What is dashboard reporting in excel

An Excel Dashboard can be an amazing tool when it comes to tracking KPIs, comparing data points, and getting data-backed views that can help management make decisions.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to create an Excel dashboard, best practices to follow while creating one, features and tools you can use in Excel, things to avoid at all costs, and recommended training material.

What is an Excel Dashboard and how does it differ from a report?

Let’s first understand what is an Excel dashboard.

An Excel dashboard is one-pager (mostly, but not always necessary) that helps managers and business leaders in tracking key KPIs or metrics and take a decision based on it. It contains charts/tables/views that are backed by data.

A dashboard is often called a report, however, not all reports are dashboards.

Here is the difference:

• A report would only collect and show data in a single place. For example, if a manager wants to know how the sales have grown over the last period and which region were the most profitable, a report would not be able to answer it. It would simply report all the relevant sales data. These reports are then used to create dashboards (in Excel or PowerPoint) that will aid in decision making.
• A dashboard, on the other hand, would instantly answer important questions such which regions are performing better and which products should the management focus on. These dashboards could be static or interactive (where the user can make selections and change views and the data would dynamically update).

Now that we have an understanding of what a dashboard is, let’s dive in and learn how to create a dashboard in Excel.

How to Create an Excel Dashboard?

Creating an Excel Dashboard is a multi-step process and there are some key things you need to keep in mind when creating it.

Even before you launch Excel, you need to be clear about the objectives of the dashboard.

For example, if you’re creating a KPI dashboard to track financial KPIs of a company, your objective would be to show the comparison of the current period with the past period(s).

Similarly, if you’re creating a dashboard for Human Resources department to track the employee training, then the objective would be to show how many employees have been trained and how many needs to be trained to reach the target.

Things to Do Before You Even Start Creating an Excel Dashboard

A lot of people start working on the dashboard as soon as they get their hands on the data.

And in most cases, they bring upon them the misery of reworking on the dashboard as the client/stakeholder objectives are not met.

Below are some of the questions you must have answered before you start building an Excel Dashboard:

Q: What is the Purpose of the Dashboard?

The first thing to do as soon as you get the data (or even before getting the data), is to get clarity on what your stakeholder wants. Be clear on what purpose the dashboard needs to serve.

Is it to track KPIs just one time, or on a regular basis? Does it need to track the KPIs for the whole company or division-wise?. Asking the right questions would help you understand what data you need and how to design the dashboard.

Q: What are the data sources?

Always know where the data comes from and in what format. In one of my projects, the data was provided as PDF files in the Spanish language. This completely changed the scope and most of our time was sucked up in manually culling the data. Here are the questions you should ask: Who owns the data? In what format will you get the data? How frequently does the data update?

Q: Who will use this Excel Dashboard?

A manager would probably only be interested in the insights your dashboard provides, however, some data analysts in his team may need a more detailed view. Based on who uses your dashboard, you need to structure the data and the final output.

Q: How frequently does the Excel Dashboard need to be updated?

If your dashboards are to be updated weekly or monthly, you are better off creating a plug-and-play model (where you simply copy-paste the data and it would automatically update). If it’s a one-time exercise only, you can leave out some automation and do that manually.

Q: What version of Office does the client/stakeholder uses?

It’s better to not assume that the client/stakeholder has the latest version of MS Office. I once created a dashboard only to know that my stakeholder was using Excel 2003. This led to some rework as the IFERROR function doesn’t work in Excel 2003 version (which I had used extensively when creating the dashboard).

Getting the Data in Excel

Once you have a good idea of what you need to create, the next steps are to get your hands on the data and getting it in Excel.

Your life is easy when your client gives you Data in Excel, however, if that is not the case, you need to figure out an efficient way to get it in Excel.

If you’re supplied with CSV files or Text files, you can easily convert these in Excel. If you have access to a database that stores the data, you can create a connection and update it indirectly.

Once you have the data, you need to clean it and standardize it.

For example, you may need to get rid of leading, trailing, or double spaces, find and remove duplicates, remove blanks and errors, and so on.

In some cases, you may even need to restructure data (for example say you need to create a Pivot table).

These steps would depend on the project and how your data looks in Excel.

Outlining the Structure of the Dashboard

Once you have the data in Excel, you will know exactly what you can and can not use in your Excel dashboard.

At this stage, it’s a good idea to circle back with your stakeholders with an outline of the Excel dashboard.

As a best practice, I create a simple outline in PowerPoint along with additional notes. The purpose of this step is to make sure your stakeholder understands what kind of dashboard he/she can expect with the available data.

It also helps as the stakeholder may suggest changes that would add more value to him.

Here is an example of a sample outline I created for one of the KPI dashboards:

Once you have the outline worked out, it’s time to start creating the Excel dashboard.

As a best practice, divide your Excel workbook into three parts (these are the worksheets that I create with the same name):

• Data – This could be one or more than one worksheet that contain the raw data.
• Calculations – This is where you do all the calculations. Again, you may have one or more than one sheet for calculations.
• Dashboard – This is the sheet that has the dashboard. In most of the cases, it is a single page view that shows analysis/insights backed by data.

Excel Table – The Secret Sauce of an Efficient Excel Dashboard

The first thing I do with the raw data is to convert it into an Excel Table.

Excel Table offers many advantages that are crucial while creating an Excel dashboard.

To convert tabular data into an Excel table, select the data and go to the Insert tab and click on the Table icon.

Here are the benefits of using an Excel Table for your dashboard:

• When you convert a tabular data set into an Excel table, you don’t need to worry about data getting changed at a later stage. Even if you get additional data, you can simply add it to the table without worrying about the formulas getting screwed up. This is really helpful when I create plug-and-play dashboards.
• With an Excel Table, you can use the names of the columns instead of the reference. For example, instead is C2:C1000, you can use ‘Sales’.

Important Excel Functions for Dashboards

You can create a lot of good interactive Excel dashboards by just using Excel formulas.

When you make a selection from a drop-down list, or use a scroll bar or select a checkbox, there are formulas that update based on the results and give you the updated data/view in the dashboard.

Here are my top five Excel functions for Excel Dashboards:

• SUMPRODUCT Function: It’s my favorite function while creating an interactive Excel dashboard. It allows me to do complex calculations when there are many variables. For example, suppose I have a sales dashboard and I want to know what were the sales done by the rep Bob in the third quarter in the East region. I can simply create a SUMPRODUCT formula for this.
• INDEX/MATCH Function: I am a big proponent of using the combination of INDEX and MATCH formula for looking up data in Excel Dashboards. You can also use the VLOOKUP function, but I find INDEX/MATCH to be a better choice.
• IFERROR Function: When doing calculations on the raw data, you’ll often end up with errors. I use IFERROR extensively to hide errors in the dashboard (and many times in the raw data as well).
• TEXT Function: If you want to create dynamic headlines or titles, you need to use the TEXT function for it.
• ROWS/COLUMNS Function: I use these often when I have to copy a formula and one of the arguments needs to increment as we go down/right of the cell.

