As a small business owner, you don’t have time to dig through spreadsheets every time you want a financial update. You need a clear, quick, and actionable snapshot of how your business is doing—at a glance. That’s where financial dashboards come in. A well-designed dashboard brings your numbers to life, so you can make confident decisions and stay in control. The best part? You don’t need a finance degree or an expensive tool to build one. Let’s break down the key financial dashboards every small business should have—and how to use them.

Why Dashboards Matter

Financial dashboards help you:

• Track performance in real time
• Spot trends and issues before they become problems
• Align your team around goals
• Make data-driven decisions quickly

Think of them as your business’s control panel—one glance tells you what’s working and what needs fixing.

  1. Cash Flow Dashboard

  Purpose: Track your actual money movement in and out. Key metrics to include:

• Opening and closing bank balances
• Cash in (customer payments, loans, funding)
• Cash out (expenses, payroll, taxes)
• Net cash position over time

  Why it matters: Cash is your lifeline. This dashboard shows you whether you're burning or building—and how long your       runway really is.

  2. Revenue & Sales Dashboard

  Purpose: Monitor top-line growth and customer behavior. Key metrics to include:

• Total sales (weekly/monthly)
• Revenue by product/service
• Revenue by channel (web, in-person, etc.)
• Average order value (AOV)
• Number of transactions or new clients

   Why it matters: It helps you understand where your income is coming from and whether it’s growing consistently.

  3. Profitability Dashboard

  Purpose: Know whether your business is truly making money. Key metrics to include:

• Gross profit and net profit
• Profit margins by product or service
• Profit trend over time
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) breakdown

  Why it matters: Revenue is meaningless without profit. This dashboard ensures you’re building something sustainable—not    just busy.

  4. Expense Dashboard

  Purpose: Keep spending in check and avoid cost creep. Key metrics to include:

• Total expenses (monthly/quarterly)
• Expenses by category (e.g., payroll, software, rent)
• Fixed vs variable costs
• Year-over-year spending comparison

  Why it matters: When expenses rise silently, profit vanishes. This dashboard helps you spot red flags early.

  5. Accounts Receivable Dashboard

  Purpose: Track unpaid invoices and improve cash collection. Key metrics to include:

• Outstanding invoices
• Days Sales Outstanding (DSO)
• Average time to payment
• Overdue clients or amounts

  Why it matters: Getting paid late hurts your cash flow. This dashboard helps you stay on top of collections and improve     payment terms.

  6. Forecasting Dashboard

  Purpose: Project future income, expenses, and cash flow. Key elements to include:

• Projected revenue and expenses
• Estimated cash flow over next 3–12 months
• Scenario planning (best, worst, most likely)

  Why it matters: This dashboard turns today’s data into tomorrow’s plan, helping you anticipate shortfalls or opportunities.

Bonus: Combine with KPI Dashboards

You can layer financial dashboards with business KPIs like:

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)
• Customer lifetime value (LTV)
• Monthly recurring revenue (MRR), if applicable
• Revenue per employee

These help you measure the efficiency and health of your growth engine.

Tools You Can Use

You don’t need to be a tech expert to build financial dashboards:

• Google Sheets or Excel – Great for DIY, customizable dashboards
• QuickBooks Online – Offers built-in dashboards
• LivePlan – Financial forecasting with visual dashboards
• Fathom or Klipfolio – More advanced tools for growing teams
• JBS Balance Sheet Analyzer – Custom tools to help small business owners track financial health

The bottom-line

Financial dashboards don’t just make your data look pretty—they make your business smarter. The right dashboards help you stay proactive, not reactive. Build them once, keep them updated, and you’ll make better decisions with less stress.

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Want help designing the right financial dashboards for your business? Connect with us and we’ll build a custom view that works for you.