Building In-House KPI Dashboards: From Cluttered Data to Business Intelligence

Many companies today are collecting tons of data—sales numbers, social media metrics, web traffic, employee performance, you name it. But having data and having insights are two very different things.

For most leadership teams, information is scattered across different reports, platforms, and inboxes. When it's finally compiled, it's either outdated, overly complex, or completely disconnected from real business goals. But from an analytics perspective, different kinds of data can take lots of time to cross-reference and find out what has an impact.

Dashboards can change that.

Why Dashboards Matter

Dashboards became the ultimate business intelligence tools sometimes in the early 2010s, as APIs enabled to connection of various data sources together. A good dashboard isn’t just a report—it’s an interactive decision-making tool. It shows you what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus. Elaborating the right formulas and KPIs, a dashboard becomes something leadership actually uses, not just something analysts present in meetings.

I’ve designed and managed the development of various measurement and analytical systems. One of the most impactful tools I’ve built was a performance dashboard for a real estate company. Every agent was listed, with personal sales stats, filtered trends, and KPIs across different time frames. Leadership could immediately spot top performers, underperformers, and broader sales trends—all on one screen. It wasn’t just nice to look at. It helped them monitor nearly everything, allocate properties to the right agents and beyond this, it opened plenty of business process optimization opportunities.

You Don’t Need a Full Data Team to Start

Many companies think they need a data scientist or complex systems to get going. That’s not true. If you (or someone on your team) has decent SQL skills and a solid understanding of your internal data, you can start building something valuable today.

Here are a few great tools depending on your stack:

• Power BI – Ideal for Microsoft-based companies, especially those using Excel and SharePoint. Nearly all data sources can be connected, and it comes with good AI capabilities that can help spot trends, changes, and can highlight items that need attention.
• Looker Studio (formerly Google Data Studio) – Perfect for teams using Google Workspace or with data in Google Sheets.It also integrates with a vast range of online services, but if you use BigQuery or your systems are based on Google Cloud, then Looker is a solid choice.
• Google Sheets + Add-ons – Surprisingly powerful for early-stage dashboards. Combine with plugins or AppScript for automation, although I would not recommend using this for a permanent solution.
• Metabase, Superset, or Tableau Public – Free or low-cost options for more customized use, each comes with pros and cons.

These tools can connect to CRMs, website analytics, accounting platforms, or even manual Excel files. Any recurring or trackable data source can become part of your dashboard.

What Could Go on Your Dashboard?

That depends on your business model, but here are some ideas:

• Company-Wide KPIs – Custom metrics that reflect your long-term vision and targets.
• Sales Performance – Monthly revenue, close rate, top products, funnel insights.
• Marketing KPIs – Campaign performance, channel ROI, lead generation.
• Operations Metrics – Project timelines, delivery status, customer service response times.
• Team Productivity – Billable hours, task completion, client load.
• Company-Wide KPIs – Custom metrics that reflect your long-term vision and targets.

The goal is to create clarity. Leaders should be able to log in, glance at the dashboard, and instantly know where the business stands.

Start Small, Scale Fast

You don’t need a massive dashboard from day one. Start by building something small—like a single sales KPI tracker. Then improve and expand over time. Make sure it's something people will actually use, and that it helps guide decisions, not just display numbers.

If you need help figuring this out, I’d be happy to assist. But with the right internal knowledge and a bit of SQL proficiency, any company can begin building decision-focused dashboards in-house.