CEO Dashboard: Which key figures help with decisions?

A CEO dashboard should show where management needs to act. A collection of as many diagrams as possible does not fulfill this task. The overview becomes helpful when each key figure answers a clear question and its data source is understandable.

For a company with consulting-intensive sales, marketing, sales, fulfillment and finance are interconnected. An additional request is only relevant to business if it remains clear what results from it and what capacity is available to provide the service.

Start with the decisions

What questions do you need to answer regularly? For example: Is the current pipeline sufficient for the goal? Where are the sales opportunities? Which marketing sources deliver suitable inquiries? Can the team start the won projects as planned?

Assign a few key figures to each question. Also note what decision is possible in the event of a noticeable development and who prepares it. A number without a responsible person and context for action easily remains pure observation.

Sales, pipeline and forecast are different sizes

When it comes to sales, it must be clarified which booking or service definition and which period applies. The open pipeline describes sales opportunities that have not yet been won. A forecast estimates what proportion could be realized in a period of time under certain assumptions.

These variables should be clearly displayed separately. A weighted pipeline value is not a promise of future sales. Therefore, document phases, weightings, expected completion dates and the rules according to which an opportunity is considered.

Connect the four corporate divisions

The specific selection depends on the business model. A consulting company needs different detailed views than an e-commerce company. Even within a company, not all roles need to see the same numbers or individual personal information.

• Marketing: Origin and quality of inquiries as well as the connection to subsequent sales opportunities.

• Sales: open opportunities, next steps, transitions between phases and understandable closing assumptions.

• Fulfillment: planned launches, ongoing projects, responsibilities and available capacity.

• Finance: actually recorded revenues, incoming payments and outstanding receivables according to their respective definition.

Give each key figure a short profile

Note name, definition, data source, time period, update and technical responsibility. A conversion rate also includes which events are in the numerator and denominator. Without this information, two correctly calculated numbers can still describe different things.

Also check whether filters and comparisons match. Current pipeline inventory cannot be added up over time like sales. If different time references are necessary, they should be explicitly labeled in the dashboard.

A dashboard needs reliable data processes

If statuses are missing in the CRM or orders are not handed over reliably, the dashboard also shows these gaps. So start with clear data sources, clear responsibilities and verifiable handoffs. Automated reporting builds on this foundation.

Systemlink develops the CEO Dashboard as a management level of a connected revenue system. The presentation on our website expressly uses sample data. For a real company, key figures, access and processes are designed based on its actual requirements.

Suitable services: Ops automation · CRM consulting

Example: Why monthly numbers differ from each other

A CRM can count a deal based on the date the offer was won. Accounting records an invoice or payment receipt at a different time. The numbers may differ from each other as long as it is clear which event is being represented. The example describes different metrics and not actual customer numbers.

Therefore, label the time reference directly on the key figure: transactions in the period, invoice sales in the period or open inventory on the key date. A filter named this quarter alone is not a complete definition.

A monthly comparison instead of silent data deviation

Choose a small number of key metrics and compare them to the source systems. Note definition, source, update, and known limitation. If there is a discrepancy, first check the allocation, time period and filters before deriving a business cause.

If AI summary is used, the underlying numbers should still be achievable. The briefing supports the preparation of a decision. It neither replaces the responsibility of management nor the comparison of unclear data.

Related to this topic: CEO Dashboard & Reporting · Marketing automation · Practical project FLEXXI Care: Connect AWS data with HubSpot.