Metrics every watchmaker should track

Do you know your average turnaround time? How long it takes for a customer to approve an estimate? How many watches you actually complete in a week?

These aren't nice-to-have numbers. They're the data that lets you run your shop instead of react to it.

Take completion rate. If you know you finish 6 watches a week on average, and you've got 20 in the queue, that's roughly 4 weeks of work already on the bench. Your next estimate shouldn't promise 3 weeks. It should promise 5 to 7. You're not guessing anymore — you're quoting from reality.

Same with approvals. If estimates sit in customers' inboxes for a week before they respond, that's a week of dead time on every job. The fix isn't to chase harder. It's to explain the service better upfront and collect a pre-approved amount when the watch comes in — so minor work doesn't need a second phone call to move forward.

The shops that feel calm and predictable aren't lucky. They're measured.

If you need help putting a system around this, message me.

— FZ