Data2 min read
The short answer
Pick the handful of numbers you make decisions with, then pull them out of each tool into one place on a schedule, and build a single dashboard on top. Start with the questions you ask every week, not with every number you can collect. Add alerts for the few things that cannot wait.
Why do my tools give different numbers?
Because each one counts in its own way. Your shop counts an order when it is placed; your accounts count it when the money arrives; your ads platform counts it when someone clicks. None of them is wrong, they are answering slightly different questions.
Bringing the data into one place means deciding once how each number is counted, and using that everywhere.
Which numbers are worth watching?
Fewer than you think. For most small businesses, some version of these:
- Money in, and where it came from
- New customers, and what brought them
- Repeat customers
- Bookings or orders this week against last
- Anything that runs out, like stock or open slots
How does the data get into one place?
Each tool can hand over its data, usually through a connection the tool provides. A small job runs on a schedule, collects the new records from each one, tidies them up and stores them together in one database.
The dashboard reads from that database, so every chart starts from the same numbers. The weekly report can be built from it too, and arrive in your inbox without anyone putting it together.
Do I need a dashboard or just alerts?
Both, for different jobs. A dashboard is for the questions you ask on a Monday morning. An alert is for the things that cannot wait until then: the site going down, payments failing, or a number moving the wrong way fast.
Questions people also ask
- Can I just use a spreadsheet?
- For a while, yes. A spreadsheet becomes a problem when someone has to update it by hand, or when more than one person keeps their own copy.
- How often should the numbers update?
- As often as you act on them. Daily is plenty for most businesses. Anything that needs a faster response belongs in an alert.
- Is my data safe in one place?
- It should be safer than spread across exports and inboxes. Keep it in your own account, limit who can see what, and keep a record of who looked.
