The verdict in three sentences
A custom BI (decision-support) dashboard represents a 2026 budget of EUR 12,000 to 40,000 (excl. VAT), where a licensed solution costs EUR 10 to 70 per user per month. The typical timeline is 5 to 12 weeks, including connectors to the ERP, CRM and accounting. The main benefit is real-time steering that makes decisions up to 50 % faster.
Custom or licence: the real calculation
A licence is quick to deploy but its cost grows with the number of users. Custom requires an upfront investment but becomes economical above a certain team size. Here is the 2026 comparison.
| Criterion | Off-the-shelf licence | Custom BI |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | EUR 2,000 - 8,000 (setup) | EUR 12,000 - 40,000 |
| Recurring cost | EUR 10 - 70/user/month | 12 %/year maintenance |
| Cost at 15 users over 3 years | ~ EUR 30,000 | ~ EUR 30,000 |
| KPI customisation | Medium | Total |
| Custom connectors | Limited | Unlimited |
| Data ownership | With the vendor | With you |
From around fifteen regular users, or when KPIs are highly specific, custom often becomes the most rational choice over 3 years.
What a dashboard saves
A BI project's ROI shows in the speed and quality of decisions. Here are the typical 2026 effects seen at an SME.
| Metric | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting production time | 2 days/month | 0 (automated) |
| Time to a data-backed decision | 3-5 days | < 1 day |
| Consolidated sources | 1-2 (Excel) | 4-6 (ERP, CRM, accounting) |
| Data freshness | Monthly | Real-time / daily |
| Reporting errors | 5-8 % | < 1 % |
Removing 2 days/month of reporting work represents about 24 days/year, or over EUR 5,000/year of management time reallocated to analysis.
Mini case study
Marc, head of a B2B services SME in Bordeaux, 60 employees, manually consolidates ERP and CRM exports into Excel each month: 2 days of a controller's work.
He invests EUR 22,000 (excl. VAT) in a custom dashboard connected to the ERP and CRM. He saves the 2 monthly days (about EUR 6,000/year) but above all decides faster: spotting a falling margin gains 4 days, avoiding several thousand euros of drift. With EUR 2,640/year of maintenance, ROI is reached in 12 to 14 months, before even valuing the better decisions.
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FAQ
What's the difference between an Excel sheet and a real BI tool?
Excel is static, manual and error-prone. A BI tool connects sources automatically, refreshes data in real time and secures access by profile. The gain is as much reliability as time.
Can several different software tools be connected?
Yes: ERP, CRM, accounting, e-commerce, spreadsheets. Each connector runs EUR 1,500-4,000 depending on API complexity. That is the core of a BI project's value.
How many users can access it?
With custom, there is no per-user cost: you can open access to the whole company. That is precisely the advantage over per-seat licences.
Do we need an in-house data team?
No. The dashboard is designed to be read by operational staff. Maintenance and evolution (12 %/year) are handled by the provider.
How long for a first version?
A first version with 2-3 sources and the essential KPIs can ship in 5 to 7 weeks, then be enriched by iterations.
Let's scope your project. List your data sources (ERP, CRM, accounting), your number of users and your 5 priority KPIs, and we'll cost licence vs custom over 3 years. 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.
