Did you know that half of all small businesses get their start at the homes of the respective company owners? That’s according to the U.S. Small Business Association.
If you currently run a small business from your home office, you need the right tools to thrive. One tool you should get, if you don’t already have one, is an online dashboard. It’ll help you track and see the data you need on a single screen and in real time.
Continue reading to see why your small business needs an online dashboard to work smarter.
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Get Company-Wide Visibility
One reason you need an online dashboard for your company is for the business-wide visibility. In other words, you need to know what’s happening in your company all the time and in real time. If you launch a marketing campaign, you can use a dashboard to keep on top of things like:
- How many people received the email
- How many recipients opened the email
- How much revenue came in as a result of the marketing campaign
Having a marketing dashboard means you’ll have easy access to this sort of information, which will enable you to launch more focused marketing campaigns in the future.
It’s hard to make good decisions without access to the right information. An online dashboard will allow you to find the information you require to facilitate good decision-making.
Make Better Use of Your Time
You can also save a lot of time and effort by leveraging the power of an online dashboard. Are you currently generating reports from scratch every day, week, or month? That could translate into more work hours than you realize having people manually produce reports.
An online dashboard can automate the process of generating reports — and it will update them regularly for real-time accuracy that allows you to make informed business decisions. You can also set things up so that the reports are automatically sent to your staff or anyone else.
Increase Profits
You’ll be interested in any solution that helps to increase profits. With an online dashboard, you’ll have clear visibility at how your company is performing. You’ll see what’s going well, what’s performing less optimally than expected, and what’s fairing poorly. Having access to this level of data means your business will be able to heighten focus on areas that must be addressed. If you go about things the right way, you can make needed changes, boost sales, and increase profits.
Connect All Your Data Sources
You have data spread out across the myriad databases and tools your business uses. Whether it’s a CRM, an ERP, or something like Google Analytics, your company needs the right tools to fulfill its objectives. An online dashboard will pull together the data from these sources and assemble them in one location to get a meaningful grasp of how you’re doing.
Better Collaboration
It’s also essential that you be able to collaborate with employees or stakeholders. One way an online dashboard can help is by allowing you to share information with relevant parties. You can set user permissions so that only authorized parties gain access to the online dashboard. They’ll be able to see data in real time and can be kept up to date. Depending on the type of online dashboard you get, you may also be able to share it in various formats and channels online. Keeping key players in the know and allowing for feedback will foster a collaborative environment.
Various Options for Sharing Data
Another benefit you’ll get from an online dashboard is the ability to display information in various ways. Depending on what you want to share with employees or management, you might find that different types of visual elements are more appropriate than others. Case in point: consider these 25 examples of financial graphs and charts to see how you can display information. You’ll want to select an online dashboard that gives you these types of options.
Even if you’re a business of one, you should consider getting an online dashboard. For the abovementioned reasons and others, you can use an online dashboard to work smarter rather than harder. It’s worth your while to consider your options before deciding.