Things to keep in mind when working with formulas in an Excel Dashboard:

• Avoid using volatile formulas (such as OFFSET, NOW, TODAY, and so on..). These will slow down your workbook.
• Remove unnecessary formulas. If you have some additional formulas in the calculation sheet, remove these while finalizing the dashboard.
• Use helper columns as it may help you avoid long array formulas.

Interactive Tools to Make Your Excel Dashboard Awesome

There are many interactive tools that you can use to make your Excel dashboard dynamic and user-friendly.

Here are some of these I use regularly:

• Scroll Bars: Use scroll bars to save your workbook real estate. For example, if you have 100 rows of data, you can use a scrollbar with only 10 rows in the dashboard. A user can use the scroll bar if he/she wished to have a look at the entire data set.
• Check Boxes: CheckBoxes allow you to make selections and update the dashboard. For example, suppose I have a training dashboard and I am the company’s CEO, I would want to look at the overall company dashboard. But if I am the sales head, I would only want to look at the performance of my department. In such a case, you can create a dashboard with checkboxes for different divisions of the company.
• Drop Down List: A drop-down list allows a user to make an exclusive selection. You can use these drop-down selections to update the dashboard. For example, if you are showing data by department, you can have the department names in the drop-down.

Using Excel Charts to Visualize Data in an Excel Dashboard

Charts not only make your Excel dashboard visually appealing but also make it easy to consume and interpret.

Here are some tips while using charts in an Excel Dashboard:

• Select the right Chart: Excel gives you a lot of charting options and you need to use the right chart. For example, if you have to show a trend, you need to use a line chart, but if you want to highlight the actual values, a bar/column chart could be the right choice. While a lot of experts advise against using a pie chart, I would suggest you use your discretion. If your audience is used to seeing pie charts, you may as well use these.
• Use combination charts: I highly recommend using combination charts as these allow the user to compare values and draw meaning insights. For example, you can show the sales figure as a column chart and growth as a line chart.

• Use dynamic charts: If you want to allow the user to make selections and want the chart to update with it, use dynamic charts. Now a dynamic chart is nothing but a regular chart whose data updates in the back-end when you make selections.

• Use Sparklines to make your data more meaningful: If you have a lot of data in your dashboard/report, you can consider using Sparklines to make it visual. A sparkline is a tiny chart that resides in a cell and can be created using a data set. These are useful when you want to show a trend over time and at the same time save space on your dashboard. You can learn more about Excel Sparklines here.
• Use contrasting colors to highlight data: This is a generic charting tip where you should highlight data in a chart so it’s easy to understand. For example, if you have sales data, you can highlight the year with a lowest sales value in red.

You can browse through some of my charting tutorials here.

Also, if you want to get more advanced in Excel charting, I recommend you visit the blog by Excel charting expert Jon Peltier.

Excel Dashboards Do’s and Don’ts

Let’s first start with the Dont’s!

Here are some of the things I recommend you avoid while creating an Excel dashboard. Again these would vary based on your project and stakeholder but are valid in most of the cases.

• Don’t Clutter Your Dashboards: Just because you have data and charts doesn’t mean it should go in your dashboard. Remember the objective of the dashboard is to help identify a problem or aid in taking decisions. So keep it relevant and remove everything that doesn’t belong there. I often ask myself if something is just good to have to absolutely must-have. Then I go ahead and remove all the good-to-haves.
• Don’t use volatile formulas: As it will slow down the calculations.
• Don’t keep extra data in your workbook: If you need that data, create a copy of the dashboard and keep it as the backup.

Now let’s have a look at some Do’s (or best practices)

• Numbering your Charts/Section: Your dashboard is not just a random set of charts and data points. Instead, it’s a story where one thing leads to the other. You need to make sure your audience follows the steps in the right order, and therefore it’s best to number these. While you may be able to guide them when you’re presenting live, it’s a great help when someone uses your dashboard at a later stage or takes a print out of it.
• Restrict Movement in the dashboard area: Hide all rows/columns to make sure the user doesn’t accidentally scroll away.
• Freeze Important rows/column: Use freeze panes when you want some rows/columns to be always visible on the dashboard.
• Make Shapes/Charts Stick: Make sure your shapes/charts or interactive controls don’t hide or resize when someone hides/resizes the cells. You can also use the Excel Camera tool to take a snapshot of charts/tables and place it in the Excel dashboard (these images are dynamic and update when the back-end chart/table updates).
• Provide a User Guide: If you have a complex dashboard, it’s a good idea to create a separate worksheet and highlight the steps. It will help people use your dashboard even when you’re not there.
• Save Space with Combination Charts: Use combination charts (such as bullet charts, thermometer charts, and actual vs target charts) to save your worksheet space.
• Use Symbols & Conditional Formatting: Use symbols (such as up/down arrows or check-mark/cross-mark) and conditional formatting to add a layer of analysis to your dashboard (but don’t overdo it either).

Want to create professional dashboards in Excel? Check out the Online Excel Dashboard course where I show you everything about creating a world-class Excel Dashboard.

Dashboard Examples

Here are some cool Excel dashboard examples that you can download and play with.

Excel KPI Dashboard

You can use this dashboard to track KPIs of various companies and then use bullet charts to deep dive into the individual company’s performance.

Click here to download this KPI Dashboard.

If you’re interested in learning how to create this KPI dashboard – click here.

Call Center Performance Dashboard

You can use this dashboard to track key KPIs of a call center. From this dashboard, you can learn how to create combination charts, how to highlight specific data points in charts, how to sort using radio buttons, etc.

Click here to download the dashboard.

You can read more about this dashboard here.

EPL Season visualized in an Excel Dashboard

In this dashboard, you will learn how to use VBA in Excel dashboards. In this dashboard, the details of the games update when you double click on the cells on the left. It also uses VBA to show a help menu to guide the user in using this dashboard.

Click here to download the EPL dashboard.

You can read more about this dashboard here.

Recommended Dashboard Training

If want to learn how to create world-class professional dashboards in Excel, check out my FREE Online Excel Dashboard Course.

Other articles you may also like:

• 20 Advanced Excel Functions and Formulas (for Excel Pros)

A dashboard is a visual representation of key metrics that allow you to quickly view and analyze your data in one place. Dashboards not only provide consolidated data views, but a self-service business intelligence opportunity, where users are able to filter the data to display just what’s important to them. In the past, Excel reporting often required you to generate multiple reports for different people or departments depending on their needs.

Overview

In this topic, we’ll discuss how to use multiple PivotTables, PivotCharts and PivotTable tools to create a dynamic dashboard. Then we’ll give users the ability to quickly filter the data the way they want with Slicers and a Timeline, which allow your PivotTables and charts to automatically expand and contract to display only the information that users want to see. In addition, you can quickly refresh your dashboard when you add or update data. This makes it very handy because you only need to create the dashboard report once.

For this example, we’re going to create four PivotTables and charts from a single data source.

Once your dashboard is created, we’ll show you how to share it with people by creating a Microsoft Group. We also have an interactive Excel workbook that you can download and follow these steps on your own.

Download the Excel Dashboard tutorial workbook.

