The verdict in three sentences
A site margin dashboard turns end-of-job accounting into real-time piloting: you see the budget vs actual gap week by week. Budget 15,000 to 45,000 EUR and 3 to 5 months for a solution connected to your accounting and purchasing. The return is measurable: 2 to 5 margin points preserved through early drift detection.
What a real-time dashboard changes
The problem is not a lack of figures: it is that they arrive too late. A dashboard links sources and shows the gap day by day.
| Without dashboard | With real-time dashboard |
|---|---|
| Gap known at handover | Gap visible every week |
| Data in 4 Excel files | Single consolidated source |
| Margin roughly estimated | Margin computed per site |
| Reaction after the fact | Alert as soon as overrun starts |
| Purchases not reconciled | Commitment tracked live |
| Manual monthly reporting | Automatic reporting |
The value is reaction speed: fixing a drifting item at 40 % completion costs vastly less than at 90 %.
The KPIs to track per site
A good dashboard fits on a handful of actionable indicators. Here are the target KPIs and their 2026 alert thresholds.
| KPI | Definition | Alert threshold |
|---|---|---|
| Realized margin | revenue - committed cost | gap > 2 pts vs budget |
| Physical progress | % work done | gap > 5 % vs schedule |
| Labor cost | hours x rate | overrun > 8 % |
| Committed purchases | orders vs budget | commitment > 95 % |
| Cost per sqm | total cost / area | drift > 5 % |
| Site cash flow | received - paid out | negative balance |
Two or three of these KPIs in red are enough to trigger a site review before margin evaporates.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Mini case study
Sophie, works director of a 30-employee renovation firm in Lyon, runs 12 sites averaging 320,000 EUR. On a heating package, an 11 % labor overrun goes unnoticed for two months: a 9,800 EUR loss on that site alone. She deploys a dashboard at 34,000 EUR delivered in 4 months. Over the next year, weekly alerts recover on average 2.8 margin points on 3.8M EUR revenue, or 106,000 EUR: payback in 4 months.
FAQ
Must I change accounting software? No, a good dashboard connects to your existing accounting and purchasing via API or automatic export; that is exactly the point of a dedicated brick.
How fast do first gaps appear? From the first connected site, 2 to 4 weeks after go-live, once hour and purchase entry is reliable.
What budget for a first dashboard? 2026 order of magnitude: 15,000 to 25,000 EUR for a 3-4 KPI per site version, up to 45,000 EUR with full accounting integration and mobile access.
Who enters field data? Ideally site managers via mobile for hours and deliveries; without field entry, the dashboard loses freshness and therefore value.
Does the dashboard replace my controller? No, it equips them: it automates consolidation so they analyze instead of re-key, saving several days a month.
Let's scope your project. Tell us your number of sites, data sources (accounting, purchasing, payroll) and indicative budget, and we'll frame a 15,000-45,000 EUR dashboard. 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.
