ProblemReports
I cannot see what is happening in my business
Most owners do not lack data. They lack one place where a few numbers are added up the same way every time.
You cannot see the business when the figures live in separate places and are added up by hand. Choose six to ten numbers you would actually act on, find where each one comes from, and build one page that shows them. A spreadsheet can do this for a start. When the sources multiply or the page must update itself, a dashboard that reads them automatically starts at N$5,499.99.
What you see, and what it usually means
| What you see | What it usually means |
|---|---|
| You find out a month was bad after it ended | Totals are only added up at month end. |
| Two people give two different sales figures | Each is counting from a different source, or defining “a sale” differently. |
| Reports take someone days to prepare | They are rebuilt by hand each time. |
| You decide by feeling | The numbers arrive too late, or are not trusted. |
| A funder or the bank asks for figures and it becomes a project | Nothing is kept in a form that can simply be printed. |
What you can do yourself
These cost nothing but time. Do them before paying for software, including ours.
Write down the decisions, not the data
List the five decisions you make every month, such as what to reorder or who to follow up. The numbers you need are the ones those decisions depend on.
Choose six to ten numbers
More than that and nobody reads the page. Typical ones: money in, money out, money owed to you, stock value, jobs open, jobs late.
Agree what each number means
Is a sale counted when it is ordered, invoiced or paid? Write the definition down. Most arguments about figures are arguments about definitions.
Find the source of each one
Which book, sheet or program holds it? If a number has no source, start recording it before building anything.
Build one page by hand first
Fill the numbers into one sheet every Monday for a month. If you stop looking at it, a dashboard would not have helped either.
Today, and with a system
Today
- Figures in books, sheets and apps
- Added up by hand at month end
- Each manager has a different total
- Reports for funders are a project
With a system
- One page, the same for everyone
- Updated every day by itself
- Each number has one written definition
- Any report printed or exported in a minute
- The Monday page proved useful and takes too long to fill in.
- The numbers come from three or more places.
- Several managers need the same figures, each for their own branch.
- You need the figures daily, not monthly.
What we would build
We agree the numbers and their definitions with you first, in writing. Then we connect the sources, build one clear page that reads well on a phone, and add a weekly email with the figures for people who will never log in.
A dashboard from data you already have starts at N$5,499.99 and takes two to three weeks. If the data is not being recorded yet, the first job is a record system, not a dashboard.
Common questions
Do I need Power BI or another paid tool?
Not necessarily. For one organisation and a handful of numbers, a small custom page often costs less over two years than per-person licences, and it is simpler to read. If you already own such a tool, we can build in it.
Can it show live figures?
It shows figures as fresh as the source allows. If sales are typed in at the end of the day, the dashboard is daily. Live figures need live entry.
Our data is a mess. Can you still build it?
We will tell you honestly what the data can support. Often the first step is cleaning one source and agreeing definitions. A dashboard on bad data only makes wrong numbers look official.
Describe the problem. We will send back a scope.
Say what is slowing the work down and who is affected. You get a one-page scope in plain words: what would be built first, how long it takes and what it costs. It is free, and you owe nothing if you do not go ahead.