Get your data

1. You can copy and paste data directly into Excel, or you can set up a query from a data source. For this topic, we used the Sales Analysis query from the Northwind Traders template for Microsoft Access. If you want to use it, you can open Access and go to File > New > Search for «Northwind» and create the template database. Once you’ve done that you’ll be able to access any of the queries included in the template. We’ve already put this data into the Excel workbook for you, so there’s no need to worry if you don’t have Access.

2. Verify your data is structured properly, with no missing rows or columns. Each row should represent an individual record or item. For help with setting up a query, or if your data needs to be manipulated, see Get & Transform in Excel.

   

3. If it’s not already, format your data as an Excel Table. When you import from Access, the data will automatically be imported to a table.

Create PivotTables

1. Select any cell within your data range, and go to Insert > PivotTable > New Worksheet. See Create a PivotTable to analyze worksheet data for more details.

2. Add the PivotTable fields that you want, then format as desired. This PivotTable will be the basis for others, so you should spend some time making any necessary adjustments to style, report layout and general formatting now so you don’t have to do it multiple times. For more details, see: Design the layout and format of a PivotTable.

   In this case, we created a top-level summary of sales by product category, and sorted by the Sales field in descending order.

   

   See Sort data in a PivotTable or PivotChart for more details.

3. Once you’ve created your master PivotTable, select it, then copy and paste it as many times as necessary to empty areas in the worksheet. For our example, these PivotTables can change rows, but not columns so we placed them on the same row with a blank column in between each one. However, you might find that you need to place your PivotTables beneath each other if they can expand columns.

   Important: PivotTables can’t overlap one another, so make sure that your design will allow enough space between them to allow for them to expand and contract as values are filtered, added or removed.

   At this point you might want to give your PivotTables meaningful names, so you know what they do. Otherwise, Excel will name them PivotTable1, PivotTable2 and so on. You can select each one, then go to PivotTable Tools > Analyze > enter a new name in the PivotTable Name box. This will be important when it comes time to connect your PivotTables to Slicers and Timeline controls.

   

Create PivotCharts

1. Click anywhere in the first PivotTable and go to PivotTable Tools > Analyze > PivotChart > select a chart type. We chose a Combo chart with Sales as a Clustered Column chart, and % Total as a Line chart plotted on the Secondary axis.

   

2. Select the chart, then size and format as desired from the PivotChart Tools tab. For more details see our series on Formatting charts.

3. Repeat for each of the remaining PivotTables.

4. Now is a good time to rename your PivotCharts too. Go to PivotChart Tools > Analyze > enter a new name in the Chart Name box.

Add Slicers and a Timeline

Slicers and Timelines allow you to quickly filter your PivotTables and PivotCharts, so you can see just the information that’s meaningful to you.

1. Select any PivotTable and go to PivotTable Tools > Analyze > Filter > Insert Slicer, then check each item you want to use for a slicer. For this dashboard, we selected Category, Product Name, Employee and Customer Name. When you click OK, the slicers will be added to the middle of the screen, stacked on top of each other, so you’ll need to arrange and resize them as necessary.

   

2. Slicer Options – If you click on any slicer, you can go to Slicer Tools > Options and select various options, like Style and how many columns are displayed. You can align multiple slicers by selecting them with Ctrl+Left-click, then use the Align tools on the Slicer Tools tab.

3. Slicer Connections — Slicers will only be connected to the PivotTable you used to create them, so you need to select each Slicer then go to Slicer Tools > Options > Report Connections and check which PivotTables you want connected to each. Slicers and Timelines can control PivotTables on any worksheet, even if the worksheet is hidden.

   

4. Add a Timeline – Select any PivotTable and go to PivotTable Tools > Analyze > Filter > Insert Timeline, then check each item you want to use. For this dashboard, we selected Order Date.

5. Timeline Options – Click on the Timeline, and go to Timeline Tools > Options and select options like Style, Header and Caption. Select the Report Connections option to link the timeline to the PivotTables of your choice.

Learn more about Slicers and Timeline controls.

Next steps

Your dashboard is now functionally complete, but you probably still need to arrange it the way you want and make final adjustments. For instance, you might want to add a report title, or a background. For our dashboard, we added shapes around the PivotTables and turned off Headings and Gridlines from the View tab.

Make sure to test each of your slicers and timelines to make sure that your PivotTables and PivotCharts behave appropriately. You may find situations where certain selections cause issues if one PivotTable wants to adjust and overlap another, which it can’t do and will display an error message. These issues should be corrected before you distribute your dashboard.

Once you’re done setting up your dashboard, you can click the “Share a Dashboard” tab at the top of this topic to learn how to distribute it.

Congratulations on creating your dashboard! In this step we’ll show you how to set up a Microsoft Group to share your dashboard. What we’re going to do is pin your dashboard to the top of your group’s document library in SharePoint, so your users can easily access it at any time.

Store your dashboard in the group

If you haven’t already saved your dashboard workbook in the group you’ll want to move it there. If it’s already in the group’s files library then you can skip this step.

1. Go to your group in either Outlook 2016 or Outlook on the web.

2. Click Files in the ribbon to access the group’s document library.

3. Click the Upload button on the ribbon and upload your dashboard workbook to the document library.

Add it to your group’s SharePoint Online team site

1. If you accessed the document library from Outlook 2016, click Home on the navigation pane on the left. If you accessed the document library from Outlook on the web, click More > Site from the right end of the ribbon.

2. Click Documents from the navigation pane at the left.

3. Find your dashboard workbook and click the selection circle just to the left of its name.

4. When you have the dashboard workbook selected, choose Pin to top on the ribbon.

Now whenever your users come to the Documents page of your SharePoint Online team site your dashboard worksheet will be right there at the top. They can click on it and easily access the current version of the dashboard.

Tip: Your users can also access your group document library, including your dashboard workbook, via the Outlook Groups mobile app.

See also

• What is SharePoint?

• Learn about Microsoft 365 groups

Got questions we didn’t answer here?

Visit the Microsoft Answers Community.

We’re listening!

This article was last reviewed by Ben and Chris on March 16th, 2017 as a result of your feedback. If you found it helpful, and especially if you didn’t, please use the feedback controls below and leave us some constructive feedback, so we can continue to make it better. Thanks!

Excel has always been one of the main go-to tools for executives who are looking to create spreadsheets in which they can gather data and track how their projects are progressing.

However, as helpful as spreadsheets can be, they are essentially just a compilation of different numbers and information.

To make sense of these numbers, it’s much more practical to use Excel Dashboards.

Excel dashboards are one of the best ways to track KPIs and key metrics, compare data points, and provide shareholders with an overview of data-backed information that will help them make everyday decisions.

In this guide, we will show you how to create a comprehensive Excel dashboard (both in the native tool and Databox), some things you should keep in mind when building one, best practices, Excel dashboard use cases, and much more.

Let’s dive in.

• What is an Excel Dashboard?
• 4 Considerations to Have in Mind Before Building an Excel Dashboard
• How to Create an Excel Dashboard from Scratch? 8 Steps
• Excel Dashboards Do’s and Don’ts
• Limitations of an Excel Dashboard
• Benefits of Using Excel with Databox
• How to Create a Dashboard in Excel that Updates Automatically? Use Databox
• Create Effortless Excel Reporting Dashboards with Databox

What is an Excel Dashboard?

