5 Best Excel Dashboards

What is an Excel Dashboard? 

 

A data visualization interface that represents key performance indicators for employees (KPI) of a business or an organization’s performance over a period of time, dashboards are defined as a high-level view of performance metrics. 

 

What is a dashboard in business? Simply put, a dashboard represents an overview of a company’s performance that helps the organization to analyze its performance and set goals for the future. Data science has become an eminent part of any organization’s success. 

 

For any business that requires past records and data sets, it is important to store data in one secure place. However, it can be too tiring for a company to dig deep into raw data and read through it in order to understand the position of the company in terms of its performance and popularity. 

 

Thanks to the role of technology in business, dashboards have emerged to enhance scope of business success in contemporary times. Thus, dashboards help with this purpose by incorporating data visualization techniques and converting raw textual data into different formats like pie charts, graphs, and line charts. 

 

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MS Excel allows a company to create dashboards that are extremely helpful and cumulative of all important records. Unlike other summarizations, Excel dashboards are comprehensive and cumulative of all datasets combined in a visualized format. 

 

For instance, given below is a dashboard that intends to track online sales of a series of products.

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Excel dashboards, Source

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As we can see in this image, the data has been analyzed and put together according to the dashboard template. Since raw data has been turned into graphical form, one no longer needs to study in between the textual data. 

 

Rather, one can simply access data from digital dashboards that make the task so much easier and less prone to error. Yet, it must be noted that not all of the data can be represented by a single dashboard. 

 

That said, a dashboard will filter through a vast amount of data and only present data that matches its goal. Let us understand this with an example. For instance, a company has data pertaining to its online sales, marketing promotions, advertisements, and net growth. 

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But, when the company intends to create a dashboard related to its online sales (as shown above), the dashboard template will only extract information related to online sales and will work on the same. 

 

This happens because there are different types of dashboards that are available. Let us know more about them. 

 

 

Types of Dashboards 

 

Here is a short description of the different types of dashboards that exist. Let us begin right away.

 

1. Operational Dashboards

 

As the name itself suggests, operational dashboards are created with the purpose of keeping a tab on the everyday activities of an organization. In simple terms, such dashboards are kept to log in the day-to-day tasks. 

 

Monitored by junior administrators, an operational dashboard often involves shorter time frames and register data that is concerned with the operational procedures of a business. 

 

 

2. Analytical Dashboards

 

Analytical dashboards, the second type of dashboard, are created for the purpose of analyzing data and gaining actionable insights from it. Herein, data is converted into a graphical format that is then used to compare past performances with the present one. 

 

Such types of dashboards in excel also help to gain future perspectives related to a business’s performance and profitability. A comprehensive report that appropriately summarizes the overall condition of a business, this dashboard contains a vast amount of data, unlike other types of dashboards. 

 

 

3. Strategic Dashboards

 

The third type of dashboard - strategic dashboard, are a representation of data metrics that indicate the formation of long-term strategies for a business. As businesses formulate corporate strategies, they require a performance indication that helps them to reflect on their success so far. 

 

Mainly studied by senior-level administrators of a business, these dashboards reflect on a business as a single entity and help professionals to look forward. 

 

Using quantitative and data visualization techniques, strategic dashboards help in formulating strategies for a business with the help of past records and predictive results.

 

 

Best Excel Dashboards

 

In this segment, we will be throwing light on the 5 best excel dashboards and the importance they hold in the functioning of a business. A business is an integrated system of numerous departments that must have a comprehensive report of all they do in a routine manner. 

 

Perhaps here we will discuss how excel dashboards can help a business to achieve an in-depth reflection of their functioning. 

 

1. Operational Revenue-Expenses

 

Operational revenue is the key source of income that a business holds. In order to keep operational revenue in proportion with operational expenses (key expenditures) of a business, excel dashboards can be created for keeping track of the day-to-day profits and expenditures. 

 

This is considered to be one of the best excel dashboards as it not only allows one to keep a track of both expenses and revenue, but it also creates a comparative report between the two, allowing the administration to analyze it. 

 

That said, the operational-revenue dashboard is an extremely helpful data visualization technique that can be benefited from in the long run. 

 

 

2. Sales Management

 

The 2nd best excel dashboard is the sales management dashboard in Excel. Unlike the online sales tracker dashboard, the sales management dashboard presents a cumulative study on the overall sales achieved by a business. 

 

It also portrays the performance of the sales department (especially, salespersons) in order to reflect on the work being done on the ground level. The sales department is an integral part of any business that is the sole driving force towards success, apart from other departments. 

 

Considering the eminence that this department holds, the sales management dashboard substantially reflects on the way products are being sold and to whom. Tracking the purchasing entities is equally important for this dashboard. 

 

 

3. Human Resources

 

Modern-day businesses have business intelligence tools that help them to stay in the competition. Even though departments like marketing and sales are the backbone of any business, no one can deny the eminent role that the human resource department plays in a corporation. 

 

It is undoubtedly one of the most significant fields that require record-keeping tools and techniques in order to help HR professionals introspect and interact with their performances so far. 

 

Reports, data, and HR analytics are included in these dashboards. For instance, an HR dashboard could be as complex as the employee ratio of various genders in the workplace or as mundane as recruitment processes conducted in a day. 

 

All in all, it requires extensive research to overlook such vast data and keep a track of such affairs. Well, the solution is none other than the human resources excel dashboard!  

 

 

4. Online Sales Tracker 

 

As the title itself suggests, an online sales tracking dashboard lets a business keep a track of its sold products over online platforms and the profit earned over each item. 

 

With changing times, the need for tracking online sales has become eminent. Not only does it help them to keep a record of the total number of online goods sold, but it also keeps a track of other things. 

 

“This sales dashboard lets you keep track of the cost per item, percent markup, total revenue, and total profit. In addition, there are available charts for the product profit per item as well as % income per product.”Online Sales Tracker Dashboard in Excel 

 

 

5. Marketing Management

 

Marketing is defined as the act of promoting a brand with the help of its products or services. When it comes to expanding a business and making it a success, marketing is an extremely significant factor. 

 

Perhaps one of the best excel dashboards is the marketing management dashboards that involve the representation of marketing metrics and marketing KPI. 

 

This includes the performance of the marketing department and gives an at-a-glance view of how well or bad the marketing of the business is doing. Herein, all types of dashboards - analytic, strategic, and operational. 

 

As there is a requirement for routine follow-ups and constant improvement in this field, marketers need such dashboards to help them stay aware of day-to-day operations. With such data visualization tools, they can easily formulate long-term strategies and prepare accordingly. 

 

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Summing Up

 

To sum up, excel dashboards have only enhanced the way businesses work and future decisions are made. With the help of data visualization techniques like excel dashboards, businesses have now become advanced and equipped with the correct tools and techniques. 

 

Be it marketing or human resources, excel dashboards can contribute a lot to the performance of a business and even enhance it substantially. As these tools reflect on the key performance indicators of a business, they summarize raw data that is extensive in nature and create an at-a-glance report of the same. 

 

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Lastly, dashboards are beneficial for any and every type of business and can upscale a business’s performance by a considerable margin.