TowingBossPro Blog — Running a Towing Business

The 30-Minute Weekly Review for a Towing Business Owner

Most tow company owners spend the whole week reacting. Calls come in, problems come up, and the week ends without a moment to look at how the business is actually doing. Then a month goes by, and another.

A weekly review fixes that. Thirty minutes, same time every week, looking at the same things. It is the simplest habit that separates owners who run their business from owners whose business runs them.

Pick a Time and Protect It

After learning to read your business by category in Which Calls Actually Pay? Reading Your Towing Business by Call Category, the next step is making it a habit. Pick a time when calls are usually slow, like Monday morning or Wednesday afternoon. Put it on your calendar. Treat it like an appointment with your most important account.

Do it in the same order every week. That way it gets faster, and you start to notice when something looks different from usual.

Keep a simple notebook or note on your phone for the review. Write down the key numbers each week and the one thing you decided to fix. After a few months, that list becomes a record of how the business changed, and it shows you which fixes actually worked.

Minutes 1 to 5: Last Week's Calls

Start with what happened. How many calls did you run? How does that compare to the week before and the same week last month? Which categories were up or down?

Reports pull this together. You are not trying to analyze everything. You are looking for anything unusual. A big jump or drop in one category is worth a closer look.

Look for calls that were entered but never completed. They are usually either a call that did not happen and should be cancelled, or a call that happened and was never billed. Either way, clean them up.

Minutes 5 to 12: Money Owed

Look at your unpaid invoices. What is the total? What is older than 30 days? Which accounts or customers owe the most?

For anything getting old, decide what to do. Payment follow-ups handle the routine chasing, but sometimes a phone call to a commercial account is needed. Check that invoices from last week all went out. A completed call with no invoice is money left on the table.

Minutes 12 to 18: Storage

If you have a yard, check it. What came in this week? What went out? What has been sitting a long time? Make sure every vehicle in storage is in the system with its start date so the daily rate is being added.

Check vehicles that are close to any deadlines that apply in your area for unclaimed vehicles. Those rules vary, so know what applies to you. Missing a deadline can cost you money or create problems later.

Minutes 18 to 25: Trucks and Drivers

Look at the dispatch board for last week. How was the work split between trucks? Were any trucks overloaded or idle? Did any calls wait too long? Were there problems with equipment?

Check the employee time clock for hours. Any driver working too much and heading for burnout? Anyone with very few hours who might be looking elsewhere?

Think about the week ahead, too. Any drivers off? Any trucks due for service? Any transports already scheduled? A minute of planning here prevents a scramble on a busy night.

Minutes 25 to 30: Customers and One Fix

Finish with customers. Any complaints? Any new reviews? Any accounts that called more or less than usual? Then pick one thing to fix this week. Just one. Maybe it is a rate that is too low, a driver who needs coaching, or an account that needs a call.

One fix a week adds up to 52 improvements a year. That is how a tow company gets better without a big overhaul. Getting paid faster is one of the most common fixes, and the next guide covers it. More on the full system is on the towing business software page.

Write the fix down and check it next week. Did you actually do it? Did it help? The review only works if the fixes stick, and following up on last week's fix is the easiest way to make sure they do.