Close & reporting
KPI dashboards
A small set of metrics, revenue, margin, cash runway or an industry-specific number, tracked month over month against your July to June financial year, pulled from the same closed books as your monthly reports so the dashboard and the financials never disagree.
Management report
Illustrative client · August 2026
AUD
| Line | Aug | Jul | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 142,380 | 131,904 | +10,476 |
| Cost of sales | (51,260) | (48,115) | (3,145) |
| Gross profit | 91,120 | 83,789 | +7,331 |
| Payroll | (46,300) | (45,900) | (400) |
| SoftwareNoted | (6,480) | (5,490) | (990) |
| Rent | (8,000) | (8,000) | 0 |
| Other operating | (9,215) | (9,870) | +655 |
| Net income | 21,125 | 14,529 | +6,596 |
Reviewer's note
Software is up on last month after two seats were added mid-month. Revenue includes one milestone invoice that will not repeat next month.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Metrics that actually run the business
We agree a KPI list with you first, five to eight metrics rather than twenty tracked occasionally, whether that is gross margin, cash runway, average job cost, occupancy or a metric specific to your industry. The dashboard is updated on the same monthly cycle as your close, so it never drifts from the numbers in your financial statements.
Reading against the AU calendar
Trend lines run against the prior twelve months on a July to June financial year basis, and where a metric depends on payroll data, it reflects Single Touch Payroll figures already reconciled in the close rather than a separate, unreconciled feed. Compulsory super contributions and the Payday Super cash-timing change, effective 1 July 2026, show up in cash-runway metrics rather than being tracked to one side.
Where it lives
Most dashboards sit in a spreadsheet or a reporting add-on connected to Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks Online, so there is nothing new to log into. If your business already has a preferred format, whether Google Sheets, Excel or a reporting tool, we build to that rather than moving you onto something new.
Handover and ownership
A named pod builds and maintains the dashboard, with a recorded handover memo whenever a metric definition changes, so a number never quietly means something different from one month to the next.
Starting the list
Most businesses start with the metrics they already track loosely in a spreadsheet, tighten the definitions, and add one or two more once the first month of clean data is in. Book a call to work through which numbers matter for your business.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: KPI dashboards
Can the dashboard split KPIs by location or product line?
Yes, where your chart of accounts or tracking categories support that split, so a single site or line does not disappear into a group average.
Does the dashboard reflect our super and payroll obligations?
Yes, where payroll drives a metric such as cash runway, the dashboard uses figures already reconciled through Single Touch Payroll rather than a separate feed.
Do you build the dashboard in a new tool we have to learn?
No. Most dashboards live in a spreadsheet or a reporting add-on connected to your existing accounting software.
What access do you need to build the dashboard?
Read-only access to your accounting software and any operational source (a point-of-sale system, a booking platform) the KPIs draw from, so figures update automatically rather than being retyped each period.
How is a KPI dashboard priced?
As a one-off build fee plus a smaller monthly fee to keep it current, scoped against the number of metrics and data sources involved.
Do you build the dashboard in a new tool I have to learn?
No. Most dashboards live in a spreadsheet or a reporting add-on connected to your existing accounting software, so there is nothing new to log into.
How many KPIs should we actually track?
Most businesses get more value from five to eight metrics tracked consistently than twenty tracked occasionally.
What software works with kPI dashboards?
KPI dashboards runs inside Google Sheets or Excel, whichever you already use. If you are not yet set up in either, we can configure a file in your name so you keep ownership of it once the engagement is under way.
How do we get started with kPI dashboards?
Getting started with kPI dashboards begins with a short review of your current records and software access. Once that is done we confirm scope and timing in writing, and ongoing work begins on the schedule agreed with you.
Related services
- Close & reportingBoard packsA board-ready package built from the same numbers as your monthly close, delivered on a schedule that leaves you time to read it before the meeting.
- Close & reportingManagement reportsMonthly profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow packaged with a plain-English narrative so the numbers explain themselves before anyone has to ask a question.
Industries
Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.