An executive scorecard

One page of key numbers, each with a comparison, a target and a status, so a leadership team can see what needs attention in a minute.

A leadership team meets every Monday. They want one page that says where the business stands against plan and which number to talk about first.

The question

Are we on track, and what needs attention? That takes three things for each number: its value, how it compares with before, and how it stands against the target.

The data you need

  • Orders, with a date, revenue, cost and a region

  • Delivery records, or a flag for whether each order shipped on time

  • Targets, if you keep them in a table by month. Otherwise, you can set them in the report. A goal can hold them too, and charts can compare with it.

Connect your data, and build a dataset that joins these on the order and date.

The dataset

Add the numbers leaders actually talk about as calculated fields, so they mean the same thing in every chart.

Share of revenue left after cost.

Use a number format to show it as a percentage.

For a target that readers can change, add a parameter. A formula then uses it as @target:

Revenue as a share of the target someone picks.

The charts

Numbers with a comparison

Use a scorecard for each headline number: revenue, orders, margin. In the chart editor:

  1. Pick the Scorecard type and its Measure.

  2. Under Compare, pick Previous period or Same period last year.

  3. Turn on Trend line to draw a small line of the recent past under the number.

  4. If the dataset has several dates, pick which one under Date field.

The number, its change, and the period it's compared with.

Pick one comparison for the whole row. Mixing them makes readers stop and check each one.

A number against a target

A gauge suits a rate with a clear goal, such as orders shipped on time.

  1. Pick the Gauge type. Set Min, Max and Target.

  2. Under Ranges, low to high, add ranges, such as "Behind" up to 85% and "Close" up to 93%, so the arc shows how the number stands.

Bands say where the number stands, and the labels say it in words.

For a target that differs by row, such as by region, the Bullet type takes a target measure. See Chart types.

Status at a glance

Color rules mark what needs attention. They work on column and bar charts without a Breakdown.

  1. Under Analysis, find Color bars when.

  2. Pick a condition, such as At least, and a value.

  3. Pick a status: Good, Warning, Serious or Critical.

  4. Add a label for the legend, so the color has words.

Busy months are marked by a rule, and the legend names it.

Scorecards don't take color rules. For a number with a status, use a gauge or a bullet. See Color rules.

The trend to the target

On a line or column chart, Analysis also has Reference lines. Press Add reference line and pick Value, then type the goal and a label. Use Forecast periods to show where the trend is heading.

A trend, a six-month forecast and a goal on one chart.

See Chart analytics.

The report

  1. Press New report and pick the Dashboard grid layout.

  2. Put the scorecards in a row at the top, in the order the meeting goes through them. Add the gauge and the two trend charts below.

  3. Add a date range and a region filter at the top. Add the target as a parameter control if readers should change it.

  4. Keep it to one page. If it scrolls, it's not a scorecard.

  5. Publish it. Pin it to your sidebar so it's where you look first.

How it's shared