Small businesses do not need to imitate enterprise data warehouses. They need trustworthy records tied to real work.
Keep observation separate from interpretation. Write down what happened first—time, source, stage, outcome—then add the explanation. That prevents the story from changing to fit the result.
Source and intent
How the person found the business and what they asked for support channel decisions.
For “Source and intent,” use medians, ranges and reason codes where they help. One unusually large order or one terrible day can distort an average and create a false sense of certainty.
Service context
Location, product, project type, timing and quantity help qualification and operations.
For “Service context,” use medians, ranges and reason codes where they help. One unusually large order or one terrible day can distort an average and create a false sense of certainty.
Process timestamps
Inquiry, response, appointment, quote and close reveal where work slows down.
For “Process timestamps,” write inclusions, exclusions and timing beside the number. A price without scope creates a second negotiation later.
Outcome and reason
Won, lost, no response and wrong fit make future acquisition analysis possible.
For “Outcome and reason,” use medians, ranges and reason codes where they help. One unusually large order or one terrible day can distort an average and create a false sense of certainty.
Privacy discipline
Collect only what is needed, secure it appropriately, respect applicable consent and retention requirements, and avoid creating data nobody can justify.
For “Privacy discipline,” keep the field definitions beside the spreadsheet. A metric that changes meaning between team members is not comparable data.
How to collect evidence
For this article, create a short table with a fixed definition for each field, collect it over a defined period, and keep the raw observations. Add interpretation after the sample exists, not before.
How to keep the report honest
For this article, label internal samples as internal, note the date range and definitions, and keep claims proportional to the evidence. If a number comes from a public source, verify that the population and period actually match the decision you are making. For this topic, the first things I would put on that review are source and intent, service context.