Every appointment number is really three numbers. Set means booked. Sat means it actually happened: the homeowner was home and the rep was at the table. Sold means signed. Check only the first one, and you can end up paying for appointments that never sit.
So the check is simple. Take one batch of bookings and follow it. Of those same bookings, how many sat? Of those sits, how many sold? Same cutoff date for all three. And they only go down.
Same rules apply to me. Our own floor sets about 650 in-home appointments a month. That's set, not sat: 650 times somebody said yes to a time, not 650 kitchen tables. It doesn't tell you how many sat or sold, and it isn't a forecast for your market. And the $620,000 net our outbound floor did in August 2026 (my own company's figure: $715,000 sold, $620,000 after cancellations) doesn't live in set. It lives in sold, after cancellations.
Here's all of it: what counts for each number, a sheet with the formulas that do the counting, a first test on your own appointments, the message to send any appointment seller, and how to read what comes back. There's also a prompt that has Claude or ChatGPT walk you through it.
Start here: paste this into ChatGPT or Claude
Not technical? Start here. Copy this prompt into ChatGPT or Claude (the free versions work) and it walks you through the whole guide, one step at a time, in plain English. It asks before it assumes anything and checks with you before anything that costs money, reaches a real customer or company, or deletes something. The rest of the page is the same guide, written out, if you'd rather do it yourself.
Hi! Please be my patient guide for this step-by-step guide from Receipts Group: "Set, sat, sold: the 3-number check for any appointment number"
The guide is here: https://receiptsgroup.com/guides/set-sat-sold-check (open it if you can; if you can't, everything you need is below).
About me: I run a home-service business and I'm not technical. Use plain words and short sentences.
My goal: whenever anyone shows me an appointment number (an appointment company, a lead seller, my own setters, me), I can check it with three numbers. Set means booked. Sat means it actually happened: the homeowner was home and the rep was at the table. Sold means signed. I take one batch of bookings and follow it: of those same bookings, how many sat, and of those sits, how many sold, all counted on the same cutoff date. The numbers only go down.
How to help me:
1. One step at a time. For each step, tell me in a sentence what it's for and exactly what to do (what to type, where to click, what to write). Then stop and wait until I say "done" or tell you what I see.
2. Ask before you assume anything about my business, my trade, my team, my sheet or my numbers. One question at a time.
3. If you use a technical or sales word, explain it in plain English the first time (for example: batch, cutoff date, sit, sit rate, close rate, cancellation, formula, cell, column, tab).
4. Stop and check with me before anything that costs money (signing up for a tool or a paid plan), anything that reaches a real customer or a real company (sending my message to a seller, calling a homeowner to check what happened), and anything that deletes something (clearing a sheet, deleting rows or tabs).
5. Use only what I tell you or show you. Never make up numbers, names or results. If something's missing, ask me.
6. If I paste anything, remind me first to take out homeowners' names, phone numbers and addresses.
The steps, from the guide:
Step 1. Pick one batch and one cutoff date.
Help me pick a stretch of dates (for example, every appointment set in one week or one month) and a cutoff date far enough after it that most of those appointments have happened. Ask me how long my appointments usually take to happen and to close. Write both dates down.
Step 2. Make the sheet.
Help me make a Google Sheet (or a tab in the one I already use) with these columns, one row per appointment set in the batch, appointment numbers only:
A Appt #, B Set date, C Sat? (Yes/No), D Sold? (Yes/No), E Cancelled? (Yes/No, a sale that cancelled by the cutoff), F Sale amount, G Notes (no names).
Step 3. Fill in what happened to each one, as of the cutoff.
Sat is Yes only if the homeowner was home and the rep sat at the table by the cutoff. A reschedule that hasn't happened yet is No. Sold is Yes only if they signed by the cutoff. Help me decide where I get each answer from (my CRM, my calendar, my reps) and ask me before anyone calls a homeowner.
Step 4. Add the formulas.
