The most important information needed to properly manage a company in the trades is tracking direct labor hours.

By knowing direct labor hours all types of insightful metrics can be calculated.

My name is Michael Barbarita from Next Step CFO with the Know Your Numbers Minute. 

With direct labor hours you can figure out all of your hourly costs, including material labor and overhead costs per hour. You can also calculate labor efficiency metrics. So if you are a business owner in the trades who feels they need more control over their business and really needs to hone in on what their services cost, track direct labor hours.

And remember, the most successful business owners know their numbers.