A finance dashboard you will actually look at
Dashboards fail when they show everything. One screen, updated automatically, with the few numbers that drive decisions, is enough for most owner-managed businesses.
The best dashboard is the one that changes what you do on Monday. Most fail for the opposite reason to monthly packs: they show so much that nothing stands out. Start with four tiles and add only what earns its place.
Four tiles, and what each answers
- Cash today, and the forecast low point in 13 weeks
- What customers owe, and how much is overdue
- Sales this month against target
- Gross margin this month against the last twelve
Making it live
Most accounting software now has a dashboard built in, or connects to a reporting tool. The test is that no one has to copy figures into it. If the bank feed and invoices are up to date, the dashboard is too.
A weekly rhythm
- Same time each week, ten minutes, with the people who can act.
- One question per tile: is it where we expected, and if not, why?
- One action agreed, with a name against it.
After a few months, add the one figure your trade lives by: utilisation in a professional firm, covers and spend per head in hospitality, conversion rate and returns in e-commerce.
More on
This insight is general information, not advice for your circumstances. Talk to us before acting on it.