The verdict in three sentences
A consolidated executive dashboard for a Dubai group with 5 subsidiaries costs between USD 30,000 and 66,000 (about AED 110,000 to 240,000), depending on the number of ERPs to connect and the depth of the KPIs. The real work is not the chart but the data warehouse that reconciles 4 different ERPs, heterogeneous charts of accounts and duplicated customer master data. With a daily refresh of 25 KPIs, the CEO moves from reporting at D+20 to reading at D+1, for a project timeline of 3 to 5 months.
Why Excel reporting costs more than it seems
In a Dubai group combining distribution, construction and real estate, each subsidiary reports its own way: one ERP for distribution, a construction-specific system for projects, a property management tool for leasing, sometimes a homegrown Excel file. Financial controllers spend 8 to 12 days a month extracting, restating and consolidating. Result: the mid-month executive committee reviews last month's numbers.
| Situation | Current Excel reporting | Consolidated dashboard |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | D+15 to D+20 | D+1 (nightly refresh) |
| Controlling time | 10 days/month | 2 days/month (review and analysis) |
| KPIs tracked | 8 to 10, inconsistent | 25 group-defined KPIs |
| Gaps between subsidiaries | Found at closing | Visible within the week |
| Reliability | Re-keying, formula errors | Single source, documented rules |
| Access | Files by email | Web and mobile, rights per subsidiary |
Recommended architecture and 2026 budget
The standard architecture has four layers: connectors that extract ERP data every night, a staging area where charts of accounts and master data are harmonized, a data warehouse (PostgreSQL, Azure SQL or BigQuery) and a reporting layer in Power BI. The ranges below are 2026 order-of-magnitude estimates, converted from the Abidjan reference budget.
| Item | 3 subsidiaries, 2 ERPs | 5 subsidiaries, 4 ERPs | 5 subsidiaries + forecasting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scoping and dictionary of 25 KPIs | USD 3,300 | USD 5,000 | USD 6,600 |
| ERP connectors | USD 6,600 | USD 14,800 | USD 18,100 |
| Warehouse and harmonization | USD 8,200 | USD 13,200 | USD 18,100 |
| Dashboards (CEO, CFO, subsidiaries) | USD 6,600 | USD 9,000 | USD 13,200 |
| Training and acceptance | USD 2,500 | USD 3,300 | USD 5,000 |
| Total build budget | USD 27,000 to 30,000 | USD 45,000 | USD 61,000 to 66,000 |
| Timeline | 3 months | 4 months | 5 months |
Recurring costs stay moderate: Power BI Pro licenses at USD 10 per user per month, so USD 3,600 a year for 30 users, cloud hosting at USD 2,000 to 4,000 a year and maintenance at 15% of the build.
The 25 KPIs that matter to a CEO
Scoping sets a single definition per KPI, approved by finance. For a distribution, construction and real estate group, the list covers: revenue and gross margin by subsidiary, working capital requirement, consolidated cash, days sales outstanding (DSO), receivables overdue by more than 90 days, construction backlog, physical progress versus billed progress, occupancy rate and rent arrears, inventory turnover in distribution, payroll and headcount. Each KPI has an owner, a formula and an alert threshold that triggers an email to the person in charge.
A point specific to multi-entity groups in the Gulf: subsidiaries may use different fiscal and VAT setups across UAE free zones and mainland entities. Account mapping often represents 20 to 25% of total effort.
Mini case study
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Omar, CEO of a Dubai group with 5 subsidiaries and 420 employees, had 4 financial controllers working on monthly consolidation, 10 days each, or 40 person-days a month. After the USD 45,000 project, 8 remain. At USD 300 per loaded day, savings reach USD 9,600 a month, or USD 115,200 a year. Add a 12-day DSO reduction on USD 10 million of annual distribution revenue: about USD 330,000 of cash released. The build pays back in under 5 months on productivity alone.
FAQ
Do we need to change ERP before launching the dashboard?
No. The data warehouse is designed precisely to read different ERPs. An ERP change is a 12 to 24 month project; the dashboard ships in 3 to 5 months.
Is real time necessary for group management?
Rarely. A daily refresh covers 90% of decisions. Minute-level real time adds 20 to 30% to the budget and only helps for flows such as store tills.
What if a subsidiary has no ERP?
We provide a structured input template or a standardized Excel import, loaded automatically. Budget USD 2,500 to 4,000 for this simplified connector.
Is Power BI the only option?
No: Metabase (open source) or Looker Studio bring license costs close to zero, but offer fewer row-level security features. For a group with more than 20 users, Power BI at USD 10 a month remains the most common compromise.
Who maintains the tool after delivery?
A maintenance contract at 15% of the build per year covers ERP changes and new KPIs. We also train an internal owner, usually a financial controller.
Let's scope your project. We scope your group dashboard from the number of subsidiaries, ERPs and KPIs, with an indicative budget of USD 30,000 to 66,000 and a 3 to 5 month timeline. 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.
