Management dashboard projects usually start with enthusiasm and, after a while, turn into a colorful screen nobody opens. The reason is rarely technical: the dashboard has too many metrics, none of them is tied to a decision, and nobody fully trusts where the numbers come from. In this post we explain the metrics a manager should check every morning, how to choose them and the principles that keep a dashboard in use.
Questions first, metrics second
Dashboard design should start not with a list of metrics but with the questions a manager asks every morning. Typical questions are:
- Do we have enough cash for today and this week?
- What did we sell yesterday, and where are we against plan?
- Who isn't paying us?
- Is there a problem in the warehouse?
- Has anything unusual happened that I should pay attention to?
Every metric should answer one of these questions. A metric that doesn't connect to any question should be removed from the dashboard.
Morning metrics under five headings
| Heading | Metric | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | Total cash today, net flow for the next 4 weeks | Is a shortfall expected? |
| Cash | Checks issued that fall due this week | Are funds ready to cover them? |
| Revenue | Yesterday's and month-to-date sales, same period last year | Deviation from plan |
| Revenue | Gross profit margin (month to date) | Are discounts eating into margin? |
| Receivables | Total overdue receivables and change | Is it growing? |
| Receivables | Top 5 customers with overdue balances | Who needs a call? |
| Stock | Days in stock, stock-outs on critical items | Is there a supply risk? |
| Operations | Open orders and number of late shipments | Will customer complaints follow? |
This list is a starting point; a manufacturer can add scrap rate and capacity utilization, a service company can add unbilled work. But the total number of metrics on the first screen should not exceed 10-12.
Always put a comparison next to the number
"Yesterday's revenue was TRY 850,000" says little on its own. Is that high or low? Every metric should have at least one of these comparisons next to it:
- The same day or month last year
- Budget or target
- The average of the last four weeks
The year-over-year comparison is especially valuable because it automatically accounts for seasonality. However, if your ERP data is split by year, this comparison gets harder; we explain the solutions in our post on merging fiscal-period databases.
Five principles that keep a dashboard in use
- A single source of truth. If the revenue on the dashboard differs from accounting's revenue figure, the dashboard loses trust. Numbers should come directly from the ERP, and their definitions should be written down (e.g. "revenue excluding VAT, net of returns").
- Drill-down. When you see "overdue receivables increased," you should be able to see which customer it is with one click or one question.
- Freshness information. The screen should show when the number was last updated.
- Threshold colors, used sparingly. Red should be used only for situations that truly need action; if everything is red, nothing is red.
- Mobile access. The morning check is often done on a phone; the dashboard must be readable on a small screen too.
The morning routine: what to do in five minutes
A dashboard only works when it is tied to a habit. A practical morning routine might look like this: first look at the cash row and check whether a shortfall is expected in the coming weeks. Then compare yesterday's sales with last year; if there is a clear deviation, ask the sales lead why. Decide which of the top five customers on the overdue receivables list will be called today. Finally, check whether there is a red flag in the stock and shipment rows. Each of these four steps should be tied to a person and an action; a metric that is glanced at and passed over eventually becomes a metric nobody looks at.
The concepts behind the metrics
Some metrics on the dashboard are topics in their own right. We go into detail on how to read overdue receivables in our post on the receivables aging report, and on how to forecast the cash metric in our post on the weekly cash flow forecast.
Dashboard preparation checklist
- The questions the manager asks each morning are written down
- Each metric is tied to a question and a decision
- Metric definitions (VAT, returns, exchange rates) are set in writing
- Every number has a comparison next to it
- Numbers have been checked against the accounting reports in the ERP for several months back
- Update frequency and time are clear
- The dashboard owner (the person who updates definitions) is clear
How we do it at Globya
We start a dashboard project by talking through the manager's questions, not the metrics. For companies using the common ERP and finance platforms on the market, led by Netsis and Logo, the ERP systems widely used in Türkiye, READERP comes ready with Cash, Receivables, Revenue, Stock, Payroll, Cash cycle and Confirmation views; it connects to the ERP read-only, never writes a single row and is installed the same day. When you're curious about a number on the dashboard, you can ask your question in Turkish. For metrics outside the ready-made views there are custom financial reports, and for more comprehensive dashboards fed by multiple systems our custom software service comes into play.
Frequently asked questions
How many metrics should a management dashboard have?
For most managers, 10-12 metrics on the first screen is enough. Anything more should be available on detail pages or through questions and answers.
How often should dashboard data be updated?
For the morning check, one update a day is usually enough. For fast-changing metrics such as cash and orders, more frequent updates during the day can be helpful.
What if a number on the dashboard doesn't match the accounting report?
Compare the definitions first: is VAT included, are returns deducted, which date is used. Most differences come from definitions; once these are written down, trust returns.
The Globya assistant is online 24/7; it answers right away and passes your question to the team if needed.