Before we move on to the actual creation process, it’s important that you understand exactly what is a dashboard in Excel.

Excel dashboards are visual portrayals of data. They provide a complete overview of large amounts of data, which means you can use them to quickly pull out and check a specific metric or KPI.

This is immensely important in situations where time is of the essence and you need to make some urgent decisions – going through large volumes of information simply isn’t an option.

There is also the ‘aesthetic’ component.

Let’s face it, there is nothing pleasant about looking at raw data. Of course, there is plenty of important information included, but with hundreds of different rows and columns, understanding the data becomes mission impossible.

Excel dashboards do a tremendous job of transforming this dry data into meaningful insights through the use of visualization tools like charts, tables, or other interesting elements.

Nowadays, dashboards can be ‘hired’ for a number of different jobs and companies use them for better budgeting, project management, marketing, sales reporting, and more. 

The three most commonly used Excel dashboards are Strategic dashboards, Analytical dashboards, and Operational dashboards.

In summary, Excel dashboards are a great way to make sense of extensive data and present it in an understandable way to the highest-ranking members of the company.

4 Considerations to Have in Mind before Building an Excel Dashboard

Creating an Excel reporting dashboard is much more than following a series of steps, it also involves a certain amount of planning and research.

Here are the four main things you have to consider before you start building your Excel dashboard.

• The Purpose of the Dashboard
• The Most Important KPIs
• The Audience
• The Format

The Purpose of the Dashboard

First of all, you need to determine the purpose of your dashboard.

Will it be for a specific task, like monitoring the progress of a project, or do you want to achieve some sort of a bigger goal, such as tracking a department’s performance?

Knowing exactly what you want to achieve with the dashboard will directly make the data gathering and design process a whole lot easier.

The Most Important KPIs

Your Excel dashboard should revolve around only the most important KPIs.

Take some time to filter out the data that adds the most value and make sure you understand the KPIs you will be including.

A common practice is to use around 10 KPIs in the dashboard. While there might be a dozen more useful metrics, you won’t need all of them, so be thorough when categorizing the data.

The Audience

What you include in the dashboard and the way in which you include will depend a lot on the audience.

Will the dashboard mainly be used by your colleagues, key stakeholders, investors, or highest-level executives?

Each one of them has a different preference when it comes to digesting information, which will hugely influence the way you create the dashboard.

Related: Reporting Strategy for Multiple Audiences: 6 Tips for Getting Started

The Format

Will a static dashboard be enough to do the trick, or will you need an automated Excel dashboard?

Using the wrong format for your dashboard can be a costly mistake, especially if you create a static dashboard and it turns out that your stakeholders want the data updated as soon as any real-time changes occur.

Okay, so now you know what an Excel dashboard is and you have done proper planning regarding the audience, KPIs, and the overall goal of your dashboard.

Time to show you how to create a dashboard in Excel.

Here are the steps you have to follow.

1. Create a Proper Layout for Your Excel Dashboard
2. Import Data into Excel
3. Create a Table with Raw Data
4. Clean and Filter the Data
5. Analyze Your Data
6. Build the Excel Dashboard
7. Create a Dashboard Scorecard
8. Customize with Macros, Colors, and More

1. Create a Proper Layout for Your Excel Dashboard

Creating a layout to determine what your Excel dashboard will look like is much more effective than improvising each step along the way.

Some of you might be used to using a pen and paper for drawing out layouts, but we recommend Microsoft Excel – after all, you will be using it the whole time.

To create a logical structure, you can take advantage of Excel Workbook.

There are plenty of worksheets available, but you only need these three:

• Data – Used for storing tables of raw data
• Dashboard tab – This is the sheet that includes the main dashboard. Most commonly, it’s a single-page view that displays data-based insights.
• Calculation – The worksheet used for making calculations.

An additional piece of advice – spare some time to create an outline in PowerPoint (or another presentation tool) that you can show your stakeholders or executives, and ask them about their opinions.

This way, you will know exactly what they are looking for and you can create a dashboard that brings them the most value.

Here is an example of what a proper layout should look like:

2. Import Data into Excel

To create an Excel data dashboard, you first need, well, the data.

You can import data into excel by either copying and pasting it directly, or using the external data sources.

Click on the ‘Data’ tab and choose one of the available import options. Everything is pretty simple and straightforward.

In this picture, we chose the Text/CSV option to create the starting dataset.

3. Create a Table with Raw Data

Go to the ‘Raw Data’ tab, you have the option to either copy-paste your data or import it directly from an external source.

For an easier overview, use a tabular format so each data point is stored in an individual cell.

In the picture below, we used columns like Project Name, Start Date/End Date, Duration, Number of Team Members, Project/Actual Budget, Risks, and Pending Actions.

To add up all the values in a column, you can use one of Excel’s formulas.

For instance, we used the Project Budget column, clicked on the last empty cell, and typed in =SUM – this automatically calculates the cells you choose.

4. Clean and Filter the Data

This part will probably require the most time, so we will explain everything gradually.

Let’s start with cleaning the data.

There are plenty of different ways you can do it, but here are some of the main things you should do:

• Filter the data by separating ‘Extremes’ and ‘Peaks’
• Make sure there aren’t any duplicates
• Remove data that you think is irrelevant
• Use lower, upper, and proper case text
• Eliminate the leading and trailing spaces

Duplicates usually cause the most problems, so here is how you can remove them:

If you don’t know how to eliminate the leading and trailing space, you can do it by going to the Formula tab and using the TRIM function.

Next, copy the formula and use data cleansing tools to make sure there aren’t any errors.

Okay, so that does it for the cleaning part and we can move on to the filtering.

Once you have your data in an Excel worksheet, you should use the tabular format to make the filtering easier. Each data point should be stored in a separate cell (city name, address, phone number, etc.).

Then, convert the tabular format into an Excel table and select a specific data range. To do this, go to ‘Insert Tab’ and click ‘Table’.

5. Analyze Your Data

Now that you have your data organized in a table, it’s time to take a step back and observe it.

What should you highlight? Is there anything you need to remove? Do you need to display all the data?

Answer these questions based on the story you are trying to communicate to the readers of the dashboard.

To analyze the data, there is a variety of different methods and Excel formulas that you can use.

Here are some examples:

• Pivot tables
• Data validation
• Auto-shapes
• Charts
• Conditional formatting
• Macros

As for the Excel functions, some of the important ones are XLOOKUP, SUMIF, COUNTIF, NAME MANAGER, ROW, OFFSET, COUNT, and VLOOKUP.

If this all seems far too confusing, don’t worry, it’s actually easier than it seems. Once you determine the purpose of your dashboard, you’ll know which methods will work best for the analysis process.

6. Build the Excel Dashboard

The final stop – building the Excel dashboard!

Let’s go through the features you’ll need.

How to Add a Gantt Chart

The Gantt chart is used for visually displaying the timeline of your project.

To create this chart, press ‘Insert’ in the main Dashboard sheet.

Next, click the bar chart icon in the ‘Charts’ tab and choose the second option.

