The verdict in three sentences
A CEO who sees sales, stock and cash a week after month-end is driving with the rear-view mirror. Power BI remains the best choice up to about ten users if someone in-house keeps it alive, while a custom dashboard at 2.5 to 4 M FCFA (about 4,400 to 7,000 USD) with no licences becomes cheaper beyond 20 users or as soon as field teams need it on mobile. Either way, plan 4 to 8 weeks to connect your sources and make the KPIs reliable.
The real problem: scattered data
In a distribution SME, information lives in four places: the ERP or order management system (NetSuite, Sage, Odoo, QuickBooks), point-of-sale systems, bank statements and payment processors. Every month-end, an analyst exports, pastes into Excel, fixes item codes and emails a file to the CEO around day 7 or 8.
The visualisation tool only solves the last step. Most of the work, whatever you choose, is automating extraction, cleaning master data (customers, items, warehouses) and agreeing on 10 to 15 KPIs: revenue per sales rep, margin per product family, stock turnover, receivables over 60 days, available cash.
What needs to be connected and displayed
| Source or need | Power BI | Kolonell custom dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| ERP (NetSuite, Sage, Odoo) | Native connectors or a gateway to install | Direct connection to the database or API |
| Point-of-sale systems | Scheduled file export | Automatic hourly sync |
| Bank and payment processors | File imports, often manual | Statement retrieval and matching |
| Business KPIs (margin, turnover, receivables) | DAX modelling by an analyst | Computed server-side, validated with you |
| Mobile access for reps and warehouses | Power BI app, per-user licence | Lightweight web app, offline mode |
| Alerts (stock-out, receivable, target) | Limited subscriptions and alerts | SMS, WhatsApp or email based on your rules |
| In-house skills required | A data profile to maintain reports | None, maintenance handled by Kolonell |
3-year cost by number of users
2026 assumptions: Power BI Pro at about 14 USD per user per month; Power BI integration of 1 to 3 M FCFA (about 1,750 to 5,250 USD with a nearshore partner, local New York consultants usually bill more); Kolonell dashboard at 2.5 to 4 M FCFA, maintenance 75,000 FCFA (about 130 USD) a month, managed hosting 25,000 to 75,000 FCFA (about 45 to 130 USD) a month. Conversion at roughly 570 FCFA per USD.
| Users | Power BI over 36 months (licences + integration) | Kolonell over 36 months (build + maintenance + hosting) | Cheapest option |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 4,300 to 7,800 USD | 10,700 to 16,500 USD | Power BI |
| 10 | 6,800 to 10,300 USD | 10,700 to 16,500 USD | Power BI |
| 20 | 11,800 to 15,300 USD | 10,700 to 16,500 USD | Equivalent |
| 30 | 16,900 to 20,400 USD | 10,700 to 16,500 USD | Custom |
| 50 | 27,000 to 30,500 USD | 10,700 to 16,500 USD | Custom |
| Go-live time | 4 to 8 weeks | 4 to 8 weeks | Same |
The table excludes the salary of a Power BI analyst, often needed to evolve reports. Kolonell prices follow our custom application grid of 11/10/2026 (2.5 to 4 M FCFA tier, i.e. 3,810 to 6,100 EUR) and are not market averages.
Mini case study
Michael, CEO of a food distribution SME in New York, wants to give access to 25 people: 12 sales reps, 8 warehouse leads and 5 executives. With Power BI: 25 × 14 USD × 36 months = 12,600 USD in licences, plus 3,500 USD of integration, i.e. 16,100 USD over 3 years.
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
With a custom dashboard at 3.5 M FCFA (about 6,100 USD), plus about 130 USD maintenance and 70 USD hosting a month (7,200 USD over 36 months), the total reaches 13,300 USD, a gap of roughly 2,800 USD. On top of that, the analyst saves 4 days of manual reporting a month whichever option you choose, worth around 1,200 USD a month at a 75,000 USD salary.
FAQ
How much does a custom executive dashboard cost?
At Kolonell, 2.5 to 4 M FCFA (about 4,400 to 7,000 USD) depending on sources and KPIs, with no per-user licence. Maintenance ranges from 35,000 to 120,000 FCFA (about 60 to 210 USD) a month.
Is Power BI suitable for an SME?
Yes, up to 10 to 15 users and with one trained person in-house. Beyond that, licences at about 14 USD per user per month weigh more than the build.
Can payment processor data be included?
Yes, receipts are imported and matched with invoices. For a distributor, card and online payments often represent 20 to 40 % of receipts.
Does the dashboard work on a weak connection?
The custom version is designed to load in under 3 seconds on a slow mobile network and keep the latest figures offline. That helps reps on the road.
How long until we see D+1 numbers?
4 to 8 weeks, including 1 to 2 weeks of cleaning item and customer master data. After that, figures refresh nightly or hourly.
Let's scope your project. List your data sources, your 10 key KPIs and the number of users: we give you an honest comparison between Power BI and a custom dashboard at 2.5 to 4 M FCFA, delivered in 4 to 8 weeks, via our free quote form. 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.
