actually achieved
Notes	Any comments or explanations (e.g. “Ran a winter special in June”)

STEP 1: Start with determining what your costs are. A list of possible expenses can be downloaded here.

Choose a time period (monthly is most common), then:

STEP 1:

Go through each KPI one by one. Enter your actual numbers in the “Actual” column

• Example: For “Monthly Revenue,” if you earned R50,000 in June, enter R50,000
• For “Net Profit Margin,” calculate profit ÷ revenue, e.g. 12%

STEP 2:

Fill in the column headed ‘Actual’ and compare the items in the ‘Target’ and ‘Actual’ columns. Ask yourself

• Are you hitting your targets?
• Where are you falling short?
• What might explain the differences?

STEP 3:

Use the ‘Notes’ column to record any reasons (e.g., load-shedding, new marketing campaign, late supplier delivery).

STEP 4:

Update Regularly. Most SMEs should update KPIs every 4 weeks, but do it weekly If you’re in fast-moving retail or ecommerce. Set a recurring reminder: e.g., “First Monday of the month – KPI update”

STEP 5

Use the Data to Take Action. Look at trends:

• Is your cash flow healthy or tight?
• Is your repeat customer rate going up or down?
• Is your marketing spend bringing real returns?
• Decide what needs to change — this is where KPIs become powerful.

STEP 6:

Prepare for Funders or SARS. Keep the sheet updated for:

• Loan applications (banks and SMME funds want to see financial KPIs)
• Tax returns (you’ll be ready with revenue, expenses, margins)
• Business plans (great for proposals or tenders)

To help you make your calculations, have a look at these tools: