A sketch or prototype first
You see in advance which KPIs, charts and filters you will get. Changing something on paper takes minutes; in a finished dashboard it takes much longer.
Power BI dashboard development
See the dashboard first. Then build it.
Power BI dashboard development at Data Analytics starts with the end product: a sketch or prototype that shows which KPIs and charts you will get, before anything is built. Then we connect your data, build the model and the dashboard, and publish it in ENABLE with access by role.
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Revenue & marginLast refreshed 08:14 Full screen
PagesOverviewBy regionBy product groupMarginLast year
Revenue YTD€4.32m +8.4%
Gross margin31.6% +1.2 pt
Orders18,240 +5.1%
Avg. order value€237 +3.2%
Revenue per month (× €1,000)20262025
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep
Revenue by region
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Outsourcing Power BI dashboard development makes sense if you want reliable management information quickly, without learning Power BI, data modelling and DAX yourself. Data Analytics B.V. builds Power BI dashboards for management, finance, sales and operations, and delivers them in ENABLE: a secure portal in your own branding.
The difference lies in the order. We do not start with the data, but with the end product: a sketch or prototype of the dashboard. Only when it is clear which questions the dashboard must answer and what it looks like do we connect data and start building. That way you avoid a dashboard that is technically correct but never used.
Key points
Power BI dashboard development at a glance
Data connection and data model
We connect your sources via a data warehouse and build a model with fixed definitions, so every number can be traced back to its source.
Built in Power BI
The dashboard is built in Power BI, with clear page navigation and a mobile view where it makes sense.
Published in ENABLE
The dashboard appears in your own portal. Users log in with two-factor authentication and see only what belongs to their profile.
Access by role
Access profiles determine who sees which dashboard. With row-level security, a regional manager sees only their own region.
Insight into usage and status
You see which dashboards are opened and when the data was last refreshed. A daily check flags reports with a problem.
Our approach to Power BI dashboard development
A dashboard rarely fails on technology. It fails because it does not match the user's questions, because there is too much on it or because nobody trusts the figures. That is why we first make visible what you will get. Together with the people who will use the dashboard, we sketch the pages: which KPIs sit at the top, which trends you want to see, what you want to filter on and where you click through to detail.
A useful test question: what should you know after looking for ten seconds? Only when the sketch is right do we move on to the data. That saves rebuilding afterwards and makes it immediately clear which sources and definitions are needed.
What a good management dashboard contains
Management dashboard development is mainly a matter of choosing. The dashboard should show at a glance whether you are on track, and where to intervene if you are not. In practice, a good management dashboard contains:
- A handful of KPIs at the top, compared with the previous period, last year or the target.
- Trends over time, so you can see whether a deviation is incidental or structural.
- A breakdown by the dimensions you steer on: region, branch, product group, customer segment or account manager.
- The option to click through to detail, without overloading the first page.
- Clear definitions and a visible reference date, such as the "Last refreshed" status in ENABLE.
KPI dashboard development: choose fewer, better KPIs
In KPI dashboard development, the temptation is to show everything that is available. A small set of KPIs whose meaning everyone knows works better. Each KPI needs a definition, an owner, a target and a source. You can record monthly targets per KPI in ENABLE with the built-in Targets app.
| KPI | Question to answer in advance | Example view |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | By invoice date or delivery date? Including credit notes? | Revenue per month compared with last year |
| Gross margin | Which costs do you include? | Margin per product group |
| Order intake | Does an order count when created or when confirmed? | Orders per week per branch |
| Accounts receivable | From which day is an invoice overdue? | Outstanding amount by ageing category |
| Utilisation | Available hours or contract hours as the basis? | Utilisation per team per week |
What to prepare when you have a Power BI dashboard built
You do not need to do any technical preparation, but a few things make the project faster and better:
- The decisions you want to make with the dashboard, and who makes them.
- A list of the KPIs that are already in Excel or in separate reports.
- Access to your source systems, or a contact person who can arrange that access.
- Someone who can decide on definitions if there is discussion about them.
- Who may see which data: per department, region, branch or customer.
- Examples of reports or dashboards you like, or do not like.
Why publish in ENABLE instead of separate links
A dashboard that circulates via separate links, shared accounts or PDF exports is hard to manage. In ENABLE, users open the dashboard in your own portal, with one login, two-factor authentication and automatic sign-out (after 30 minutes by default). You manage access centrally via access profiles and can use "Preview as user" to check what someone sees.
We also keep an overview after delivery. With the daily Power BI health check, Data Analytics sees for each report whether it is healthy, needs attention or returns an error, and usage statistics show which dashboards are actually used. In the portal itself, everyone sees when the data was last refreshed.
In ENABLE
How Power BI dashboard development works
- 01
Visualise the end product
We sketch the dashboard together with the people who will use it: KPIs, charts, filters and pages.
- 02
Connect data
We determine which sources are needed and load them into your data warehouse if they are not there yet.
- 03
Build the model
We build the data model with fixed definitions, so every number in the dashboard can be traced back to its source.
- 04
Build and test the dashboard
We build the dashboard in Power BI and walk through it with you until it matches the sketch and the figures are correct.
- 05
Publish in ENABLE
The dashboard goes into your portal, linked to access profiles and, where needed, to row-level security.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Power BI dashboard development: how does it work?
At Data Analytics, it starts with a sketch or prototype of the dashboard, so you see in advance what you will get. Then we connect your data, build the data model and the dashboard in Power BI, and publish it in ENABLE with access by role.
What does a Power BI consultant do?
A Power BI consultant helps design and build dashboards, connect data sources and set up a reliable data model. At Data Analytics, this also includes delivering the dashboard in a secure portal, so it actually gets used.
What should I prepare when having a management dashboard built?
Think about which decisions you want to make with the dashboard and which KPIs you need for them. Make sure you have access to your source systems and someone who can decide on definitions. Also determine who may see which data.
What is the difference between a KPI dashboard and a management dashboard?
A KPI dashboard shows a fixed set of performance indicators with their targets, often for one team or process. A management dashboard combines the key KPIs of several departments to steer at organisation level. In practice they overlap considerably.
Can I share a Power BI dashboard with people outside my organisation?
Yes, via ENABLE. You invite users to your portal by email and use access profiles to determine which dashboards they see. With row-level security, they see only their own data within a dashboard, for example that of their own branch or organisation.
Further reading
- SolutionPower BI dashboard portal: share dashboards securelyShare your Power BI dashboards securely in your own portal, with role-based access.Read more
- ResourcesHow to build a KPI dashboard: steps and examplesA KPI dashboard is an overview of the key figures you use to steer towards your goals, such as revenue, margin, on-time delivery or absenteeism. A good KPI dashboard does not start with the software, but with the decisions it needs to support. You then choose a limited number of KPIs, define them, sketch the dashboard and only then build it.Read more
- IntegrationPower BI embedded portal: share dashboards securelyPower BI reports embedded in your own portal, with access by role and RLS.Read more
- PlatformPower BI row-level security and dashboard accessAccess profiles, Power BI row-level security, two-factor authentication and an audit log.Read more
- ResourcesShare Power BI dashboards securely: your optionsYou can share a Power BI dashboard in four ways: Publish to web, sharing in the Power BI service (directly or through an app), inviting external users as B2B guest users, or showing the reports in a portal with Power BI Embedded. For colleagues, the Power BI service is usually enough. To share Power BI dashboards securely with customers, suppliers and other external users, guest users or a customer portal are the right choice; Publish to web is public and never suitable for business data.Read more
- SolutionSingle source of truth: one version of the truthOne central source for your business data, so every department sees the same figures.Read more
Share securely, live fast, no headache
In an online demo we show you the portal: dashboards per role, row-level security, plain-language questions and how we set it up and manage it for you.