The verdict in three sentences
A multi-subsidiary group that still consolidates its KPIs in Excel ties up its finance team for 9 days every month to produce figures that are already stale. A data warehouse fed by connectors to each subsidiary's ERP, topped with a group executive dashboard, costs 300,000 to 700,000 MAD (roughly 30,000 to 70,000 USD, or 110,000 to 260,000 AED) and ships in 4 months. The real gain is not prettier charts: it is a reporting close cut to 2 days and a single version of the numbers in the executive committee.
Why manual consolidation costs more than it looks
Whether the holding sits in Dubai or Casablanca, the pattern is almost always the same. One subsidiary runs Sage, another Odoo, a third inherited SAP Business One after an acquisition, and the last three send Excel files reworked by their accountant. Head office controlling spends the first half of every month reconciling different charts of accounts, incompatible analytical splits and exchange rates applied on different dates.
The hidden cost sits in three places: controllers' time, decisions taken on figures from two months ago, and data-entry errors that travel all the way up to the board. A data warehouse fixes the problem at the source: every night, connectors extract the entries, apply a mapping table for accounts and analytical axes, then publish consolidated KPIs.
Data architecture and 2026 budget
The recommended architecture for a group this size has four layers: extraction from the ERPs, a staging area, a consolidated model (accounts, subsidiaries, periods, currencies) and reporting. Here is the 2026 order of magnitude for six subsidiaries and three distinct ERPs.
| Item | Scope | 2026 budget (MAD excl. tax) |
|---|---|---|
| Scoping and data model | Group chart of accounts, analytical axes, elimination rules | 40,000 to 80,000 |
| ERP connectors (x3) | Sage, Odoo, SAP Business One, nightly extraction | 90,000 to 210,000 |
| Standardised Excel import | Template imposed on small subsidiaries, automated checks | 20,000 to 50,000 |
| Data warehouse | PostgreSQL or Azure SQL, history, multi-currency | 60,000 to 140,000 |
| Executive dashboard | 25 to 40 KPIs, drill-down by subsidiary | 60,000 to 160,000 |
| Access rights and audit log | Each MD only sees their subsidiary | 15,000 to 35,000 |
| Acceptance, training, documentation | 2 sessions, user guide | 15,000 to 25,000 |
| Total project | Timeline: 4 months | 300,000 to 700,000 |
Add hosting at 2,500 to 6,000 MAD per month depending on volume, and ongoing maintenance, usually 15 to 18 % of the initial budget per year.
Power BI, custom app or consolidated Excel
The front-end tool question always comes first, when it should come last. The data warehouse is the shared foundation: once built, you can plug in Power BI, a custom web app, or both.
| Criterion | Consolidated Excel | Power BI on warehouse | Custom application |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial cost | Near zero | 300,000 to 550,000 MAD | 400,000 to 700,000 MAD |
| Licences | Existing Microsoft 365 | 10 to 20 USD per user per month | No per-user licence |
| Reporting close | 9 days | 2 to 3 days | 2 days |
| Data reliability | Depends on copy-paste | High | High |
| Comments and budget entry | Possible but messy | Limited | Native (approval workflow) |
| Mobile access for executives | Poor | Good | Excellent, tailored |
| Vendor lock-in | Low | High (Microsoft) | Low, code handed over |
For 40 users, Power BI Pro comes to about 40 x 14 USD x 12 months, close to 6,700 USD per year (about 67,000 MAD). Custom development becomes relevant as soon as management wants to enter budgets, comment on variances or have subsidiaries approve forecasts in the same tool.
Mini case study
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Youssef, CFO of a distribution group with six subsidiaries headquartered in Casablanca, relies on three controllers on 22,000 MAD gross monthly each. They spend 9 days a month on consolidation, about 41 % of their time. Annual cost of that task: 3 x 22,000 x 12 x 0.41, close to 325,000 MAD.
After a 480,000 MAD project delivered in four months, the close drops to 2 days. Time spent on consolidation falls by 78 %, freeing about 253,000 MAD of capacity per year, redeployed to margin analysis by subsidiary. Including hosting and maintenance (about 110,000 MAD per year), payback lands around 3 years on time savings alone, and much sooner if you count a single pricing decision taken one month earlier.
FAQ
Do subsidiaries need to change ERP before we build the dashboard?
No. Connectors read each ERP as it is and a mapping table aligns the charts of accounts. Harmonising ERPs is a 2 to 5 million MAD project, while consolidated reporting is funded with 300,000 to 700,000 MAD.
How long before we see a first usable screen?
A first dashboard covering two subsidiaries is usually live at the end of month two. The remaining four subsidiaries and advanced KPIs fill months 3 and 4.
Where is the data hosted?
In Morocco, hosting locally or in a European cloud region is often recommended under law 09-08 and CNDP requirements; for a Dubai holding, a UAE cloud region is available. Expect 2,500 to 6,000 MAD per month depending on volume.
Can we handle subsidiaries abroad and several currencies?
Yes, the warehouse stores each amount in local currency and in the group currency at the closing-date rate. Adding a subsidiary in Côte d'Ivoire or the UAE costs around 30,000 to 60,000 MAD if its ERP is already supported.
What if a subsidiary still sends its figures in Excel?
It gets a single template, checked on import: unknown accounts, unbalanced totals and missing periods are rejected in under a minute. This module costs 20,000 to 50,000 MAD.
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of subsidiaries, their ERPs and your 20 priority KPIs: we will price the data warehouse and dashboard, indicative budget 300,000 to 700,000 MAD, delivery in 4 months. 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.
