If you’re leading finance in a startup or scale-up, chances are you’ve been asked to set quarterly KPIs for your team.

But let’s be honest, this isn’t easy when you’re not driving revenue or churning out product features.  Much easier for the Customer services or Marketing teams for sure.  

So what should finance team KPIs look like?

The best finance KPIs aren’t just vanity metrics like "Year end is Now Completed".  They measure the value your team delivers to the business.  How efficient, reliable, and strategic are you?

Whether you're a Head of Finance, FD, or new CFO, here are 10 finance team KPIs that you can use to track the performance of your team and contribute to your next QBR (Quarterly Business Review) or OKRs (Objective & Key Results).

1. Month End Close Time

What it measures: Days from month-end to when books are closed.

Why it matters: A fast, accurate close process builds trust in your numbers and gives the business timely insights.

Target: 5–8 working days for startups. If you’re at 15+, it's time to review and improve.

2. Forecast Accuracy (Cash & P&L)

What it measures: The % variance between forecast and actual results.

Why it matters: Shows how well your team understands the business drivers and how reliable your financial planning is.

Target: <10% variance on key line items like cash, gross margin, and EBITDA.  This is a great way to see how you can improve your budgeting methods if you achieve higher than this - if you have a more stable business.  

This is obviously dependent on where you are in the Business life cycle.  The earlier the stage, the harder this one is to achieve and I would recommend not tracking this publicly.  Particularly if you don't have PMF and are still pivoting regularly.

3. Reporting Delivery Time

What it measures: Time between month-end close and delivery of board/leadership reports.

Why it matters: Finance needs to enable decision-making, not lag behind it. If your report lands two weeks after close, no one’s reading it.

Target: Reports out within 1–2 working days of close.  Especially if you have templates set up already for all reporting.

4. Outstanding Queries Resolved (AP/AR/Payroll/Reporting)

What it measures: % of finance queries resolved within a SLA.

Why it matters: Reflects your team’s responsiveness and internal service delivery.

Target: 90%+ of queries resolved within 2–3 business days.

5. Automation Rate (Manual vs. Automated Tasks)

What it measures: % of core processes that are automated.

Why it matters: A lean team can’t scale if you’re buried in manual work. Track automation in AP, expenses, payroll, and reconciliations.

Target: At least 50% of repetitive tasks automated (e.g., through Dext, ApprovalMax, or bank feeds).  See our latest Finance Tech stack recommendations here.

6. Time Spent on Strategic vs. Operational Work

What it measures: % of time spent on strategic projects vs. compliance and admin.

Why it matters: You’re not just a bookkeeper, you’re a finance leader. This helps shift team focus toward value-added work.

Target: 20–30% of time spent on strategic initiatives (e.g., pricing, fundraising, scenario planning).  This is obviously a KPI for you as the leader.  You can change the % depending on who it is in your team.  I wouldn't expect a bookkeeper or Finance Manager to be spending much time on strategic work, for example.

7. Audit/Year-End Readiness Score

What it measures: Internal score or checklist completion rate for year-end prep.  Or you could even use the dataroom preparation as your checklist.

Why it matters: A prepared finance team means no surprises. This is especially useful if you’re heading into your first audit or Series A.

Target: 90–100% of prep tasks completed before year-end.  Or a high % of the dataroom prep / updates.

8. Team Utilisation and Capacity

What it measures: Team workload vs. capacity.

Why it matters: Helps you spot burnout or under-resourcing early. Can be tracked using simple time logs or task tracking tools.

Target: 80–90% utilisation to allow headroom for urgent tasks and strategic work.

9. Number of Strategic Insights Delivered per Quarter

What it measures: How often the team delivers proactive insights that shape business decisions.

Why it matters: Proves your value as a business partner, not just a compliance function.

Target: 2–3 key insights per quarter (e.g., pricing improvements, margin analysis, cost-saving opportunities).

10. Internal NPS (Net Promoter Score) or Feedback Rating

What it measures: Stakeholder satisfaction with finance.

Why it matters: This shows how well the business understands and values the finance function. It can also reveal misalignment early.

Target: Score of 8–9/10 from key stakeholders like CEO, COO, and budget holders.

Don't Overcomplicate It

Pick 3–4 KPIs to start with.  Ones that matter for your stage of growth and your team’s current challenges. Review them quarterly, include them in your QBRs, and share them with leadership. This builds confidence in your team and shows you’re not just closing books, but you’re actually building a high-performing function.

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