Edition: Business + Insights Pro Add-on, Enterprise + Insights Pro Add-on
User-level: Permissions are set at an Organisation level by System Administrators
Who this is for: Principals, directors, finance team
Dashboard Explained
Contracted backlog value tracked month by month. Backlog Evolution is the firm's most important leading indicator of future revenue — it shows whether the pipeline of contracted work is growing, stable, or declining, and how many months of work the firm currently has secured.
New in Insights Pro: This dashboard did not exist in Analytics Plus.
How to use it
Review Backlog Evolution monthly in leadership meetings alongside Book to Burn. A backlog cover of 3+ months is generally considered healthy for a professional services firm — it provides sufficient runway for business development activity to replace consumed work before a revenue gap appears. If backlog cover drops below 2 months, the firm should accelerate proposal activity and prioritise converting pipeline. Compare backlog by office to identify which offices have strong forward cover and which may need targeted business development support.
Understanding your data
Key Fields | How it's Calculated |
Backlog Value (Monthly Snapshot) | Total agreed fee on active project stages minus invoiced revenue to date, captured at the end of each reporting period. Represents contracted work not yet billed |
Backlog Added (Month) | New contracted work added to the backlog in each month — from new projects commenced or fee variations approved |
Backlog Consumed (Month) | Work billed and removed from the backlog in each month — equal to invoiced revenue for the period |
Net Backlog Movement | Backlog added minus backlog consumed for each month. Positive means the backlog grew; negative means more was billed than was added |
Months of Backlog Cover | Current backlog value divided by average monthly revenue over the prior 3 months. Shows how many months of current billing rates are already contracted |
Backlog by Office | Backlog value attributed to each office, showing which parts of the firm have the most secured forward work |
Filters
Period: Date range (typically 12–24 months)
Office: Filter to one or more offices