CCH Practice KPI monitoring means turning the time, billing, and client records your firm already keeps into a consistent set of KPIs — realization rate, WIP aging, utilization, and AR aging — reviewed on a fixed cadence by the people who can act on them.
The Short Answer
Every time entry, invoice, and payment your firm records in CCH Practice is an input to a firm-performance KPI. Realization compares what you billed to the standard value of the time recorded. WIP aging shows how long unbilled time has been sitting. Utilization compares billable hours to available hours. AR aging shows how long billed work has waited to be collected.
The work of KPI monitoring is not finding the data — it is agreeing on one definition for each measure, applying it the same way across every partner and service line, and putting the results in front of leadership often enough to act before a write-down or a slow collection becomes a year-end surprise.
How much of the time you record turns into revenue.
Tracked by partner, service line, and client tier on a rolling basis, realization shows where margin is slipping — a single engagement type, a pricing arrangement, or a client that consistently needs write-downs — while there is still time to change the fee conversation.
Billable hours against available hours, by role.
Time entry data supports utilization monitoring across staff levels. Rolling trends flag capacity pressure before deadlines and show firm administrators where workload needs to be rebalanced during peak season.
How long unbilled time has been waiting.
WIP grouped into age buckets shows billing velocity at a glance. Time that crosses 60 or 90 days unbilled is the most likely to be written down, so aging trends are an early warning for realization problems.
How long billed work waits to become cash.
AR aging buckets, client-level balances, and days sales outstanding give CFOs and firm administrators a clear view of collection risk, and show which clients need a follow-up before a balance ages past 90 days.
Billing cycle length and write-down frequency.
Billing cycle length, write-down frequency, and average invoice size reveal pricing discipline issues and service line profitability gaps that partners can act on.
The same measures, scoped to each partner’s book.
Each partner sees realization, write-downs, team utilization, and WIP and AR exposure for their own book, while managing partners keep the firm-wide view. Shared definitions keep partner reviews about the numbers, not about how they were calculated.
Firms define these measures slightly differently. What matters most is choosing one definition for each and applying it consistently across the firm.
For targets to compare against, see our realization rate benchmarks, WIP aging benchmarks, and utilization rate benchmarks.
A KPI only helps if someone looks at it while there is still time to act. A simple cadence works for most firms: firm administrators check WIP aging and AR aging weekly during busy season; leadership reviews realization, utilization, and collections monthly by partner and service line; and partners review their own book before each billing cycle. The KPI playbooks walk through a full monthly review.
FirmMetrics™ is AccountingTek BI’s accounting firm performance platform. It connects to your CCH data and delivers realization, WIP aging, AR aging, utilization, and billing performance through Microsoft Power BI, using standardized KPI definitions and role-scoped views — without manual exports or custom development.
FirmMetrics™ is designed for managing partners, firm administrators, COOs, and CFOs at small to mid-sized CPA firms who want a consistent, firm-wide performance view.
For firms that also need workflow and turnaround visibility, WorkSight Metrics™ covers staff workload, return cycle times, and bottlenecks from CCH Axcess Workflow data. See FirmMetrics vs. WorkSight Metrics to decide which fits your firm.
Firms using CCH Practice can monitor realization rate, utilization and chargeability, WIP aging, AR aging, days sales outstanding, billing cycle length, write-down trends, and partner-level performance — all calculated from the time, billing, and client records the firm already keeps.
Billing realization is the amount billed divided by the standard value of the time recorded. Collection realization is the amount collected divided by the same standard value. Many firms track both, by partner, service line, and client tier, so they can see whether margin is lost at billing or at collection.
Most firms review realization and utilization monthly by partner and service line, and check WIP aging and AR aging weekly during busy season. Time that crosses 60 to 90 days unbilled is the most likely to be written down, so frequent WIP review protects realization.
Yes. FirmMetrics™ connects to your CCH data and delivers realization, utilization, WIP aging, AR aging, and billing KPIs through Microsoft Power BI, without manual exports or spreadsheet assembly.
No. FirmMetrics™ is a standardized solution with pre-built KPI definitions and dashboard layouts that firms can deploy without custom development. We also offer custom add-ons for firm-specific needs.