Reporting + dashboards, the numbers leadership reads each week.
Most CRMs ship 50+ reports nobody opens. We design 12 dashboards leadership actually reads. Each tells one story. Each is tied to a decision. Each agrees with the others.
Dashboards leadership actually opens.
Four real reporting builds.
12 dashboards replace 60+
Promptly's reporting layer cut from 60+ underused reports to 12 dashboards leadership reads weekly.
Reports that agree with each other
AdLib's reports used to disagree on the same number. Rebuild fixed source-of-truth and reconciliation.
Forecast dashboard + drift report
IPS Group's leadership now reviews forecast and drift in one dashboard each Monday morning.
Dashboards across 12 source systems
Anchor's reporting spans 12 systems. One dashboard per role. Source-of-truth designations clear.
When this work fits, and when it truly doesn't.
Below is the honest read.
Right fit when
- Your reporting layer has too many reports and too little signal.
- Reports disagree with each other on the same underlying data.
- Leadership doesn't trust the numbers in the CRM and rebuilds them in spreadsheets.
- You want dashboards by role, not one big shared canvas everyone ignores.
- Source-of-truth designations are unclear and need to be formalized.
Wrong fit when
- Your data is too dirty for reporting work to add value. Clean source data first.
- Reporting layer is fine and you only need one or two new reports. Don't need a full engagement.
- You expect reporting to fix process issues. It surfaces them but doesn't fix them.
- Stakeholders won't agree on what numbers matter. Alignment first, reporting second.
How a reporting layer holds together.
Below is the structure.
Source of truth + reconciliation
Every metric has a source-of-truth designation. Reconciliation rules between source systems documented. Quality monitoring on the inputs.
Role-based + decision-tied
12 dashboards by role. Each one tells one story tied to one weekly decision. AE dashboard, sales lead dashboard, CRO dashboard, CMO dashboard, finance dashboard.
Quality + change tracking
Drift detection on key metrics. Alert when things move outside expected ranges. Audit trail on report changes. Reconciliation reports for high-stakes numbers.
From kickoff to dashboards leadership reads.
Five steps.
Audit
Two sessions with leadership across roles. Current reports, opens, decisions made, dispute patterns. Output: keep / cut / rebuild list.
Design
12 dashboards designed against role-based decisions. Source-of-truth designations made. Sign-off before build.
Build
HubSpot dashboards, calculated fields, custom reports. Tested against historical data. Drift detection wired.
Train
Each role walked through their dashboard. Decision-prompts documented. Recorded curriculum in Knowledge Base.
Operate
30 days of weekly check-ins. Drift monitoring. Optional retainer for ongoing tuning.
Inside a reporting + dashboards build.
Below is the typical scope. Fixed fee, scoped at proposal; engagements start from $2,000.
Audit + Design
- ·Reporting audit with open-rate analysis
- ·Decisions-to-dashboards mapping
- ·Source-of-truth designations documented
- ·Sign-off gate before build
Build
- ·12 role-based dashboards
- ·Calculated fields and custom reports
- ·Reconciliation rules documented
- ·Drift detection wired
Train
- ·Role-based walkthroughs
- ·Decision-prompts per dashboard
- ·Recorded curriculum in Knowledge Base
Hand off
- ·Reporting layer documentation
- ·Source-of-truth designations
- ·Optimization roadmap for months 4-12
Fixed-fee. Volume-aware.
Fixed fee, scoped at proposal. Engagements start from $2,000, and the number is locked before work begins with the scope and timeline written down.
Things people ask.
Can you replace our existing dashboards or just add new ones?+
Both. Most engagements cut 70 to 80% of existing reports and replace them with 12 dashboards by role. Some keep specific historic reports for compliance or audit purposes.
Does this work on Salesforce?+
Yes. About 25% of our reporting builds are on Salesforce or paired with Salesforce-as-source.
What about Looker, Tableau, or Power BI?+
Yes. We build the reporting layer in HubSpot for daily decision-making and pair it with Looker/Tableau/Power BI for deep analytical work. Both layers reconcile to the same source of truth.
How do you handle disagreement on metric definitions?+
We surface the disagreement in the audit phase. Stakeholders agree on a single definition before we build. We don't ship reports that hide a definitional disagreement.
What about real-time vs batch?+
Most dashboards are real-time on HubSpot. Some calculated metrics (attribution, multi-touch) run as overnight batch jobs. We document refresh cadence on every metric.
How do we get started?+
Book a 30-minute strategy call. Proposal within 48 hours if we're a fit.
How INSIDEA works