Lastly, connect the bar chart to columns like Project Name, Start Date, and Duration.

This is what a Gantt chart looks like:

How to Create and Format Charts

In case you need some other type of chart, you can find them in the ‘Insert’ tab as well.

We will use a column chart as an example.

Firstly, press ‘Select Data’ after right-clicking the chart.

Choose the ‘Add in Legend Entries’ option. You can choose the title of the columns in the ‘Series name’ field, and the data in the ‘Series values’ field.

In most cases, the X-axis won’t be labeled properly. You can fix this by going to the ‘Horizontal Axis Labels’ tab and clicking ‘Edit’.

For formatting, you should click on the ‘Design’ tab.

Here you can add a title by following Add Chart Element > Chart Title > Above Chart.

That’s it! Here is an example of what the chart should look like:

How to Insert Pivot Tables

Pivot tables are one of the best ways to single out the crucial metrics and highlight them.

To create a pivot table, open the ‘Insert’ tab once again and choose ‘Pivot Table’.

Click the last icon in the ‘Table/Range’ field and select the entire data table.

On the right, you will see a ‘Pivot Table Field List’ in which you can choose which data subsets you want to include in the pivot table.

If you use Excel a lot, you probably also use Google Sheets. And if you handle large amounts of data, you probably use Pivot tables quite often. Here is a useful guide we have created on building and using Pivot tables in Google Sheets.

7. Create a Dashboard Scorecard

Before you turn off your laptop and start celebrating, there are still a few more components your Excel metrics dashboard needs.

One of them is a Scorecard.

For a scorecard, you will need to combine Label, Actual value, Annual trendline, and Variance.

Since you will probably need the extra space, you can merge the cells together by clicking on the ‘Merge cells’ button.

Next, connect the label name that is included in the ‘Data’ sheet.

Do the same with the data, and link it from the ‘Data’ sheet to the ‘Dashboard’ sheet.

Now, open the formula tab, type in an equal sign, and select the ‘Data’ sheet value. To create a trendline, you can use the yearly data and add a line chart.

There is a trick you can use to highlight the variance – open the ‘Calculation’ tab and choose a helper table.

Here, you should set up the new conditional formatting rules.

Choose a cell that includes variance and copy it. Go to the main ‘Dashboard’ sheet and select ‘Paste Special’ after right-clicking.

Then, press ‘Paste as Linked Picture’.

Here is a picture in case you get lost:

Lastly, adding dynamic texts to the main sheet is great for updating the key metrics once a change occurs.

By connecting a text to an object within the Excel dashboard, every time you change the value in the external source, the target cell will display it.

This is a great feature and you can incorporate it for different charts and textboxes.

8. Customize with Macros, Colors, and More

Now the fun part!

By now, you should have all of the elements laid out, so the only thing left to do is customize the design, colors, and overall typography.

How to Customize Chart Colors and Font

You can change the color in any part of the chart.

Simply select the specific part and choose which color you want it to be through the ‘Font’ tab.

To set the background color, you should right-click the chart and press ‘Format Chart’. Choose ‘Solid Fill’ and pick out a color you think is fitting.

In case you want to change the title, you can do so by clicking on it and selecting the font size, color, and type.

How to Create a Dynamic Excel Chart

In case you were wondering how to build interactive excel dashboards, this part will interest you.

There are a couple of different methods to add interactivity.

Let’s start with a drop-down list (aka data validation).

The drop-down list can be a great method if you are a bit more experienced with Excel and know how the different formulas work (especially VLOOKUP).

By integrating drop-down lists, the audience can choose specific criteria to filter out, while the chart will automatically update based on that criteria.

The next method is Macros.

To use macros, you will need to know your way around Visual Basic (Excel’s coding language). This means that there is no manual automation involved, the macro takes care of the entire process if you write it properly.

Macros can also be used for developing dashboard buttons – once you click on them and select criteria, the charts will automatically update to reflect it.

Lastly, we want to mention Slicers.

Slicers essentially provide you with an additional layer to filter out your pivot table. You can take advantage of a variety of different visual filters and complete the filtering in just a few clicks.

Also, there are specific buttons that allow you to see which filter you are viewing and then use it to segment the data.

Once you set up a pivot table and place the slicer next to the chart, you can select some of the different buttons to see how the chart changes interactively.

Excel Dashboards Do’s and Don’ts

Building a business dashboard Excel is a hefty process and there are dozens of different things you have to keep an eye on.

This can get very tiresome and it’s not impossible to suddenly lose track of something important.

To help you out, we have prepared a clear overview of the dos and don’ts of Excel dashboards.

Here are some of the best practices:

• Keep things simple – Remember, keeping your dashboard simple and understandable is much more important than making it look ‘nice’. The 3D effects, additional shapes, or any other over-the-top elements might seem tempting, but they will often have a counter-effect on the readers.
• Use alerts for important data – Alerts are a great way to highlight specific parts of the dashboard and remind your readers of the most important information.
• Add different tabs – To organize your dashboard, we recommend using different tabs for showcasing different things.
• Freeze panes are useful – For larger excel data dashboards, you can use freeze panes to make navigation easier. This feature basically freezes the rows so the audience can see the entire dashboard in one view, without having to scroll through it.

Now, let’s check out the don’ts:

• Going overboard with colors – While you might think that a wide range of colors will impress the readers, you should be careful not to go overboard with it. A dashboard should include mostly ‘neutral’ colors so the focus stays on the information, bright colors should only be used when you want to highlight something really important.
• Including too much data – We already mentioned this at the beginning, you should filter out the most important data and avoid including unnecessary information in the dashboard. By providing your readers with a crowded dashboard, you will only end up confusing them, which means you won’t be able to convey your main message.

Excel Dashboard Limitations

There is no doubt that Excel can still come in handy when it comes to data organization, after all, it has been one of the most useful tools for SMB businesses for decades.

However, there are quite a few limitations to Excel, and with new project management tools constantly developing, the difference has become extremely noticeable.

Here are some of the limitations of Excel dashboards.

• Manual Data Feeding
• Human Errors Are Common
• Limited Integrations

Manual Data Feeding

While you might have had the chance to see some exceptional Excel dashboards at some point, did you ever stop and wonder how long the creation process took?

Sure, the layout is clean and well-organized, and there are some impressive data sets and charts.

But what you don’t know is that the person who created that dashboard lost both his nerves and an immense amount of time during the process.

This is because Excel dashboards require too much manual data feeding.

Human Errors Are Common

As your company evolves, the amount of data you have to deal with immensely increases.

In most cases, an abundance of data is bound to cause human errors.

This can be anything from a simple typo to a mistake in the formula, and while the error might look insignificant, you’ll see how important it is when it changes the whole concept of your dashboard.

Limited Integrations

Integration is a big part of effective dashboards, by connecting with other apps you can easily multitask and get a lot of work done in one place.

This isn’t the case with Excel since the integration abilities are limited, to say the least.

So why even bother creating a dashboard in Excel when there are business dashboard software and tools that make the process immensely easier?

Take Databox for example.

