The verdict in three sentences
A custom Power BI dashboard consolidates sales, margin and cash flow in near real time from your ERP, CRM and accounting connectors. Budget 12,000 to 35,000 EUR and 4 to 8 weeks depending on the number of sources and KPIs, plus 10 to 20 EUR/user/month in licences. The real payback is not avoided reporting cost but decision speed: killing an unprofitable line or acting on tight cash a week earlier often beats the project cost itself.
What a BI project costs in 2026
Budget follows the number of connectors and the complexity of the data models. 2026 order of magnitude:
| Scope | Cost (EUR) | Timeline | Connected sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single-source dashboard (sales) | 12,000 - 16,000 | 4 weeks | 1 - 2 |
| Sales + margin consolidation | 16,000 - 24,000 | 5 - 6 weeks | 3 - 4 |
| Sales + margin + cash flow | 24,000 - 30,000 | 6 - 7 weeks | 4 - 6 |
| Multi-entity group view | 30,000 - 35,000 | 8 weeks | 6+ |
| Annual maintenance / evolution | 15 - 18 % of project | - | - |
Licences break down as: Power BI Pro ~10 EUR/user/month, Premium Per User ~20 EUR/user/month, or dedicated capacity (Fabric) from ~250 EUR/month for large volumes.
The KPIs that change steering
A good dashboard shows not 50 curves but the 8 to 12 metrics that trigger an action:
| KPI | Frequency | Associated decision |
|---|---|---|
| Margin per line/product | Daily | Kill or reprice a line |
| DSO (days sales outstanding) | Weekly | Trigger targeted dunning |
| 13-week cash flow forecast | Weekly | Arbitrate investments |
| Sales conversion rate | Daily | Reallocate sales effort |
| Revenue per rep / region | Daily | Coach, set targets |
| Inventory turnover | Weekly | Reduce overstock |
| Customer acquisition cost | Monthly | Arbitrate marketing budget |
Automatic refresh (up to 8x/day on Pro, 48 on Premium) eliminates the Monday-morning manual report.
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Mini case study
Sophie, CFO of a wine trading SME in Berlin (32 staff, 18 M EUR revenue), spent 3 days/month consolidating Excel from sales, accounting and CRM. With a custom dashboard at 26,000 EUR (5 sources, daily refresh), those 3 days drop to 2 hours. Direct gain: 34 h/month valued at ~50 EUR, i.e. 1,700 EUR/month, repaying the project in ~15 months on time alone. But the decisive effect: she spots a negative-margin line hidden in averages and reprices it, recovering about 90,000 EUR in annual margin, a real return of more than 3x in one year.
FAQ
Power BI or Tableau / Looker? Power BI usually offers the best cost/power ratio for an SME already on Microsoft 365, thanks to ~10-20 EUR/user/month licences. Tableau and Looker remain relevant for advanced dataviz or Google environments.
Do I need a data warehouse? Not always: up to 4-5 moderate-volume sources, direct connectors suffice. Beyond that, a warehouse (Azure SQL, BigQuery) makes refreshes and history more reliable.
Who updates the data? Nobody: connectors query your systems automatically at the configured frequency. Humans only step in to evolve the KPIs.
Is our data secure? Yes: role-based access (RLS), data hosted in the company's Microsoft tenant, GDPR compliance. Each user sees only their scope.
How long to train teams? Half a day is enough for viewing; 1 to 2 days for users who must build their own views.
Let's scope your project. Share your sources (ERP, CRM, accounting), user count and the 5 decisions you want to speed up: we'll frame a dashboard between 12,000 and 35,000 EUR. 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.
