On this page
What decides the cost of a dashboard?
Two dashboards can look identical on screen and differ widely in price. The difference is underneath, in the data.
| Cost driver | What it means | Effect on the price |
|---|---|---|
| Number of data sources | Each tool the numbers come from: CRM, accounts, ad platforms, booking system, spreadsheets. | Lower with one or two. Higher with each source connected and kept up to date. |
| How clean the data is | Duplicates, blank fields and the same client spelt three ways all have to be fixed before a total can be trusted. | Lower when records are tidy. Higher when cleaning comes first. |
| Agreeing metric definitions | Writing down what counts as a lead, a sale or an active client, so sales and finance read the same figure. | Lower when definitions exist. Higher when they must be argued out. |
| Roles and views | Who sees what. An owner view, a team view and a client view are three sets of screens and access rules. | Lower for one view. Higher for each role added. |
| Scheduled reports | A summary sent on a set day to named people, as well as the live screen. | Lower without them. Higher with each report and recipient list. |
Cut the list of numbers before you ask for a price. Our guide to the numbers a service business dashboard needs is a good place to start.
One-off, running and optional costs
The build, paid once
£5,000 to £20,000, split 50% upfront and 50% on launch. It is built in your own accounts, and you own the code and the data behind every chart.
Running costs, paid to providers
Hosting and software are billed to you directly by the providers. We do not sit in the middle of those bills, and the written scope names each one.
Support, only if you want it
Run & Improve is £1,000, £2,000 or £4,000 a month, with a three-month minimum. It makes sense when you expect to add sources or change definitions. A dashboard that is finished can run without it.
When a spreadsheet or a built-in report is enough
A custom dashboard is the wrong purchase in these cases:
- Your numbers live in one tool. Use that tool's own reports. They are already paid for.
- You look at three or four figures a month. A spreadsheet updated by one person is cheaper and good enough.
- Nobody acts on the numbers yet. A dashboard does not create the habit. Start with a monthly review, then build for it.
- The data is not being recorded. A dashboard can only show what your tools capture. Fix the capture first, which may mean CRM setup before any reporting.
The trade-off with the cheaper routes is the hand work. Someone still has to gather the figures, and that time is what the sum further down prices.
Why a range before the audit and a fixed price after the scope?
Data quality is invisible from the outside. We find out how clean your records are by opening them, and that happens in the audit, not on a sales call.
The paid audit is £3,000 plus VAT (US $5,000). The written report arrives within 10 working days, and the fee is credited against the build when the build deposit is paid within 14 days of the report.
After the audit comes a written scope. It lists the sources, the agreed definitions, the roles and the reports, with one fixed price and a timeline agreed with you. Our approach goes through each stage.
What you would be buying
Dashboards and reporting is the solution: one screen that pulls your figures from the tools that hold them, on definitions your team has signed off. Where the gap is copying data between tools and not reading it, workflow automation is the better fit, and the audit tells you which.
Our own platform for lead generation agencies includes ad reporting across two ad platforms and a CRM, alongside a client portal on each agency's own brand. It is our product, not a client result. See how we built it.
What is the weekly report worth? Do the sum
The leak: "Someone spends Monday morning building the weekly report by hand from four tools." This is the time back lever, and it only counts once it is turned into pounds.
The mechanism: the dashboard reads each source on a schedule. It applies the agreed definition to every figure, shows each role its own view, and sends the summary on the day you choose. Nobody exports, pastes or reformats.
- Hours a week spent building reports by hand: 5
- Hourly cost of the person doing it: £30
- Cost a week: 5 × £30 = £150
- Cost a year: £150 × 52 = £7,800
Example figures. Swap in your own. They are made up to show the method, and they count hand work only. Decisions made late on old numbers have a cost as well, but we cannot put an honest example figure on that.
What to count: list every regular report, who builds it and how long it takes each time. Include the checking and the corrections. Multiply by what that person costs an hour, or work out your own figure with our ROI calculator. Bring the list to the call. The audit report then prices each problem.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a custom business dashboard cost?
Our scoped builds run from £5,000 to £20,000. We hold no separate band for dashboards. Sources, data quality and the number of roles set the figure.
Why does messy data raise the price?
A total built on duplicates and blanks is wrong, and a wrong dashboard is worse than none. Cleaning is work that has to be done before the build.
Can it pull from the tools we already use?
If the tool lets other software read its data, yes. We check each source in the audit and tell you about any that cannot be connected.
Who decides what each number means?
You do. We write each definition down and you sign it off in the scope. That document is useful even outside the dashboard.
Can clients or staff see only their own figures?
Yes. Access is set by role. Each extra role adds screens and rules to build and test, so it adds to the price.
Do we own the dashboard and the data?
Yes. It sits in your accounts, and the code and data are yours.