Creating a dashboard in Databox can literally be done with just a few clicks, and something that you might spend hours on in Excel can be done in a matter of minutes.

Benefits of Using Excel with Databox

As we said, Excel is still regarded as a useful tool when it comes to certain activities such as tracking your budget or staying on top of the sales pipeline.

But why not add some superpowers to it?

We are talking about using Databox’s dashboard software with Excel.

Naturally, you might have some doubts, but reading these benefits could help change your mind.

Financial Reporting

If you already have Excel spreadsheets to track your budget and overall finances, you can connect them to Databox to create a comprehensive dashboard for each financial goal.

Not only will you save up a lot of valuable time, but you will also gain access to some advanced visualization tools that you can use to showcase specific trends and make sure your audience understands the overall analysis.

Sales Performance 

Tracking sales pipeline performance, leads, and sales rep efficiency in Excel can only go so far.

These metrics are extremely valuable and not only to your sales team, so why not scale the way you track them if you can?

Databox sales performance reports can help your entire team stay on top of the sales metrics that matter most and make all the dry numbers a lot more understandable.

Inventory Management

For the longest time, Excel has been one of the cornerstones when it came to managing inventory data. But while it can get the job done, it doesn’t offer a lot of flexibility.

That’s not the case with Databox.

With our management tool, you can create cross-functional inventory reports and build dashboards from multiple different sources.

How to Create a Dashboard in Excel that Updates Automatically? Use Databox

Excel automated dashboards are essentially an upgraded version of static dashboards – you can use them to reflect any real-time changes as soon as they occur.

So if you were wondering how to create a dashboard in Excel that updates automatically – the answer is Databox.

Here is how you can do it.

• Import your Excel workbook into Databox
• Create custom metrics
• Build a dashboard

Import your Excel workbook into Databox 

In your Databox account, open up the Data Manager.

Press ‘New Connections’ and select Excel, you will see three different options – Google Drive, One Drive, and Dropbox.

Make sure that the Excel workbook copy you want to connect is already within one of these options and then simply select the specific option.

Create custom metrics 

To create a custom metric, you’ll need to use the Excel Wizard tool.

Select ‘Metrics’ in the left corner and click on ‘Add Metric’.

Next, choose your Excel spreadsheet by clicking on ‘Browse by data source’.

This screen should appear:

Go to the box that has the ‘+’ sign below custom metrics, this will take you to the data verification process.

If everything is the way it should be, just press ‘Continue’.

Time to build your first custom metric.

Firstly, choose the value you want to measure and click ‘Continue’.

You can now customize your metric even further by adding a Dimension (e.g. Region, Industry, and Segment). This option allows you to categorize the metrics in any way you deem fit.

After selecting the date range, press ‘Continue’ to proceed to the final setup screen.

This is the place where you can set up the name of the metric, choose how the data will be showcased, pick a data range, and select the type of visualization you want.

In case you want to create the custom metric through the Databox Query Builder, you can do so by selecting the ‘Switch to Manual Setup’ button in the Wizard setup screen.

Build a dashboard 

Finally, time to build the dashboard.

This step requires using the Dashboard Designer. You can drag, drop, and move any metric you want to include in the dashboard and avoid searching for the numbers you need in a sea of data.

By connecting your Excel sheets to Databox, all the numbers will be accurately showcased and you won’t need to waste time on any type of manual work.

To start the design process, go to ‘Databoards’ on the left side of the navigation bar and click ‘New Databoard’.

This is the place where you will be dropping your crucial Excel metrics.

In here:

You can set and visualize goals here like this:

Also, you can alter the data ranges and compare them to the historical ranges by clicking the arrow right next to the data range.

Databox has a wide variety of visualization options, so choosing the right one for your specific metric will be a piece of cake.

Create Effortless Excel Reporting Dashboards with Databox

For the longest time, Excel has been one of the best tools for SMB businesses looking to build comprehensive dashboards and make sense of their data.

Even today, there are lots of companies that still integrate Excel and use it for developing different spreadsheets and dashboards.

However, when compared to modern business dashboard tools, we realize that Excel doesn’t cut it anymore.

With limitations like manual data feeding, frequent human errors, lack of integration options, and the fact that creating Excel dashboards can take hours (if not days), it’s simply not worth going through all the hassle anymore.

Luckily, it is still possible to create effortless Excel reporting dashboards – you just need a bit of help from Databox.

While Excel has the ability to manage and analyze large data sets, it doesn’t really do a remarkable job at visualizing that data.

Databox offers an effective solution to this.

By integrating your Excel spreadsheets with Databox, you can create powerful and comprehensive dashboards that your entire team can easily understand and share with other company members.

We have some of the most cutting-edge visualization tools in the industry – using our graphs and charts will make your data come to life and transform dry numbers into compelling stories.

Another benefit of this integration is that you will be able to do much more with your Excel data, which even includes creating your own custom metrics.

Currently, Excel is available only on our Professional and Performer plans and you can test out the integration during our free 15-day trial.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up here for the free trial and take your dashboard reporting in Excel to the next level.  

This tutorial is suitable for individuals who generate reports for complex data processes using Ms. Excel charts, Gantt charts, Pivot tables among other tools.

What is excel dashboard?

A dashboard tracks metrics, data points, and KPIs in a single central place. It provides a quick visual status update of your projects and important details in one place. Using a dashboard, you can manage and communicate more with your team members.

Sometimes dashboards can act as a progress report for a particular business process. It enables the manager to monitor the performance of each individual in a department and know how the organization is performing.

The Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a tool used to measure how effectively the company achieves its key business objectives.

Companies use KPI to evaluate their performance in achieving the set targets. They demonstrate how individuals, departments, and organizations are achieving the business objectives. They are evaluated after a specific set time parameter and the results are compared with past performance metrics.

• Provides you with a high-level view of your work enabling you to make informed decisions.
• Helps you keep up to date data on organizational performance
• Helps in simplifying complex data processes.
• Provides at-a-glance view of the organization’s current status or performance in real-time.
• Provides you with a detailed report on new trends

• Helps you align organizational goals and strategies

A dashboards cab be a chart, table, or numbers. You can create a financial dashboard, a marketing dashboard or project dashboard making them suitable for any application.

Factors to consider before creating a dashboard

Before creating a dashboard, ask yourself the following questions;

• Why do you need the dashboard? You need to know the reasons for creating the dashboard in order to come up with the right design and the kind of data needed.
• Do you need to track a certain KPIs with the dashboard? You need data that adds value to your organization. Know the Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and build your dashboard around this metric.
• Where to get the data from? Whether to automatically sync data from the company’s database or manually import data.
  
• Who needs to use the dashboard? You need to know the people who will rely on dashboard data, how is their intelligent level and how much time do they have accessing the dashboard.
• How often do you need to update the dashboard? Does your dashboard need to be updated in real-time or after a week? Your dashboard design is directly proportional to the frequency of updates done
• What is your dashboard format? Based on the needs of your dashboard, you can choose to create a static or dynamic dashboard.

How to create dashboards

1. Create your table. You can import data, copy-paste or enter manually.

2. After adding the data, analyze it to find out which part of the data needs to be highlighted. What is the purpose of the dashboard?

