Most small out of home companies keep an operating spreadsheet which summarizes the plant.  An operating spreadsheet is a terrific way to communicate to a lender or investor or potential buyer what your business is like.

Insider uses an excel operating spreadsheet to summarize the performance of his 25 structures.  There are two tabs to the spreadsheet.  One tab for revenue and one tab for leases.

The Revenue Tab 

• A sign structure number.
• A face number.  Very important to have face numbers to avoid misunderstandings with clients or to avoid having your sales reps double book the same face.
• Sign Address.  Important if clients or agencies want to look the sign up fast using google maps.
• Zip Code.  Helpful for responding to national proposals.
• County.  This tells you at a glance who the relevant regulatory authority is.
• Direction Sign Faces
• Illumination.
• Panel Size.  This is needed for sales contracts.
• Vinyl Size and Bleed.  Insider wants to know special dimensions he needs to keep in mind when he orders vinyl.
• Advertiser
• Monthly Gross Revenue
• Contract Expiry.  Important so you know when you need to think about a contract renewal.
• Potential Revenue.  An estimate of the maximum monthlyt revenue which you think a sign can generate.  This allows Insider to know what the gap is between what his signs are grossing and what they should be grossing.  It’s a proxy for how well your sales people are doing.

The Lease Tab

Insider has a second tab to his spreadsheet which summarizes lease info.  He does this so that the info will print on 1 page which he can keep handy or bring with on trips to the field.

• Structure number
• Face number
• Address
• Latitude and Longitude
• Zip Code
• Landlord and Contact Info
• Special Terms.  It there a fence in the pasture which your installer needs to close?  Does your landlord want a call every time you are going to visit the property to the dog can be put away?
• Monthly Lease Terms
• Lease Terms – Monthly, quarterly, annually and whether there’s a % of gross trueup.
• Lease Expiry – When the existing lease expires.
• Permit Number

What sort of info do you put in your operating spreadsheet?  At what size should an out of home company move from a spreadsheet to an online cloud-based management system?  Let Insider know using the form below.

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