Finance OKR Examples: Metrics and Sample OKR Sets to Start From
OKR examples by department
Finance OKR Examples: Metrics and Sample OKR Sets to Start From
These finance OKR examples give you two things to work from: a full list of the metrics finance teams track, and nine complete OKR sets built from them. Every Key Result follows the same formula, with an action verb, the metric, a starting value, a target and a deadline. The values are written as X and Y, because a target that suits a founder doing the books on weekends would mislead a finance team of twelve. Fill them in from your own data.
The short answer
What makes a good finance OKR?
A good finance OKR names a change the business needs, such as faster access to cash or numbers leaders can act on, and measures it with outcomes. “Roll out a new expense tool” counts the work. “Reduce the month-end close from X to Y business days by the end of Q2” measures what the work was meant to cause.
Every Key Result is written the same way:
- Open with an action verb, such as reduce, raise, grow, hold or achieve.
- Name the metric you’re moving.
- Give the starting value and the target, written as from X to Y.
- Set the deadline, such as the end of the quarter.
Step 1: pick your numbers
Finance metrics to build your Key Results from
These are the numbers finance teams track, and the raw material for every one of the finance OKR examples further down. They’re grouped by the part of the business they measure. Profit per employee sits in the margin group because it shows whether growth is paying for itself, a theme we cover in how OKRs drive profitable growth. None of these is a Key Result yet. Choose the few that show the change your Objective is about, then write each one with the formula above.
Cash and runway
- Cash conversion cycle
- Days sales outstanding
- Days payable outstanding
- Days inventory outstanding
- Months of runway
- Operating cash flow
- Free cash flow
Margin and profitability
- Gross margin
- Operating margin
- Net profit margin
- Profit per employee
- Revenue per employee
- Contribution margin by product
Forecasting and planning
- Revenue forecast accuracy
- Cash forecast accuracy
- Budget to actual variance
- Reforecast turnaround time
- Department budgets owned by department heads
Close and reporting
- Days to close the month
- Post-close adjusting entries
- Reports delivered on schedule
- Open reconciliations
- Turnaround on reporting requests
Spend control
- Spend under contract
- Spend approved before purchase
- Software spend per employee
- Active vendor count
- Purchase approval time
- Duplicate payments
Unit economics
- Customer acquisition cost
- Customer lifetime value
- Payback period on acquisition cost
- Cost to serve per customer
- Gross margin by customer segment
Billing and collections
- Invoices paid on time
- Billing error rate
- Time from signed contract to first invoice
- Billing disputes
- Bad debt write-offs
- Receivables over 90 days
Compliance and audit
- Audit findings
- Days to resolve audit findings
- Tax filings on time
- Control test pass rate
- Policy exceptions
- Debt covenant headroom
Some of these are health metrics you protect and hold steady. Cash position is the classic one for a finance team, along with tax filings on time, audit findings and debt covenant headroom. Keep them inside a set range while the OKRs push elsewhere. If one starts slipping, it becomes a candidate for its own OKR.
Step 2: write the Key Result
How to turn a finance metric into a Key Result
The standard form covers almost every Key Result. There are two more for the moments when a number isn’t available yet. Here’s one of each, in the same style as the finance OKR examples further down:
- Standard Key Result. Reduce days sales outstanding from X to Y days by the end of Q4.
- Baseline Key Result, for a metric you’ve never measured. Determine the current cost to serve for each customer segment by the end of Q1. Next cycle, it becomes “Lower the cost to serve for [segment] from X to Y by the end of Q2.”
- Milestone Key Result, used sparingly when there’s no metric to track yet. Complete the move of every entity onto one chart of accounts by the end of week six.
Then run the outcome test: if the team could finish all the work and the number might still not move, the Key Result measures activity. Rewrite it around what the work was meant to cause. The OKR examples hub walks through the full method, from brainstorming Objectives to prioritizing them, and the Corporate Finance Institute’s guide to the cash conversion cycle shows how to work out your starting value for one of the most-used cash metrics.
Step 3: start from a sample
Nine finance OKR examples to adapt
Each of these finance OKR examples has a qualitative Objective and three Key Results written in full. Several pair numbers so one can’t be hit by breaking another, such as a faster close paired with fewer corrections after it. Treat them as patterns, and swap in your own products, segments and starting values.