Once you state your purpose, the following tools can be used to analyze data;

• Charts
• Gantt chart
• Pivot tables
• Excel formulas
• Excel tables
• Macros
• Data Validation
• Conditional formatting etc.

Creating dashboard using charts

1. Create the following table

2. Open a new sheet and rename it «Dashboard».

3. Click Insert menu. In the charts section tab, click insert columns chart to create a column chart.

4. After inserting the chart, right-click on the chart area and choose Select Data

5. A dialog box opens to allow you to select the chart data range

6. Click ok.

7. Double click on the chart title to add your project title.

Example 2: Creating dashboard using Gantt chart

Create the following table on a new sheet. Rename the sheet as «Project Data».

1. Open a new sheet to insert the dashboard. Rename it to «Gantt chart»

2. Click Insert menu. In the Charts section tab, click on the bar chart then choose any of the available options.

3. Right-click on the chart and click on Select Data

4. Add the Chart data range: Click on the Project Data sheet and select the cells with the project name and start date.

5. On legend entries, click on Add tab

6. On the series name, click on Project datasheet then select cell D2. On series Value, select the range of cells for the duration of each project.

7. Click OK.

8. If the X-axis is not well labeled, you can adjust the horizontal category axis in your project datasheet. You should always select what you want to be displayed on the X-axis. Then click OK to display the Gantt chart.

9. Add chart title by clicking on Design Menu and on chart layouts tab, click Add Chart Element the select chart title.

10. Type your title.

Мы расскажем о дашбордах в Excel. Для чего они применяются, дадим пошаговую инструкцию, как построить программу.

Дашборд в Эксель

Дашборд представляет собой интерактивную панель приборов, объединяющую таблицы и слайды, управляя которыми пользователь структурирует данные. Интерактивность заключается в возможности выбора органа управления, позволяющего изменить выводимые данные.

Функции дашборда:

• контроль показателей бизнеса;
• объединение данных из различных источников;
• наглядное и понятное предоставление информации;
• поиск взаимосвязей;
• выявление положительных и негативных тенденций;
• нахождение слабых мест в организации рабочих процессов;

Вообще дашборд может быть составлен не только по показателям работы компании, но и на другие темы, в которых присутствуют количественные данные. Это могут быть практически любые сферы: медицина и здравоохранение, спорт, история, безопасность, экология и т. д.

С его помощью можно подробно изучить показатели, не разбираясь в путанице аналитических выгрузок. Пользование им не требует специальных навыков и знаний.

По своей сути – это такая же техническая компетенция, как, например, построение формул в Excel.

Примеры популярных дашбордов:

• Яндекс Метрика. Показывает изменения посещаемости сайта поминутно, информирует откуда пришли пользователи, как долго они оставались на сайте.
• Google Analytics. Показывает, изменения посещаемости сайта поминутно и откуда на сайт пришли пользователи.

MS Excel является основным инструментом для создания дашбордов. Он популярен благодаря своей доступности, функциональности, простоте и относительной дешевизне.

Excel dashboard бывают разных видов, но чаще всего они применяются в сочетании друг с другом.

Виды:

• Операционный, отображающий изменения показателей бизнеса.
• Аналитический, с помощью которого можно делать выводы, фиксировать отклонения показателей, искать причины изменений.
• Стратегический, позволяющий строить прогнозы, выявлять и исправлять проблемы.
• Информационный. Используется только для отображения цифр, фактов и / или статистики. Может быть статическим или динамическим с живыми данными.

Как это помогает бизнесу

Для того, чтобы добиться в бизнесе постоянного роста, необходимо проводить качественный анализ его показателей, на постоянной основе.

Почему это важно использовать дашборд для бизнеса:

• Вы сможете отслеживать операционную деятельность компании, находить в ней проблемные зоны и получать инсайты на основе реальных измерений.
• Отчетность будет понятной и наглядной для всех специалистов и проводить обсуждение показателей и направлений развития дальнейшей деятельности будет проще.
• Тут будут собраны самые главные результаты в одном месте, в удобной форме.
• Грамотная визуализация не только упростит восприятие информации, но и повысит к ней доверие.
• При этом нет необходимости устанавливать дополнительные программы.

Кому этот инструмент нужен в работе 

Дашбордом нужно уметь пользоваться специалистам разных направлений:

• Маркетологам – для оценки эффективности рекламных компаний, изучения реакции на продукт, определения направлений развития бизнеса.
• HR-специалистам – для отслеживания основных показателей, связанных с трудовыми ресурсами, текучести персонала, уровня заработной платы.
• Менеджерам по продажам – для управления товарооборотом, определения структуры продаж, лидирующих и отстающих продуктов, расчета средних показателей.
• Финансистам – для анализа денежных потоков, прогнозирования денежных поступлений.
• Руководителю – чтобы всегда иметь под рукой оперативную сводку показателей компании, для контроля за бизнес-планом, показателями прибыли, доходов, расходов.

Чаще всего в своей работе занимаются построением дашбордов бизнес-аналитики.

Отличия от инфографики

Инфографика и дашборд в эксель – это два способа визуализации информации, но они различны по своему содержанию.

• Инфографика представляет собой удобный наглядный способ для иллюстрации какой-либо информации, доступный для всех пользователей. Она фиксирует показатели на конкретный момент времени. Инфографика может выступать лишь одним из инструментов информативного дашборда.
• Интерактивный дашборд – это инструмент специалистов. Он предназначен не просто для предоставления информации, а для возможности дальнейшего взаимодействия, внесения изменений. Здесь исходные данные представлены с группированном и агрегированном виде, есть возможность применять фильтры и сортировки. Достаточно создать дашборд один раз, чтобы потом постоянно использовать этот инструмент для отслеживания изменений.

Как создать дашборд в Excel

Для создания дашборда вам не потребуется устанавливать специальные программы или расширения. Эта возможность предусмотрена функционалом Excel.

Создание дашборда состоит из несколько этапов:

• подготовка к созданию;
• сбор данных;
• создание макета;
• создание сводных таблиц и диаграмм;
• сборка;
• настройка срезов.

Подготовка

Первый этап – подготовительный. На нем пользователь определяет, что в итоге он хочет получить, формулирует задачу.

В зависимости от того, кто его составляет, цели и задачи будут разными.

Примеры:

• Сбор данных о выполнении плана.
• Эффективность работы менеджеров.
• Объемы продаж по категориям товаров и месяцам реализации.
• Формирование перечня наиболее выгодных товаров.
• Зависимость текучести кадров от величины зарплаты.
• Показатели продаж в динамике.
• И т.д.

Макет

Макет необходим для того, чтобы определиться, что мы хотим видеть в итоге. Вверху располагается основная информация, а менее важная и детализирующая — ниже. В дашборде должны присутствовать различные элементы визуализации, чтобы воспринимать информацию зрительно было проще.

Он должен быть точным и лаконичным, чтобы не рассеивать внимание пользователя.

Пример:

Сверху могут быть размещены ключевые показатели эффективности (KPI), слева — срезы, которые оживят данные, сделают дашборд интерактивным, в центре и внизу основная информация — диаграммы и таблицы.

