Every successful business strategy is built on hard numbers. You, the business owner, need to be monitoring the key numbers in each of your key result areas (KRAs), by tracking every key performance indicator (KPI), as well as a wide variety of other relevant metrics and stats.

The good news is that quantitative business tracking is a lot easier than it used to be. Bestselling business author Brian Tracy recommends using a business dashboard to monitor these stats and see where you need to make adjustments.

What is a business dashboard?

Put simply, a business dashboard is a file or software program that gives you a high-level up-to-date view of the most important numbers in your business. Think of it like the dashboard in your car except, instead of displaying your current fuel and battery levels, a business dashboard keeps you updated on key performance indicators (KPIs) like sales, profit margins and expenses. It tracks all these things in ways that are easy to see and understand. Making you more aware of trends and problems as soon as they start to take shape.

Why do you need a business dashboard?

The quantitative details on your business dashboard will help you see the patterns underlying the whirlwind of daily activity in your company, you will know exactly what needs to change, and by how much, to keep the company on track toward your long-term goals. Your dashboard will keep all these details in one place, where they’re easy to see, saving you the trouble of juggling them all in your head, all the while making sure you don’t forget any large-scale issues that need to be addressed. In short, a business dashboard can make all the difference between a messy operation and a tightly run business.

Where can you get a business dashboard?

Many large companies pay software developers to create customized dashboards for their leaders but you don’t have to go to that level. A simple Excel spreadsheet, with some formulas that pull key data from other spreadsheets and add up the results, can often serve as a very effective dashboard for small business owners. You might also look into an affordable accounting program, which will likely include specialized tools for analyzing sales trends and other key metrics.

How should you use your business dashboard?

Start by writing down a list of the most important factors in your business:

• Sales
• Deliveries
• Positive reviews,
• and any others that make a difference to you.

Arrange your dashboard so those metrics are easy to see and also include some other indicators, like sales calls and employee hours clocked, which might tip you off about a problem before it becomes serious. Keep your dashboard running on your computer at all times and check it at least once a day. You’ll soon start to pick up on trends that never would’ve been noticeable before but now they’ll be bright and clear.

Follow these business dashboard tips from Brian Tracy, and your business’s numbers will begin to reveal their secrets to you. Start with your key result areas (KRAs) and work outward from there. The patterns you see will help you grow your business and stay ahead of the competition.

A FocalPoint Business Coach can provide you with tips like these, along with others which you will find throughout the FocalPoint Business Coaching and Training website. Our professional global Business Coaches will assist with making your customers and employees into passionate supporters of your business. All it takes is a little kindness, and a lot of attention to detail. Contact a FocalPoint Business Coach today.