We’re living in the age of data. An explosion of data and information accessible from multiple platforms pretty much 24/7. Sometimes it can be intrusive, while other times it can’t come quick enough.
From a business perspective, there are now systems that now can extract all data from all systems used in your business, that then is securely held, cleaned, organised and then presented to you as useful information from which you can act.
Long gone are the days when only the big corporates could afford this type of information explosion at their fingertips. Now SME businesses are being drawn to systems and solutions that provide the ability to manage and organise mass volumes of transactional data that converts to meaningful and insightful information, providing owners and managers with a single source of the truth.
The information may not be what you want to see if performances haven’t quite hit expectations. All the same, it provides the ammunition needed for you then to forge a path forward, whether that be to continue the current course, or to realign, correct and reconfigure a new course of action.
Guesswork shouldn’t be part of any business discussions going forward any more. Instead, simple yet flexible reporting platforms are now available from which owners and managers can access and assess with confidence, what is going on in their business, and make informed decisions on how to react to that information going forward. It’s a game changer.
To have the ability to assess business performance on multiple levels or dimensions is an additional benefit of these systems. Instead of searching for a range of different reports that individually present one form of results and information, a user dashboard now brings that multi-dimensional view together at the touch of a button. Quick, simple and easy to use, yet powerful in its delivery.
In talking to a lot of owners and managers, one thing they lack is Time. There are never enough hours in the day to do everything they planned to do. Getting information about what is going on in the business, whether it be overall or in relation to a particular part of the business, can and often is constrained by Time. Management dashboards help alleviate this problem.
Copperfox have developed one of these dashboards, using Power BI and related data management systems. It provides users (usually owners and managers) with the ability to analyse business’s performance over time across multiple dimensions, e.g. by customer, supplier, product or service, geography, sales team, or even by project, all sourced from your accounting / ERP system.
The dashboard itself is customisable to your specific information requirements. As is the case with these types of systems, graphs, tables and reports can be set up to present the information how you want it, all with the ability to drill down to transaction detail. Some people are more attuned to visual displays of information rather than just a mix of numbers, lending more to the use of graphs and tables. Each to their own, all can be accommodated. Exception reports and variance analysis is also an important part of the makeup so that your focus is quickly drawn to the problem areas to be fixed.
Management Information Dashboards are quickly becoming an essential tool for owners and manager alike, to be able to make quick, informed decisions that benefit the business going forward. They are high quality analysis tools which don’t require a large investment, but do provide fantastic value for money.
Gone are the days where you can’t find the right report that gives you the information needed to then act on. This system gives you multiple views of how your business is or has been performing, all at your fingertips.
If you aren’t using one as part of your armoury to manage your business, maybe now’s the time to change that.