Правила построения:

• Продумать показатели и метрики, которые будут использоваться в дашборде.
• Выбрать способ их визуализации.
• На диаграмме сегменты выделяются разными цветами.
• Использовать виджеты разных типов.
• Контент дашборда нужно настраивать и кастомизировать под потребности пользователей.

Собираем данные

Для того, чтобы проанализировать информацию, сначала необходимо собрать количественные показатели и сформировать простые (плоские) таблицы, чтобы затем на их основе делать дашборд.

Данные для анализа могут быть любыми, в зависимости от поставленной задачи:

• посещаемость сайта;
• статистика продаж;
• число конверсий;
• финансовые показатели;
• результаты исследований;
• показатели эффективности лекарств;
• статистика заболеваемости;
• и т. д.

Сводные таблицы

Выгрузка должна содержать данные, которые содержат ответ на ключевые вопросы конечного пользователя. 

Таблицы состоят из столбцов и строк. Столбцы ? это информационные атрибуты таблицы, строки ? отдельные записи, состоящие из множества атрибутов.

Например, основой дашборда может быть следующая таблица:

Здесь выгрузка содержит следующие данные:

• проекты;
• фамилии менеджеров;
• период совершения сделок;
• виды объектов недвижимости;
• данные по продажам: факт и план;
• данные по оплатам: факт и план;
• количество сделок;
• сроки сделок.

Перед формированием таблиц надо сделать листы в excel:

1. Лист с исходными данными назовем «Данные».
2. Лист со сводными таблицами обычно называют «Таблицы». 
3. «Отчет» для будущего дашборда.

Как составить сводные таблицы в dashboard excel:

• Наведите курсор на любую ячейку в таблице с исходными данными.
• Выберите в ленте «Вставка».
• Перейдите к «Сводной таблице».

• Выберите «Новый лист».

Сводная таблица формируется на основе данных, которые мы выберем из предложенного списка и расположения в соответствующих областях.

Например, для построения графика выполнения плана продаж в динамике, нужно включить в таблицу данные о фактических продажах и показатель выполнения плана в процентах.

Для настройки карточек, KPI, всех таблиц и диаграмм потребуется составить свою таблицу и далее приступить к визуализации.

Диаграммы

Сначала выбираем тип диаграммы:

• Открываем «Конструктор».

• Переходим в «Изменить тип диаграммы».

• Из предложенных вариантов выбираем нужные: комбинированные, линейчатые, лепестковые, дерево и т. д.

Каждой диаграмме присваивается емкое название, отражающее ее смысл. Для выделения можно использовать различные стили и размер шрифта.

KPI

Карточка ключевых показателей формируется на отдельном листе. В нашем варианте это лист «Отчет».

Для создания карточек, согласно нашему макету, потребуется следующее:

• Нажать «Вставка».
• Перейти в «Иллюстрации».
• Выбрать «Фигуры» > «Прямоугольник».
• В «Меню» в пункте «Надпись» ввести название.
• Внутри более крупных карточек можно ввести дополнительные более мелкие показатели.

Срезы в сводных таблицах

Срезы в сводных таблицах делают дашборд интерактивным. Они помогут взглянуть на дашборд под разным углом зрения.

Как сделать срез:

• Переходим на лист с таблицами.
• Выбираем «Вставка».
• Переходим на «Срез».

• Отмечаем галочками нужные.

• На примере отмечены: проекты, менеджеры, период, вид продукта, кварталы.

Переносим срезы

Срезы переносятся на лист «Отчет». Порядок действий: В «Подключение к отчетам» проверить и настроить подключение к сводным таблицам – Вырезать – Вставить на лист с отчетом – распределить в соответствии с макетом.

При необходимости добавляем условное форматирование.

FAQ

Что такое вафельная диаграмма в Excel?

Вафельная диаграмма (Waffle Chart) привлекает внимание пользователей и может применяться для выделения ключевого показателя эффективности. Это один из типов диаграмм, которые обычно используют для визуализации прогресса. Это ячейка 10 ? 10 с ячейками, окрашенными в соответствии с условным форматированием. Сетка представляет значения в диапазоне 1% – 100%, и ячейки будут выделены с условным форматированием, примененным к значениям%, которые они содержат. Она дает быстрый визуальный отчет о том, что вы хотите изобразить, ее просто читать и понимать.

На каких курсах можно обучиться составлять дашборды профессионально?

• Институт бизнес аналитики. Онлайн-курс «Бизнес-дашборды в Excel». Курс для аналитиков и менеджеров. Обучают профессиональной визуализации данных, составлению наглядных отчетов для руководства, интерактив на базе сводных таблиц Excel. Стоимость от 9900 руб.
• Excellentschool. Онлайн-школа визуализации данных, курс «Интерактивные дашборды в Excel». Научитесь создавать профессиональные, понятные, красивые и интерактивные дашборды, которые станут инструментом быстрого принятия качественных решений. Стоимость курса от 7500 руб.
• SKILLBOX. Курс «Power BI». научитесь строить графики и дашборды, оценивать метрики без помощи программистов. Будете всегда в курсе статистики компании. Стоимость обучения 2933 руб. в месяц при рассрочке на 12 месяцев.

Какими конструкторами сервисов можно воспользоваться для создания дашборда?

• Google Data Studio. Сервис анализа и визуализации данных от Google. Это бесплатный сервис с широкими возможностями кастомизации и визуализации. Позволяет совмещать данные из разных источников на одном дашборде и графике, есть возможность совместного доступа с ограничением прав, расчет пользовательских показателей на основе существующих метрик.

• DataFan. Сервис аналитики социальных сетей и таргетированной рекламы. С его помощью можно создавать интерактивные дашборды по продвижению в соцсетях. Сервис предназначен для мониторинга и глубокого анализа показателей своих проектов. Стоимость от 200 руб. в месяц, есть бесплатный тариф.

• Geckoboard. Сервис для сбора, анализа и визуализации данных. Ориентирован на решение бизнес-задач. Дашборды в конструкторе собираются из отдельных виджетов, в которых отображаются данные из того или иного источника. Сервис платный, стоимость от 28 долл. в месяц. Есть бесплатный тариф, но на нем можно создавать дашборды только на основе данных только из электронных таблиц.

Подведем итоги

• Дашборд – оперативная интерактивная сводка в режиме реального времени, состоящая из таблиц, графиков, диаграмм.
• Этот способ представления данных помогает легче воспринимать и анализировать информацию, что значительно упрощает процесс принятия решений.
• При создании дашборда нужно обработать много информации, статистических данных, вычленить и показать самое важное. Тогда внимание пользователя будет акцентировано на нужной информации, а дашборд будет полезнее и легче для восприятия.
• Уметь составлять интерактивные дашборды в Excel нужно не только бизнес-аналитикам, но и специалистам многих других направлений деятельности.
• Примеры визуализации данных в Еxcel, шаблоны дашбордов, можно найти на специальных сайтах в интернете, на уроках самой программы работы с электронными таблицами.
• Для обучения составления дашбордов на профессиональном уровне, можно пройти специальные курсы.