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Blog · Data quality and reconciliation

Stated and estimated: the column that says how much a number is worth

Why every figure that depends on something the company does not hold, a customer's wallet, a project's value, a fee wallet, an estate, a held-away balance, carries a source column that says stated or estimated, the three grades of source, stated by the customer, norm from the company's own base, scaled from a public figure, what each grade lets a reader do, how a stated figure ages into an estimate, the rule that estimates never produce a claim, and how the source column changes the reading of a share, a gap and a list.

By CoviragePublished 16 September 20263 min read
The short answerA share of wallet, a gap, a territory potential and a consolidation opportunity all depend on a figure the company does not hold: what the customer spends elsewhere. That figure is stated, by the customer in a tender, a fact-find or a commitment; a norm, from the company's own similar customers; or scaled, from a public figure and the customer's size. The source column names which, with the date for stated figures, and the reader weighs the share accordingly. Stated figures age into estimates past a stated age. An estimate ranks a list and sizes a conversation; it never produces a claim to a customer or a number on a board slide without the label.

Half the figures on a share of wallet table are facts and half depend on something the company does not hold. The source column is what tells them apart, and it changes how every share, gap and list is read. This guide sets out the three grades, what each allows, how stated figures age, and the rule.

The three grades

Grade Source Example Allows
Stated The customer, dated Tender site list; fact-find; RFP commitment; contract volume A share that is a fact about the customer; a conversation on their number
Norm The company's own similar customers, full relationship Median spend per site among main-supplier accounts A share that is a fact about the segment, applied; ranking; sizing
Scaled A public figure times the customer's size Deal data with fee assumptions; rig counts; registers Ranking only, labelled

What each lets a reader do

Action Stated Norm Scaled
Rank the list Yes Yes Yes
Size the conversation Yes Yes With care
Put the customer's figure in front of them Yes No: the norm, not their number No
Put it on a board slide Yes With the label With the label
Set a quota or a credit on it Yes Through potential, labelled No

Ageing

Source Fresh Stale after Then
Fact-find Dated A stated age, often two years Stated-stale; treated as norm; refresh list
Tender site list Dated Until the next review Reconciled to billing; refreshed at review
RFP commitment Per agreement year Agreement end Replaced by the new commitment

The rule

An estimate ranks and sizes. It never produces a claim, a quota, a credit or an unlabelled board figure.

A worked table

Customer Wallet Source Date Share Reading
2207 $380,000 Stated: tender 8 months 82% A fact about the customer
4471 $570,000 Norm: $95,000 per site This quarter 25% A fact about the segment, applied; the rep's conversation is the norm, not the number
9034 $190,000 Stated: account review 40 months 84% Stated-stale; refresh before it is used
1187 $855,000 Scaled: register This quarter 11% Ranks; nothing more

Where it goes wrong

Source column missing. Every share read as a fact about the customer.

Estimate shown to the customer. "You spend $570,000 on this" to a customer who does not.

Stated figure never aged. A three-year-old fact-find as the truth.

Scaled figure on the board slide. An industry register presented as the company's knowledge.

Every figure, its source

Covirage carries the source and date on every wallet, estate, potential and held-away figure, ages stated figures, and labels estimates wherever they appear. The share of wallet reading guide covers the column in use, and the held-away assets guide covers the three grades on one desk.

Questions people ask

Why three grades and not two?

Because a norm from the company's own customers is better than a public figure scaled to size, and worse than the customer's own statement, and a reader should know which of the three they are reading. Two grades would put the norm with one or the other, and it belongs with neither.

How does a stated figure age?

A fact-find from three years ago describes a different balance sheet; a site list from the last tender is missing the sites opened since. Past a stated age, the source column shows stated-stale, the figure is treated as an estimate, and the customer is on the refresh list.

What can an estimate not do?

Be presented to the customer as their number; appear on a board slide without the label; produce a quota or a credit. It ranks the list, sizes the conversation, and is replaced by a stated figure as soon as one exists.

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