Key points in 30 seconds
- An executive dashboard fits on one page and answers five or six questions.
- Start with the decisions to make, then choose the indicators.
- Power BI connects to Excel, databases, CRM and accounting.
- Automatic refresh removes manual consolidation.
Start from the executive's questions
Before opening Power BI, write down the questions you ask yourself every Monday:
- Where is revenue against target?
- Is the pipeline for the next three months sufficient?
- Which customers or products carry the margin?
- Does cash cover the coming weeks?
- Which lead times or delays are slipping?
The one-page structure
| Area | Content |
|---|---|
| Top | 4 to 6 key figures with variance to target |
| Centre | Monthly trend in revenue and margin |
| Right | Weighted pipeline and forecast |
| Bottom | Alerts: late-paying customers, projects drifting |
Every figure should let you drill down in one click: by customer, salesperson, product.
Connecting the sources
Power BI Desktop, which is free, is used to build reports. It connects to Excel files, databases and many CRM and management systems. Sharing and scheduled refresh go through the Power BI service, with a per-user licence. Start with two or three reliable sources rather than all of them.
Mistakes to avoid
- Showing thirty indicators: nobody looks at anything any more.
- Connecting uncleaned data: the dashboard will be wrong, with great apparent precision.
- Forgetting to name an owner for each indicator.
To choose the right indicators, read Managing by KPIs.
Preparing the data
A dashboard is only as reliable as its data. Before building visuals, check three points: the same clients and products have the same name in every source, dates use the same format, and every amount is clearly before or after tax. Power Query, built into Power BI, lets you clean and transform the data once, then automatically applies those steps at every refresh.
Indicators by function
| Function | Useful indicators |
|---|---|
| Sales | Revenue vs target, weighted pipeline, conversion rate, new clients |
| Finance | Gross margin, cash forecast, client payment times |
| Operations | Delivery times, late rate, team workload |
| Clients | Satisfaction, complaints, renewal rate |
| HR | Headcount, open positions, absenteeism |
The leader's dashboard takes one or two indicators from each function, not all of them.
Designing readable visuals
- One key figure in large type, with the gap to target in colour.
- Lines for trends over time, bars for comparisons.
- No more than two alert colours: red for what needs action, green for what is on track.
- Titles that say what to read: "Margin falling on small clients" rather than "Margin by segment".
- A mobile layout for checking figures on the move.
Sharing and securing
The Power BI service lets you share the report with management and refresh the data automatically, several times a day if needed. Row-level security limits what each person sees: a regional manager sees only their region, a salesperson only their clients. Check the licences each user needs before rolling out.
Example project
A distribution group consolidates its figures every month in a spreadsheet from three systems: accounting, sales management and CRM. Consolidation takes two days and the figures arrive on the 10th of the following month. A Power BI dashboard connected to the three sources replaces this work: figures are updated every morning, management sees the pipeline and cash at a glance, and the two days of consolidation go to analysis instead. The project, from defining indicators to going live, took six weeks.
Keeping the dashboard alive
A dashboard nobody looks at is useless. Use it every week in the executive committee as the single basis for discussion. Review the indicators every quarter: remove those that never trigger a decision, add those that are missing. Each indicator has a named owner who explains the variances.
Going further with AI
Power BI includes assisted analysis features: natural-language questions, anomaly detection, explanations of changes. With Copilot, you can ask for a summary of the month's figures or an analysis of variances. These features are useful once the data is clean and the dashboard is stable. Our AI and digital transformation support covers data, business intelligence and automated reporting.
Frequently asked questions
Is Power BI suitable for an SME?
Yes. Power BI Desktop is free for building reports, and sharing requires a per-user licence. It connects to Excel, databases and many management systems.
How many indicators in an executive dashboard?
Four to six key figures on one page, with drill-down. Beyond that, the dashboard loses readability.
How long does it take to build a Power BI dashboard?
For a first executive dashboard with two or three clean sources, allow a few weeks, including data cleaning.
How much does Power BI cost?
Power BI Desktop is free for building reports. Sharing and scheduled refresh require a licence per user, priced according to the plan chosen; check current pricing.
How long does it take to build a management dashboard?
Allow four to eight weeks depending on the number of sources and the quality of the data, a large part of which goes into preparing the data.