# A clinic manager's monthly checklist: the numbers that matter

URL: https://tymirahealth.com/resources/blog/clinic-managers-monthly-checklist-numbers-that-matter
By Tymira Health Success Team | Published 14 November 2026 | Mental Health | 3 min read

> Six numbers to check each month that show whether your mental health clinic is healthy, and what to do when one starts to slip.

Most clinic managers came to the role through clinical work, not finance. That's a strength: you understand what good care looks like. But running a clinic also means keeping an eye on a few numbers that show whether the clinic is healthy. You don't need many. Six, checked once a month, will tell you most of what you need to know.

## The short answer

Each month, check attendance rate, time to first appointment, clinician utilisation, days to payment, unpaid balances and note completion. Watch which way each one moves, and act early when one starts to slip.

## The six numbers

**1. Attendance rate**

**What it is:** sessions that happened, divided by sessions booked.

**Why it matters:** every missed session is lost care and lost income.

**If it falls:** review your reminders and how easy it is to reschedule.

**2. Time to first appointment**

**What it is:** the average number of days between first contact and a first session.

**Why it matters:** long waits lead to more missed first appointments and people seeking help elsewhere. In [one mental health centre](https://link.springer.com/doi/10.1007/s11414-007-9091-1), cutting the wait from 13 days to same-day reduced no-shows from 52% to 18%.

**If it rises:** look at intake steps and unused capacity before you assume you need to hire.

**3. Clinician utilisation**

**What it is:** booked clinical hours compared with each clinician's available hours.

**Why it matters:** very low suggests a referral or matching problem. Very high is a warning sign for burnout.

**If it's uneven:** rebalance new referrals across the team.

**4. Days to payment**

**What it is:** the average time between a session and payment arriving.

**Why it matters:** slow payment squeezes cash flow even when the diary is full.

**If it rises:** invoice on the day and make paying simple.

**5. Unpaid balances**

**What it is:** the total owed to the clinic, and how much of it is more than 30 days old.

**Why it matters:** old balances are much harder to collect.

**If it grows:** agree a clear, kind process for following up.

**6. Note completion**

**What it is:** the share of sessions with notes completed within an agreed time.

**Why it matters:** late notes affect care, billing and compliance. They're often an early sign that a clinician is overloaded.

**If it slips:** talk with the clinician before it becomes a pattern.

## How to run the monthly check

- Put the six numbers on one page, with last month's figures beside them.
- Mark anything that moved a lot.
- Choose one or two to act on this month. Not all six.
- Share the page with your team. People improve what they can see.

## How Tymira360 helps

Scheduling, records and billing sit together in Tymira360, so many of these numbers come from everyday work rather than a spreadsheet someone builds at month end. Attendance and engagement tracking shows sessions booked against sessions held. Invoicing and payment tracking show what patients have paid and what they still owe. Session notes with structured templates make it easier to keep notes up to date, and supervision views help clinical leads see where support is needed.

## Frequently asked questions

**Do I need to track all six from the start?**

No. Start with attendance and time to first appointment, then add the rest as your records allow.

**Should clinicians see these numbers?**

Yes, at team level. Discuss individual figures in private, and with support.

Want these numbers without a month-end spreadsheet? [See how Tymira360 works for mental health practices](https://tymirahealth.com/mental-health).

## Related reading

- [A session note structure that works](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/blog/session-note-structure-for-therapists)
- [Mental health KPIs every clinic should track](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/blog/mental-health-kpis-every-clinic-should-track)
- [How to build a treatment plan that tracks real progress](https://tymirahealth.com/resources/blog/how-to-build-a-mental-health-treatment-plan-that-tracks)

## Sources

- [Williams, Latta and Conversano, 2008: same-day access and no-show rates in a community mental health centre](https://link.springer.com/doi/10.1007/s11414-007-9091-1)

## About the author

**Tymira Health Success Team**, Healthcare Operations and Customer Success

Insights from the Tymira Health Success Team on healthcare practice management, patient experience, healthcare finance, specialty care workflows, and clinic operations.

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**About Tymira Health:** Tymira Health is a healthcare technology company based in Nairobi, Kenya. It builds Tymira360, a practice management and EHR platform for mental health, physiotherapy and dental providers, clinics, hospitals, NGOs and insurers across Africa.

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