Walk me through typing these into cells I1 to J8, exactly as written:
I1 Set
J1 =COUNTA(A2:A1000)
I2 Sat
J2 =COUNTIF(C2:C1000,"Yes")
I3 Sold
J3 =COUNTIF(D2:D1000,"Yes")
I4 Still sold after cancellations
J4 =COUNTIFS(D2:D1000,"Yes",E2:E1000,"No")
I5 Dollars still sold after cancellations
J5 =SUMIFS(F2:F1000,D2:D1000,"Yes",E2:E1000,"No")
I6 Sit rate (sat out of set)
J6 =J2/J1
I7 Close rate (sold out of sat)
J7 =J3/J2
I8 Sold without a sit (should be 0)
J8 =COUNTIFS(C2:C1000,"No",D2:D1000,"Yes")
Step 5. Check that the numbers only go down.
Set, then sat, then sold, then still sold after cancellations: each one is the same size or smaller than the one before. "Sold without a sit" should be 0. If it isn't, help me find the rows that are wrong.
Step 6. Read the two rates.
Sit rate is J6: it shows a decimal, so 0.62 means 62 out of every 100 appointments set actually sat. Close rate is J7: sold out of sat. Explain what each one tells me and what it doesn't. Don't compare them to anybody's numbers but my own.
Step 7. Ask a seller for the same three numbers.
Help me fill in this message for a company that sells me appointments or leads. Show it to me and wait for my yes before I send it:
---
Hi [name], before we talk volume, can you send me three numbers for one batch of appointments?
Take the appointments you set between [start date] and [end date]. Counted as of [cutoff date]:
1. Set: how many appointments you booked in those dates.
2. Sat: of those same appointments, how many actually happened, meaning the homeowner was home and the rep sat down at the table.
3. Sold: of those sits, how many signed, and how many were still sold after cancellations.
Same batch for all three, same cutoff date. And how do you count a sit? If you only track the first number, that's fine, just tell me that.
Thanks,
[your name]
---
Step 8. Read what comes back.
When I paste their answer, check: did they give all three, from one batch, with one cutoff date? Do the numbers only go down? Is their sit the same as mine (homeowner home, rep at the table)? Is their sold after cancellations? If they only have the first number, that's an answer too: tell me what it does and doesn't show. Don't tell me whether to buy.
Rules for every number, theirs and mine: a number without its batch, its cutoff date and what counts is basically just a promise. Same rules apply to the person holding the big number.The three numbers
One batch of bookings, followed all the way through. Each number is counted out of the one before it, from the same appointments, on the same cutoff date.
- 1SetBooked: somebody said yes to a time→ every appointment in the batch
- 2SatOf those same bookings: homeowner home, rep at the table→ the same number or smaller
- 3SoldOf those sits: signed, and still signed after cancellations→ the same number or smaller, and where the money is
If any number goes up on the way down, the batch got mixed: sits or sales from other weeks got counted in.
| Number | Counts | Doesn't count |
|---|---|---|
| Set | Every appointment booked in the batch's dates, once each | The same homeowner booked twice counted as two (a reschedule stays one row) |
| Sat | The homeowner was home and the rep sat down at the table, by the cutoff | The rep drove out and nobody answered. A reschedule that hasn't happened yet. A "we talked at the door" |
| Sold | Signed, by the cutoff. For dollars, take out the ones that cancelled | "They're thinking about it." A verbal yes. A sale from a different batch |
Two words you'll see below. Sit rate is sat out of set: of every 100 appointments booked, how many happened. Close rate is sold out of sat: of every 100 sits, how many signed.
Run it on your own appointments
Pick one batch and one cutoff date
The batch is every appointment set in one stretch of dates: one week, or one month. The cutoff is the day you count, far enough after the batch that most of those appointments have happened and had a chance to close. Your sales cycle decides how far; write both dates at the top of the sheet so nobody changes them later.
Make the sheet
Wheresheets.google.com (or a new tab in the sheet you already use)One tab per batch, one row per appointment. Appointment numbers only: homeowners' names, phone numbers and addresses stay in your CRM, not in a sheet people pass around.
