The verdict in three sentences
For a 400-employee mid-cap, Power BI is the default choice when needs are standard financial and sales KPIs viewed by 20 to 80 people: about EUR 13 per user per month plus EUR 15,000 to 30,000 of setup. A custom build (EUR 30,000 to 60,000 excl. VAT) is justified when the dashboard must trigger actions, open up to clients or partners, or embed business logic the standard tool handles poorly. In both cases, 60% of the budget and risk sits in the data warehouse, not in the charts.
The real work: data, not the tool
The CFO who consolidates the ERP, CRM, payroll, bank and a production Excel file every Monday does not lack charts. They suffer from five reference systems that do not speak the same language: different customer codes, offset closing periods, renamed cost centres. The project therefore starts with a data warehouse (Azure SQL, BigQuery, Snowflake or PostgreSQL) loaded automatically every night, with documented matching rules. Running cost: EUR 200 to 800 a month depending on volume and refresh frequency.
| Component (2026 order of magnitude) | Power BI | Custom build |
|---|---|---|
| Licences or hosting | EUR 13 per user per month (Pro), Premium capacity beyond 300 viewers | EUR 150 to 500 a month (app server) |
| Data warehouse | EUR 200 to 800 a month | EUR 200 to 800 a month |
| ERP, CRM, payroll connectors | EUR 5,000 to 12,000 | EUR 8,000 to 15,000 |
| Modelling and KPIs | EUR 6,000 to 12,000 | EUR 10,000 to 20,000 |
| Interface and visualisations | EUR 4,000 to 6,000 | EUR 12,000 to 25,000 |
| Total setup | EUR 15,000 to 30,000 | EUR 30,000 to 60,000 excl. VAT |
| Timeline | 2 to 3 months | 3 to 4 months |
When Power BI is enough, and when it gets in the way
Power BI excels at exploration, cross-filtering and monthly reports. It becomes limiting in four situations: sharing with external users without a Microsoft licence, entering data or comments in the dashboard (budgets, forecasts, approvals), complex business alerts that trigger a workflow, and a very specific mobile experience for field managers. A custom build, often in React with a charting library, also gives full control over performance and branding.
| Decision criterion | Power BI advantage | Custom advantage |
|---|---|---|
| 20 to 80 internal users on Microsoft 365 | Yes | No |
| Opening to 500 franchisees or clients | High licence cost | Yes |
| Forecast entry and approval workflow | Limited | Yes |
| Changes by the finance team alone | Yes, in DAX | No, needs a developer |
| 3-year cost for 60 users | 22,000 + 28,000 + 18,000 = about EUR 68,000 | 45,000 + 18,000 + 15,000 = about EUR 78,000 |
| 3-year cost for 600 external viewers | Over EUR 150,000 | About EUR 85,000 |
The calculation for 60 users: licences 60 × EUR 13 × 36 months = EUR 28,000, warehouse EUR 500 × 36 = EUR 18,000, setup EUR 22,000. Custom: setup EUR 45,000, warehouse EUR 18,000, hosting and maintenance EUR 15,000.
A 2 to 4 month project method
Need a professional website?
Kolonell builds websites that attract clients, optimized for the Sénégalese market. Free quote in 2 minutes.
Month 1: workshop with the executive committee to lock 15 to 25 KPIs (not 120), define each formula, pick the source of truth per KPI. Month 2: data warehouse and connectors, automatic consistency checks. Month 3: visualisations, access rights by scope (subsidiary, region, business unit), acceptance testing with the CFO. Month 4 for custom builds: data entry features, alerts, mobile app.
Mini case study
Frédéric, CFO of a 400-employee industrial mid-cap near Lyon, spends 7 hours every Monday consolidating five sources, and two financial controllers add 10 hours. That is 17 hours a week, about 780 hours a year, valued at EUR 55 fully loaded: EUR 42,900 a year. With Power BI at EUR 25,000 setup, 45 users (EUR 7,000 a year) and a warehouse at EUR 400 a month (EUR 4,800 a year), first-year cost is EUR 36,800. Consolidation time drops to 2 hours a week. Payback: under 11 months, before even counting the value of decisions made on Monday morning instead of Thursday.
FAQ
Do I need a Power BI Premium licence? Not below roughly 250 to 300 viewers. Beyond that, a Fabric capacity starts around EUR 5,000 a month and becomes cheaper than individual licences.
How many KPIs should I plan? An effective executive dashboard fits in 15 to 25 KPIs. Each extra KPI adds roughly EUR 300 to 800 of modelling and testing.
Can we start with Power BI and move to custom later? Yes, and it is often the right path. The data warehouse, which represents 40 to 60% of the investment, is reused as is.
What refresh frequency? A nightly refresh covers 90% of executive needs. Real time multiplies infrastructure cost by 2 to 4.
Who maintains the dashboard? Budget 10 to 15% of the initial cost per year. With Power BI, a trained financial controller (2 to 3 days, EUR 1,500 to 2,500) can handle simple changes.
Let's scope your project. List your data sources and number of users: we will price the Power BI option and the custom option side by side, between EUR 15,000 and 60,000 excl. VAT, with a 2 to 4 month plan. 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.
