Excel dashboards are fantastic and a wonderful way to show a point in time snap shot of any number of corporate, customer, household positions. They convey high level information in a succinct one page data collection point. I love making them and when complete the process is quite satisfying, one of the things that is not so evident is how much work they are to do well.
Like any building project the foundations are the most important part of the construction, so while the pretty front end is where the outputs are shown, the real work happens in the calculations pages. This is where the so called ‘heavy lifting’ happens and this is where 90% of the building takes place. A clear concise well laid out calculations page(s) is what make the above image possible.
The following video shows how the dashboard spins on a number of given metrics, from the month, to the region to the HR metrics at the 3rd row of the dashboard. The dashboard has style and grace because the dashboard was set up well and all of my models are set up in a clear concise structured way.
Excel models should be set up as follows:
INPUTS - CALCULATIONS - OUTPUTS
This is the way! Not to blatantly quote Star Wars epic The Mandalorian but the consistency and clarity in the setup of your financial models are what will separate you from your peers. Set your models up in a consistent way so there is a clear delineation between Inputs, calculations and outputs and your models will have a structure and flow that not many models or modelers possess.
The above contains the top half of the Excel dashboard. This is where you want to capture the readers attention. Put what is deemed the most important metrics in this section. This will be different for each dashboard and situation.
While the bottom part of the dashboard is import too to maintain interest. Be sure to consult with as many stakeholders as possible to get their opinions. Hope this gives you a whole range of ideas. There are many more dashboards free here;
Or the corporate dashboards for purchase can be found here;
