CFO dashboard: Power BI or a custom build

The verdict in three sentences

The CFO of a London or Dublin distribution group with 12 subsidiaries who consolidates cash and margins every Monday in Excel spends about 2 days of work on a report that is already stale when it lands. Power BI, at roughly £11 to £12 (€13 to €14) per user a month for Pro, handles visualisation very well if ERP data is clean and accessible. A custom build makes sense when you need group-specific consolidation rules, forecast input from subsidiaries or approval workflows that Power BI does not handle natively.

What a CFO dashboard must deliver every Monday

A board does not need 40 charts. It needs a handful of reliable indicators, comparable across subsidiaries, and a way to drill down to the entry that explains a variance.

The real difficulty is almost never the chart. It lies in master data: a product family coded differently in two subsidiaries, a local chart of accounts, intercompany flows to eliminate. Until those rules are written down, no tool will deliver the promised 2 days.

Power BI or a custom build: the comparison

For 25 Pro users, licences come to around £3,500 (€4,000) a year. That is modest, and Power BI remains the right choice if your need is mainly reading and combining existing data. A custom build wins when consolidation requires data entry, approval loops between subsidiaries and head office, or calculation logic you do not want scattered across dozens of DAX measures. A hybrid works well too: a collection and consolidation app, then Power BI for reporting.

The steps of a successful project

First, a KPI definition workshop with the CFO and 2 or 3 financial controllers: 1 to 2 weeks. Next, source mapping: which ERPs, which banks, which tables, which shared identifiers. Then a first cash dashboard delivered in 4 to 6 weeks, before tackling margins, which are harder. Finally, a 4-week parallel run where Excel and the new dashboard run side by side, to earn the board's trust.

Mini case study

Siobhan, CFO of a 12-subsidiary distribution group in Dublin, spends 2 days a week with a financial controller on the Monday report. Over 46 working weeks that is 92 days a year. At a blended loaded cost of €500 a day for the pair, reporting costs about €46,000 a year.

After automation, production drops to 2 hours a week, roughly 12 days a year. Calculation: (92 - 12) × €500 = €40,000 of time freed a year. Adding 25 Power BI Pro licences for reporting, about €4,000 a year, the net gain stays above €35,000 annually. The real benefit is elsewhere: cash is visible on Monday at 9 am, not on Tuesday evening.

FAQ

Is Power BI enough for 12 subsidiaries?

Yes if subsidiaries share an ERP or harmonised master data, and the need is mostly reading data. Beyond 3 different ERPs with forecast input, a custom build or hybrid approach is more robust.

How long to go from 2 days to 2 hours?

Allow 8 to 14 weeks, including a 4-week parallel run. The cash dashboard usually comes first, after 4 to 6 weeks.

Do we need a data warehouse?

With more than 5 sources, yes, an intermediate database avoids recalculating on every refresh. Its hosting cost is a few tens of pounds or euros a month, scoped in the quote.

Can subsidiaries enter forecasts directly?

With a custom application, yes, through forms with consistency checks and head office approval. With Power BI alone you need Excel or Power Apps, which adds 1 more layer to maintain.

Who maintains the dashboard after delivery?

Either a trained finance team or a monthly maintenance contract. The Kolonell grid offers 35,000, 75,000 or 120,000 FCFA a month depending on the service level.

Let's scope your project. We define your KPIs, your ERP and bank sources, then recommend Power BI, a dedicated application or a hybrid, with a phased plan. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.