THE SET, SAT, SOLD SHEET: one tab per batch (appointment numbers only: no homeowner names, phone numbers or addresses) Batch: appointments SET from [start date] to [end date] Cutoff: counted as of [cutoff date] Row 1 is the headers. One row per appointment set in the batch, starting on row 2. A Appt # B Set date C Sat? Yes / No (homeowner home, rep at the table, by the cutoff) D Sold? Yes / No (signed, by the cutoff) E Cancelled? Yes / No (a sale that cancelled by the cutoff; No if it never sold) F Sale amount the signed amount, blank if no sale G Notes rescheduled, no one home, rep no-show... (no names)Fill in what happened, as of the cutoff
Go row by row from your CRM, your calendar or your reps' notes. Sat is Yes only if the homeowner was home and the rep sat at the table by the cutoff. A reschedule that hasn't happened yet is No, and it stays on its original row. Sold is Yes only if they signed by the cutoff. Cancelled is Yes if a sale cancelled by the cutoff.
Add the formulas
Type each one into the cell named on its left, exactly as written. They count the columns for you, so you never add it up by hand. The ranges go to row 1000; if your batch is bigger, change 1000 to a bigger number everywhere.
I1 Set J1 =COUNTA(A2:A1000) I2 Sat J2 =COUNTIF(C2:C1000,"Yes") I3 Sold J3 =COUNTIF(D2:D1000,"Yes") I4 Still sold after cancellations J4 =COUNTIFS(D2:D1000,"Yes",E2:E1000,"No") I5 Dollars still sold after cancellations J5 =SUMIFS(F2:F1000,D2:D1000,"Yes",E2:E1000,"No") I6 Sit rate (sat out of set) J6 =J2/J1 I7 Close rate (sold out of sat) J7 =J3/J2 I8 Sold without a sit (should be 0) J8 =COUNTIFS(C2:C1000,"No",D2:D1000,"Yes")COUNTA, COUNTIF, COUNTIFS and SUMIFS are Google Sheets functions (Google's help pages are in the sources).Check that the numbers only go down
Set, then sat, then sold, then still sold after cancellations: each one the same size or smaller than the one before. J8 should be 0. If it isn't, a row says Sold without a sit; find it and fix whichever answer is wrong.
Read the two rates
J6 is your sit rate and J7 your close rate. They show as decimals: 0.62 means 62 out of 100. Compare them with your own next batch, counted the same way. That's the comparison that means something.
Ask a seller for the same three numbers
Anybody selling you appointments or leads will lead with the first number, because it's the biggest. Ask for all three, for one batch, with one cutoff date. Fill in the brackets and send it.
Hi [name], before we talk volume, can you send me three numbers for one batch of appointments?
Take the appointments you set between [start date] and [end date]. Counted as of [cutoff date]:
1. Set: how many appointments you booked in those dates.
2. Sat: of those same appointments, how many actually happened, meaning the homeowner was home and the rep sat down at the table.
3. Sold: of those sits, how many signed, and how many were still sold after cancellations.
Same batch for all three, same cutoff date. And how do you count a sit? If you only track the first number, that's fine, just tell me that.
Thanks,
[your name]| What comes back | What it means |
|---|---|
| All three, one batch, one cutoff, going down | Now you can actually look at it. Ask what counts as a sit, and compare it with your own sheet |
| Only the first number | That's an answer too. It tells you how many times somebody said yes to a time, and nothing about how many sat or sold |
| A sit rate with no batch and no date | Ask which appointments it's from and when it was counted. A rate without its conditions is basically just a promise |
| Sat bigger than set, or numbers from different months | The batch got mixed. Ask for one batch, followed through |
| "Sat" means the rep showed up | That's a looser sit than homeowner home, rep at the table. Ask them to count it your way |
| Sold, before cancellations | Ask for the number after cancellations. That's the one that pays |
Example (made up)
Example (made up): two sellers, each counting one batch the same way. These are invented numbers to show the arithmetic, not anybody's results.
| Seller A | Seller B | |
|---|---|---|
| Set | 200 | 120 |
| Sat | 80 (sit rate 0.40) | 90 (sit rate 0.75) |
| Sold | 20 (close rate 0.25) | 27 (close rate 0.30) |
| Still sold after cancellations | 16 | 24 |
Seller A leads with 200. Seller B's 120 sounds smaller, and still ends up with more signed jobs. That's what checking only the first number hides.
First test: last month's appointments (free)
Before you ask anybody else, run it on yourself. Take every appointment you set last month as the batch, pick today as the cutoff, and fill in the sheet. It costs nothing but the time.
