The verdict in three sentences
Automating an SME's reporting in London costs 12,000-40,000 EUR excl. VAT in 2026, depending on the number of sources to consolidate and dashboards to produce. The Power BI/Metabase vs custom choice depends on the need for advanced business logic and the number of users. The ROI is clear: -80 % reporting time, faster decisions and finally reliable data.
What makes up the budget
The real cost is not building charts but consolidating and cleaning the data upstream.
| Item | Share of budget | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Source connection & consolidation | 30-40 % | ERP, CRM, Excel, bank |
| Data model & rules | 20-25 % | KPIs, calculations, history |
| Role-based dashboards | 20-25 % | CEO, CFO, sales, ops |
| Automatic refresh | 10-15 % | Scheduling, alerts |
| Training & documentation | 5-10 % | Team autonomy |
An SME often has 4 to 8 data sources; it is their reconciliation that drives the price, not the number of curves.
Off-the-shelf tool vs custom build
Power BI or Metabase cover most needs; custom is justified for specific business logic or product integration.
| Criterion | Power BI / Metabase | Custom dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | 12,000-25,000 EUR excl. VAT | 20,000-40,000 EUR excl. VAT |
| License/hosting | 10-15 EUR/user/mo (BI) / free (Metabase) | 40-150 EUR/month |
| Delivery time | 3-6 weeks | 6-12 weeks |
| Advanced business logic | Limited | Full |
| UX customization | Medium | Full |
| Vendor lock-in | Strong (Power BI) | Weak |
| 3-year TCO (estimate) | 16,000-40,000 EUR | 24,000-50,000 EUR |
As a 2026 order of magnitude, Metabase is unbeatable on cost to start, Power BI for the Microsoft ecosystem, custom for a product or highly specific need.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Oliver, CFO of a 50-employee distribution SME in London, automates reporting on Power BI for 19,000 EUR excl. VAT + 150 EUR/month (licenses + connector). Before: 4 days/month compiling Excel (him + a controller), i.e. ~64 h/month at 40 EUR/h = 2,560 EUR/month, with regular errors. After: automatically refreshed reporting, 12 h/month of supervision = 480 EUR/month. Saving: 2,080 EUR/month and a close brought forward 3 days. ROI in 9 months, excluding decision gains.
FAQ
Why does reporting cost so much if it is just charts? Because 60-70 % of the work is connecting, cleaning and reconciling data from several sources. Visualizations are only the visible part.
Power BI or Metabase? Metabase for a tight budget and open source, Power BI if you are already in the Microsoft ecosystem. Both cover 90 % of an SME's needs.
What real time saving? SMEs divide their reporting time by five on average (-80 %), and gain mostly in reliability and data freshness.
Can we have different dashboards per department? Yes: we define role-based views (CEO, CFO, sales, ops) with access rights, each seeing its relevant KPIs.
How often does data refresh? From hourly to daily depending on sources; real time is possible but raises infrastructure cost.
Let's scope your project. List your data sources, your 5 key KPIs and target users: we frame off-the-shelf vs custom. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
