The verdict in three sentences
Six Excel files sent every Monday means on average one working day a week lost to consolidation and decisions made on figures 3 to 7 days old. Power BI Pro ($14 per user per month, plus 8,000 to 20,000 EUR of modelling) fits if your data already comes cleanly out of the ERP. A custom dashboard at 15,000 to 35,000 EUR becomes the better choice when calculation rules are specific, when you want it embedded in your tools or want to avoid a licence per viewer.
Why Monday reporting costs more than it seems
In a mid-size company of 250 to 800 employees, the usual six files are sales by rep, margin by product family, cash, inventory, production and order book. Each is extracted from a different system, reworked by hand and sent by e-mail. The real cost:
| Item | 2026 order of magnitude | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidation time | 7 to 9 hours a week | 2 to 3 contributors, financial controller at the end |
| Annual loaded cost | 15,000 to 22,000 EUR | 46 weeks, 45 to 55 EUR an hour |
| Data freshness | 3 to 7 days | Friday evening cut-off at best |
| Formula errors found | 1 to 2 a month | copy-paste, shifted tabs |
| Competing versions | 2 to 4 per file | successive e-mail sends |
| Unanswered questions in committee | 20 to 30% | no drill-down available in the meeting |
Power BI or custom dashboard: the 2026 comparison
Both options rely on the same groundwork: connecting sources (ERP, CRM, accounting, MES) and agreeing on shared metrics. The difference lies in total cost of ownership, flexibility and integration.
| Criterion | Power BI Pro | Custom dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | 8,000 to 20,000 EUR of modelling | 15,000 to 35,000 EUR all-in |
| Licences for 40 viewers | $14 × 40 × 12 = $6,720 a year | none, hosting 1,500 to 3,000 EUR a year |
| Refresh | 8 times a day on Pro, hourly with Premium | hourly or real time depending on sources |
| Complex business rules | DAX, depends on in-house skills | coded in the application, tested |
| Embedding in intranet or portal | possible, Embedded licence extra | native |
| Input and comments | limited | possible: targets, forecasts, annotations |
| Time to go live | 4 to 8 weeks | 6 to 10 weeks |
Over 3 years for 40 viewers, Power BI costs about 14,000 EUR of modelling plus 18,500 EUR of licences, or 32,500 EUR. A custom dashboard at 25,000 EUR plus 2,500 EUR hosting a year also totals 32,500 EUR: the choice therefore depends on your input, integration and team autonomy needs.
Steps to retire the Monday files
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Start with a metrics workshop of 2 half-days with leadership to keep 12 to 20 indicators, no more. Then map the sources and fix master data (customer codes, product families). Next deliver a first screen in 3 weeks, used in committee the following week. Excel files keep running in parallel for 4 weeks, then stop.
Mini case study
Claire, CFO of a 420-employee manufacturer in Toronto, ties up 3 people for 8 hours in total each week, at 50 EUR an hour loaded: 8 × 50 × 46 = 18,400 EUR a year. She picks a custom dashboard at 28,000 EUR, with forecast input by site managers, and 2,500 EUR of annual hosting. Net saving from year one: 18,400 − 2,500 = 15,900 EUR. Payback in about 21 months, not counting decisions made a week earlier.
FAQ
Do we need a new ERP for a real-time dashboard? No, in 9 cases out of 10 the ERP exposes a usable database or API. The work is on data quality, which is 30 to 40% of the budget.
How many indicators should we show? Between 12 and 20 for the executive team, with drill-down by site or rep. Beyond that, the committee stops reading them.
Can the dashboard be used on mobile? Yes, a mobile version is included in the custom build, and Power BI has a dedicated iOS and Android app.
Who maintains the indicators afterwards? With Power BI, an in-house champion trained in 3 to 5 days. With custom, a contract of 3,000 to 6,000 EUR a year covers changes.
Where is the data stored? The custom build can be hosted in a Canadian region of your choice. Power BI offers Microsoft regions in Canada for service data.
Let's scope your project. Send us your list of Monday files and data sources: we will price a dashboard between 15,000 and 35,000 EUR, delivered in 6 to 10 weeks. 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.