Good: four numbers that only go down, J8 at 0, and a sit rate you can say out loud with its batch and its date. What you'll probably find: a few rows where nobody knows whether it sat. That's the first thing to fix: every appointment gets an outcome.
When a seller answers your message, paste it into this prompt and it checks it against the three numbers. Before you paste: take out names, phone numbers and email addresses. In Claude you can also choose whether your chats help improve its models: Settings → Privacy → Help Improve our AI models.
An appointment company sent me numbers. Please check them against the set, sat, sold check.
The check: take one batch of appointments (the ones set between two dates). Set = how many were booked. Sat = of those same appointments, how many happened, meaning the homeowner was home and the rep was at the table. Sold = of those sits, how many signed, and how many were still sold after cancellations. Same batch and same cutoff date for all three, so they only go down: sat is never bigger than set, sold is never bigger than sat.
Please tell me, in plain words:
1. Which of the three numbers they actually gave me, and which are missing.
2. Whether all three come from the same batch of dates and the same cutoff date, or whether they don't say.
3. Whether the numbers only go down. If one goes up, say so.
4. How they define a sit and a sale, if they say. If it's looser than mine (for example "the rep showed up" instead of "sat at the table", or sold before cancellations), point it out.
5. Up to three short follow-up questions I can send them, in plain words.
Rules: use only what's in their message. Never guess a number or work out one they didn't give me, except sit rate (sat divided by set) and close rate (sold divided by sat) when both numbers are there and come from the same batch. Don't tell me whether to buy; just tell me what the numbers do and don't show.
Their message:
[paste it here: take out any names, phone numbers and email addresses first]Good: it lists which numbers they gave and which are missing, and asks short follow-ups. Bad: it works out a number they never gave you. Tell it: "Use only what's in their message."
What it costs
| What | Plan | Price |
|---|---|---|
| The check, the sheet layout and the message | None | $0 |
| Google Sheets | Your Google account | Google says anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets; some Gemini features need a paid Workspace plan (not needed here) |
| Claude (the prompts) | Free | $0 |
| Claude, if you want more use | Pro | $20 a month billed monthly, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) |
| ChatGPT | See OpenAI's pricing page | Not checked: OpenAI's pricing and help pages didn't load for us on 2026-10-18 |
When it breaks
Sat comes out bigger than set
J8 (sold without a sit) isn't 0
Half the batch hasn't happened yet
Nobody knows whether an appointment sat
#DIV/0! in J6 or J7
The formulas count 0 when you can see Yes in the column
A seller says sold isn't theirs to track
A seller sends a rate but no counts
The AI works out a number they didn't give you
ChatGPT or Claude can't open the guide link
Set is where it starts
Set, sat, sold, one batch, one cutoff date. Set is where it starts, sold is where you get paid, and a number without its conditions is basically just a promise, mine included.
It's the same set, sat, sold ledger behind our rev-share appointments.
Checked on Oct 18, 2026 against
Every claim about a third-party tool in this guide (plans, prices, menu paths, commands, limits) was checked against these official pages on Oct 18, 2026. These screens change often: if something looks different, trust the page over this guide.
- Google Docs Editors Help: COUNTA
COUNTA(value1, [value2, ...])counts all values in a range, text included (checked 2026-10-18). - Google Docs Editors Help: COUNTIF
COUNTIF(range, criterion), e.g.COUNTIF(A1:A10,"Paid")(checked 2026-10-18). - Google Docs Editors Help: COUNTIFS
COUNTIFS(criteria_range1, criterion1, [criteria_range2, criterion2, ...]); additional ranges must be the same size as the first (checked 2026-10-18). - Google Docs Editors Help: SUMIFS
SUMIFS(sum_range, criteria_range1, criterion1, ...)(checked 2026-10-18). - Google Workspace: Sheets"Anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets"; some Gemini features need a Workspace plan (checked 2026-10-18).
- Claude: Plans and pricingFree at $0; Pro at $20 a month billed monthly, or $17 a month billed yearly ($200 up front) (checked 2026-10-18).
- Claude Privacy Center: How do I change my model improvement privacy settings?Settings → Privacy → Help Improve our AI models (checked 2026-10-18).