ObjectiveTurn the revenue we earn into cash in the bank sooner
- Reduce days sales outstanding from X to Y days by the end of the quarter
- Increase the share of invoices paid on time from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
- Hold bad debt write-offs at or below X% of revenue through the end of the quarter
ObjectiveMake every sale we close more profitable
- Raise gross margin from X% to Y% by the end of Q4
- Lower the cost to serve per customer from X to Y by the end of Q4
- Hold customer retention at or above X% through the end of Q4
ObjectiveGrow profit as fast as we grow the team
- Increase profit per employee from X to Y by the end of Q4
- Raise operating margin from X% to Y% by the end of Q4
- Grow revenue per employee from X to Y by the end of Q4
ObjectiveGive leaders a forecast they can plan the quarter around
- Reduce the gap between forecast and actual revenue from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
- Lower the gap between budgeted and actual spend from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
- Increase the share of department budgets refreshed with each reforecast from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
ObjectiveGet the numbers to leaders while they can still act on them
- Reduce the month-end close from X to Y business days by the end of Q2
- Cut post-close adjusting entries from X to Y per month by the end of Q2
- Raise the share of management reports delivered on schedule from X% to Y% by the end of Q2
ObjectivePut our spending behind the work that moves the business forward
- Lower software spend per employee from X to Y by the end of the quarter
- Increase the share of spend over [amount] approved before purchase from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
- Reduce the median time to approve a purchase request from X to Y days by the end of the quarter
ObjectiveMake our invoices something customers never have to question
- Reduce billing errors from X% to Y% of invoices by the end of Q3
- Lower the time from signed contract to first invoice from X to Y days by the end of Q3
- Cut billing disputes from X to Y per month by the end of Q3
ObjectiveHelp every department make spending decisions with current numbers in hand
- Increase the share of department heads who review budget against actuals each month from X% to Y% by the end of Q4
- Reduce the turnaround on finance requests from other teams from X to Y days by the end of Q4
- Raise department heads’ rating of finance support from X to Y out of 5 by the end of Q4
ObjectiveKnow which customers and products make us money
- Determine the current gross margin for each product line by the end of Q1
- Complete cost allocation for every [product line] by the end of week six
- Increase the share of revenue with a known cost to serve from X% to Y% by the end of the quarter
The last example mixes a baseline Key Result, a milestone Key Result and a standard one. That combination suits a team measuring something for the first time. Next cycle, the baseline turns into a standard “from X to Y” Key Result.
See it in context
Where these OKRs come from
The finance OKR examples above leave out which part of the strategy each one serves, because that depends on your company. Our sample business profile shows the full picture for one made-up company: its strategic priorities, its SWOT, and the linked OKRs for every department.
More idea banks
OKR examples for other departments
Finance OKR examples work best next to the goals of the teams that spend the budget. The operations and sales pages are a good place to look for shared goals, and the U.S. Small Business Administration’s guide to managing your business finances covers the basics behind several metrics in the list above.
- Operations OKR examplesThroughput, cost, quality and process metrics and OKRs.
- Sales OKR examplesPipeline, win rate, deal size and sales cycle metrics and OKRs.
- HR OKR examplesHiring, onboarding, engagement and retention metrics and OKRs.
- Marketing OKR examplesDemand, conversion, brand and content metrics and OKRs.
Frequently asked questions
How many OKRs should a finance team set?
One to four Objectives per cycle, each with two to five Key Results. A finance team focused on one Objective, such as turning revenue into cash sooner, has room to finish it well.
How do you write a finance Key Result?
Start with an action verb, name the metric, give the starting value and the target, and set a deadline. For example: “Reduce days sales outstanding from X to Y days by the end of Q4.”
Is cutting costs a good finance Key Result?
On its own it’s easy to hit by cutting something customers or teams depend on. Pair it with a measure that would show the damage, such as customer retention or on-time delivery, so the team only wins when the savings hold up.
What is the difference between finance KPIs and finance OKRs?
Finance KPIs are the numbers you watch every month to know the business is healthy, such as cash position or days to close. Your finance OKRs name the few things you’re trying to change this cycle. Our guide on KPIs vs OKRs goes deeper.
Can I use these finance OKR examples as they are?
Use them as a starting point. Keep the structure, then swap in your own products, segments and entities, and set every X from your own data before the team agrees on Y.
Bring your finance OKRs into one weekly rhythm
Start a free trial and turn these finance OKR examples into goals your team tracks every week. Or take the free OKR Starter Course and learn to write them first.