5 Dashboards Every Business Needs

Every enterprise dashboard is an asset. Each one provides a helpful window into the most complex processes facing a business. By synthesizing information into an accessible format, dashboards provide an insightful, intuitive view into everything the business does.

At a certain point, however, dashboards can begin creating confusion instead of clarity. If individuals or teams are monitoring too many dashboards at once, they’re being deluged with data and probably not gleaning valuable insights along the way. There is simply too much information vying for their attention, and focus inevitably suffers.

The goal for all businesses should be to implement the right dashboards, not just as many dashboards as possible. Highlighting the processes and metrics that matter helps companies choose the right dashboards and use them to the fullest. It’s up to you to decide which dashboards your business needs, but just make sure the list includes these five essentials.

1. Accounts Receivable Dashboard

Cash flow issues can cripple a business, which is why accounts receivable needs to be continuously monitored. A great AR dashboard helps users focus on the delinquent accounts that require immediate attention. At the same time, it calls attention to long-term trends and patterns that affect how successful your company is at collections. Without an AR dashboard, companies can spend so much time tracking metrics that they aren’t able to devote time to improving results.

2. Human Resources Dashboard

Employees are what keeps the company running, so the strength of the staff should be tracked at all times. An HR dashboard reveals the jobs that are open or recently filled, along with metrics about recruiting and employee retention. Thanks to this broad overview of the entire workforce, decision makers inside and outside HR can be more proactive about adding or subtracting talent. Ultimately, this tool helps you avoid talent shortages, skills gaps, and morale issues, which are all extremely important in an era of low unemployment.

3. Marketing Dashboard

It’s far too easy to assume that marketing is working when, in reality, much of the marketing budget could be wasted on things that are unnecessary or ineffective. A marketing dashboard helps put performance in perspective using metrics like lead source, region, industry, and more. This information helps you avoid waste and redirect marketing spend to impactful efforts. In the best cases, marketing becomes less expensive and more effective.

4. Sales Performance Dashboard

Much like AR, sales performance must be monitored daily to understand the true health of the company. Performance can be measured in dozens of different ways, often unique to individual companies, which is why customizable sales dashboards are essential. Individual sales managers should be able to follow different metrics and modify them as needed. When they have this insight, companies gain a clear understanding of where, when, and why sales are surging or struggling.

5. Executive Summary Dashboard

Think of this as a dashboard for dashboards. Executives, or anyone who needs a broad overview of the company, should have access to a dashboard that collect metrics from across departments and workflows. This dashboard provides a performance summary for the whole company, one that is continuously updated with new information. A resource like this helps executives keep their finger on the pulse of the company. Just as importantly, the dashboard includes all the information necessary for making impactful, informed business decisions.

It may be possible for a company to operate without these dashboards, but it makes data-driven decision making a lot more difficult. Having to hunt down facts and figures and put them in context impedes productivity. That’s why dashboards are quickly becoming a standard business tool.

Once your dashboards are up and running, each user will use them differently. Make sure everyone is maximizing the value of your dashboards by downloading this free whitepaper from our experts at insightsoftware.