Business SOS Resource

Business Health Check: 20 warning signals to review.

A practical first-pass checklist for business owners who know something feels different but are not yet sure where the real constraint sits.

How to use it

Look for patterns, not isolated bad days.

Mark the signals that have become more noticeable over the last three to six months. One signal alone may mean very little. Several connected signals can be a useful reason to investigate the underlying numbers, process or customer behaviour.

01 / SALES & DEMAND

Is the commercial engine weakening?

  1. Enquiries or qualified leads are falling without a clear seasonal explanation.
  2. More quotes or proposals are needed to win the same amount of business.
  3. Average order value or customer spend is drifting down.
  4. The business depends heavily on one or two customers, channels or referrers.

02 / CASH & MARGIN

Are sales translating into enough financial resilience?

  1. Sales appear acceptable but cash is consistently tight.
  2. Supplier, payroll, tax or other payment dates increasingly shape day-to-day decisions.
  3. Gross margin is falling or pricing no longer covers delivery effort comfortably.
  4. Overheads have grown faster than revenue for several months.

03 / CUSTOMER TRUST

Are customers becoming harder to win or keep?

  1. Customers are asking more questions before committing or delaying decisions.
  2. Complaints, refunds, poor reviews or service issues are increasing.
  3. Repeat business or retention is weakening.
  4. Your website, reviews, messaging or public information no longer reflect the business accurately.

04 / OPERATIONS

Is delivery becoming the constraint?

  1. Deadlines, rework, errors or customer follow-up are becoming more frequent.
  2. Important processes exist mainly in someone’s head rather than in a repeatable system.
  3. The team is busy but throughput, quality or profit is not improving.
  4. Supplier, staffing or capacity issues repeatedly interrupt otherwise good sales activity.

05 / OWNER DEPENDENCY

Is the owner becoming the bottleneck?

  1. You are working longer hours but the business is not becoming easier to run.
  2. Too many approvals, customer relationships or operational decisions depend on one person.
  3. Important improvement work is continually displaced by urgent day-to-day tasks.
  4. You cannot clearly name the one metric or constraint that matters most over the next 30 days.

From signal to action

Do not try to fix all 20 signals.

Choose the two or three signals that have changed most, find the numbers or evidence that would confirm them, and identify the constraint most directly connected to the outcome you need. If the picture is still unclear, use the free Business SOS scan.

Start Your Free Business Scan

Scope: This checklist is general business information and an initial diagnostic aid. It is not an audit or legal, tax, accounting, insolvency, investment or regulated financial advice.