Towing Business Reports: What to Track Every Week

Every week, a towing company should review call volume, how calls ended (completed or canceled), activity by driver, revenue by customer, unpaid invoices, and what's sitting in the impound lot. Those few numbers tell you whether you're busy, whether you're getting paid, and where problems are starting. The key is reviewing them on a schedule rather than when something goes wrong.

Why weekly works

Daily numbers bounce around too much to read: one slow Tuesday doesn't mean anything. Monthly numbers come too late: by the time you notice a problem, it's a month old. A weekly review is frequent enough to catch trends and slow enough to see them. Pick a day, block thirty minutes, and look at the same reports every time.

1. Call volume

Start with the basics: how many calls came in this week compared to last week and the same week in prior months.

Break it down by

• Source or customer: cash calls, accounts, motor clubs, police rotation, private property

• Service type: tows, roadside, recovery, impounds

• Day and time: when your busiest hours are

This shows which relationships are growing or shrinking and helps you staff the right shifts. A filterable call log in your tow dispatch software makes these breakdowns quick.

2. Call outcomes

Not every call turns into a job. Track how many were completed, canceled, or declined.

What to look for

• A rising cancellation rate can point to slow response times; customers find someone else.

• Frequent driver declines may mean calls are being offered to drivers who are too far away or already busy.

• A pattern of cancellations from one account is worth a conversation.

Our tow truck dispatch best practices cover how to tighten up the steps that lead to cancellations.

3. Driver activity

Look at jobs completed per driver and how drivers respond to offers.

• Who is carrying the most work, and is that sustainable?

• Who declines often, and why?

• Are inspection reports being completed consistently?

This isn't about policing drivers. It's about spotting overload, training gaps, and scheduling problems early.

4. Revenue

Look at revenue invoiced for the week, broken out by customer or account and by service type.

Questions to answer

• Which accounts bring in the most revenue?

• Which bring in volume but little revenue? Their rates may need a review.

• Are additional charges like winching and waiting time showing up on invoices, or getting missed?

If certain accounts look unprofitable, revisit how you set towing rates for them.

5. Unpaid invoices

Revenue invoiced isn't revenue collected. Review open invoices every week, oldest first. Follow up on anything past your usual terms, and assign follow-ups as tasks so they don't fall through. This is where your towing invoicing software earns its keep.

6. Impound lot status

If you store vehicles, your lot is both an asset and a cost. Each week, check:

• How many vehicles are currently stored

• How long each has been on the lot

• How many were released, junked, or sold this week

• Vehicles approaching the point where your local lien or disposal process can begin

Long-stay vehicles take up space and tie up money. Tracking them weekly in your impound management system keeps them moving.

7. Leads from your website

If your website has contact forms, count how many leads came in and whether someone followed up. A lead nobody calls back is a wasted opportunity.

Make reporting automatic

The hardest part of weekly reporting is remembering to do it. Two features help:

Scheduled email reports

Set reports to arrive by email daily, weekly, or monthly. When the numbers show up in your inbox every Monday morning, the review happens.

CSV and PDF export

Export reports to CSV when you want to dig into the numbers or share them with your accountant, and to PDF when you need a clean copy for a partner, an account, or your own records.

Keep data clean

Reports are only as good as the data behind them. Consistent call statuses, standard service names, and invoices tied to calls make reports accurate. If your team is still entering data in several places, reports will disagree with each other. Read towing software vs spreadsheets for more on that problem.

Weekly report checklist

• [ ] Call volume by source, service, and time

• [ ] Completed, canceled, and declined calls

• [ ] Jobs and offer responses by driver

• [ ] Revenue by customer and service

• [ ] Unpaid invoices, oldest first

• [ ] Lot count, days stored, and released/junked/sold

• [ ] Website leads and follow-up

• [ ] Scheduled email delivery set up

FAQ

What reports should a towing company run?

At minimum: call volume, call outcomes, driver activity, revenue by customer, unpaid invoices, and impound lot status if you store vehicles.

How often should I review towing reports?

Weekly works well for most companies. Daily numbers are noisy and monthly numbers arrive too late to act on quickly.

Can I get reports emailed automatically?

Yes, if your software supports scheduled reports. Daily, weekly, or monthly email delivery makes regular review much easier.

Should I export reports?

Export to CSV for deeper analysis or your accountant, and to PDF for sharing a clean, fixed copy.

Track your numbers with Relay Tow

Relay Tow reports cover your calls, billing, and impound activity, with CSV and PDF export and scheduled email reports daily, weekly, or monthly. Plans from $66/month. Create your account and set up Relay Tow reports for your weekly review.