The verdict in three sentences
For a mid-sized company that takes 10 days to consolidate its figures each month, the first lever is the data warehouse that brings ERP, CRM, payroll and production together, well before the visualisation tool. Power BI remains the best choice while your users are internal and your needs standard: EUR 10 to 20 per user per month plus EUR 8,000 to 25,000 of setup. A custom build, at EUR 20,000 to 50,000 (about USD 22,000 to 55,000), makes sense when the dashboard must open to clients or partners, embed complex business rules or remove hundreds of licences.
Both options priced for 2026
| Criterion | Power BI (Microsoft Fabric) | Custom dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| Licences | EUR 10 to 20 per user per month (Pro or Premium Per User) | No per-user licence |
| Setup | EUR 8,000 to 25,000 | EUR 20,000 to 50,000 |
| Data warehouse | Included in project or Fabric on top | Included (PostgreSQL, BigQuery or similar) |
| Refresh | 8 per day on Pro, 48 on Premium | Daily, hourly or real time as needed |
| External access (clients, franchisees) | Costly licence or Embedded capacity | Native, fine-grained rights per account |
| Interface customisation | Limited to available visuals | Full, in company branding |
| Timeline | 6 to 8 weeks | 8 to 10 weeks |
| Lock-in | Microsoft 365 ecosystem | Source code delivered, hosting of your choice |
With 40 internal users, Power BI costs about EUR 4,800 to 9,600 a year in licences. With 400 users, including branches or clients, the bill exceeds EUR 48,000 a year and a custom build pays off from year two.
Where the budget really goes
Executive teams almost always underestimate the share spent on the data itself. The attractive charts rarely account for more than a quarter of the effort.
| Work package | Share of budget | Example deliverable |
|---|---|---|
| Source audit and KPI dictionary | 10 to 15% | Single definition of revenue, margin, backlog |
| ERP, CRM, payroll connectors | 20 to 30% | Daily extraction from Sage, SAP, ADP, HubSpot |
| Warehouse and data model | 25 to 30% | Consolidated multi-entity tables, currency handling |
| Screens and visualisations | 15 to 25% | CEO view, sales view, operations view |
| Security and permissions | 5 to 10% | Each director sees only their scope |
| Training and acceptance | 5 to 10% | 2 sessions, user guide |
The KPI dictionary is the most underrated deliverable: as long as finance and sales calculate margin differently, no tool will shorten consolidation.
How to choose in 30 minutes
Pick Power BI if you already run Microsoft 365, fewer than 100 people consume the figures and your teams can evolve reports themselves. Pick a custom build if the dashboard must be opened to clients, a franchise network or plants without Microsoft licences, or if you want to embed actions (approve a budget, chase a client) directly in the screen. Either way, the data warehouse is your asset: it must be able to feed one or the other.
Mini case study
Marc, CEO of a 600-person aerospace subcontractor in Toronto, waits 10 days every month for his controllers to consolidate five entities in Excel. Three controllers spend about 45 h each on it.
- Chosen option: data warehouse plus Power BI, EUR 22,000 setup, 35 Pro licences at EUR 14, i.e. EUR 5,880 a year
- Time freed: 135 h a month cut to 30 h, i.e. 105 h x EUR 45 = EUR 4,725 a month
- Recurring cost: EUR 490 licences + EUR 300 maintenance = EUR 790 a month
- Payback: 22,000 / (4,725 - 790) = 5.6 months
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Consolidation moves from day 10 to day 2, and the executive committee has last week's figures every Monday morning.
FAQ
Is Power BI enough for a 500-person company?
Yes in most cases, as long as users stay internal. Beyond 150 to 200 licences, a dedicated Fabric capacity, around EUR 5,000 a month, should be compared with a custom build.
How much does dashboard maintenance cost?
Plan 10 to 20% of the initial cost per year, i.e. EUR 2,000 to 10,000, to evolve indicators and follow ERP changes.
Can we start small?
Yes: a first package of EUR 8,000 to 12,000 usually covers the consolidated financial view in 4 to 6 weeks, then sales and operations are added.
Does the data stay in-country?
With Power BI, you choose a Canada or Europe region. With a custom build, hosting can be on a Canadian cloud region, useful for defence or public-sector suppliers.
What refresh rate should we target?
Daily refresh covers 90% of executive needs. Real time, 20 to 40% more expensive, is justified for production or logistics.
Let's scope your project. List your data sources, entities and number of users: we will recommend Power BI or custom with a budget of EUR 8,000 to 50,000 and a 6 to 10 week plan. 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.
