Financial dashboard: what to track each month?
Introduction
You track your turnover each month, but do you really know where your cash flow stands? Do you know your actual margin or the average time before collecting your invoices? Without a structured financial dashboard, you're flying blind.
Many entrepreneurs focus solely on turnover, hoping the rest will follow. Result: unpleasant surprises at the end of the month, unexpected cash flow tensions, or costs that explode without anyone noticing.
A monthly dashboard gives you a clear and instant view of your financial health. It's not about drowning your management in dozens of figures, but about tracking the essential SME KPIs that truly reveal the state of your business: available cash, cash flow, margins, collection periods.
In this guide, we list the concrete indicators to track each month, how to calculate them simply, and above all how to interpret them to make the right decisions. Whether you're self-employed, an SME manager or an entrepreneur, you'll have a practical framework to build your own dashboard adapted to your business.
📌 Summary (TL;DR)
A monthly financial dashboard brings together the key indicators to manage your SME: cash flow and cash flow, collection and payment periods, turnover, margins, operating result, collection rate. Choose the KPIs adapted to your business, automate their tracking via your invoicing tools, and analyse them regularly to anticipate difficulties and adjust your strategy.
📚 Table of contents
Why build a monthly financial dashboard?
A monthly financial dashboard allows you to manage your business rather than suffer it. Instead of discovering your cash flow difficulties three months too late, you anticipate and act in time.
It's not reserved for large companies. Even a micro-enterprise benefits from tracking a few key indicators each month. You make informed decisions about your investments, hires or prices.
Some indicators are tracked directly via your invoicing tools, without manual re-entry. Your invoicing software already centralises part of this data.
Cash flow indicators to track absolutely
Cash flow is the lifeblood of the business. You can be profitable on paper and lack liquidity to pay your expenses. These indicators give you a clear view of your cash flow situation.
Track them monthly to quickly identify warning signals and adjust your management before problems become critical.
Cash balance and cash flow
The cash balance represents the money actually available in your bank accounts. Cash flow measures its monthly variation: receipts minus disbursements.
This is the number one indicator to monitor. Negative cash flow for several consecutive months signals a structural problem to correct quickly.
Simple example: if you start the month with 15,000 CHF, collect 8,000 CHF and pay 10,000 CHF, your cash flow is -2,000 CHF and your final balance is 13,000 CHF.
The cash flow statement details these movements and helps you manage your cash flow effectively.
Average collection period (DSO)
DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) measures the average number of days between issuing an invoice and its collection. Calculation: (customer receivables / average monthly turnover) × 30.
A high DSO directly weighs on your cash flow. You've invoiced but the money isn't yet available to pay your expenses.
In Switzerland, a DSO between 30 and 45 days is reasonable depending on sectors. Beyond 60 days, your collection process needs adjustments.
Automatic reminders significantly reduce this period by systematically following up with late-paying customers, without manual effort on your part.
Average supplier payment period (DPO)
DPO (Days Payable Outstanding) measures the average time you take to pay your suppliers. Calculation: (supplier debts / average monthly purchases) × 30.
Balance is important. Taking advantage of payment terms improves your short-term cash flow, but paying too late damages your business relationships and can make you lose advantageous conditions.
Aim for a DPO aligned with the conditions negotiated with your suppliers, without systematically exceeding deadlines.
Essential profitability indicators
Profitability measures your ability to generate profits. These SME KPIs tell you whether your business model works and where your improvement margins lie.
Track them monthly to quickly identify a deterioration in your margins or a positive evolution in your performance.
Turnover and monthly evolution
Track your monthly turnover and compare it to the previous month and the same period last year. This double comparison reveals real trends and seasonal effects.
Distinguish between invoiced turnover and collected turnover. The first measures your commercial activity, the second your actual cash inflow.
Identify your strong and weak months to better anticipate your cash flow needs and adjust your organisation.
Gross margin and margin rate
Gross margin corresponds to your turnover minus your direct costs (purchases of goods, raw materials, direct subcontracting). The gross margin rate is calculated: (gross margin / turnover) × 100.
This is a crucial profitability indicator. It measures what remains to cover your fixed costs and generate profit.
Ranges vary by sector: 60-80% for services, 30-50% for retail, 40-60% for crafts. Compare yourself to your sector and monitor the evolution of your own rate.
This KPI is part of the 5 essential financial indicators to assess your financial health.
Operating result (simplified EBITDA)
Operating result measures your operational performance: turnover minus all your operating expenses (direct costs + fixed costs such as rent, salaries, insurance).
It reveals whether your business generates profit before taxes and financial charges. A negative operating result signals that your business model needs adjustments.
Track its monthly evolution to quickly identify a deterioration in your operational profitability and understand its causes.
Break-even point and break-even threshold
The break-even point represents the turnover level where you neither lose nor make money. Simplified calculation: monthly fixed costs / gross margin rate.
Example: with 5,000 CHF in fixed costs and a margin rate of 50%, your threshold is 10,000 CHF in monthly turnover.
This indicator helps you set realistic goals and measure your safety margin. The more you exceed this threshold, the more profit you generate.
Complementary operational indicators
Beyond cash flow and profitability, certain operational KPIs directly impact your financial health. They help you identify concrete improvement levers.
Select those that correspond to your business and your development phase.
Collection rate
The collection rate measures the percentage of invoices paid within agreed deadlines. Calculation: (amount collected at maturity / invoiced amount) × 100.
A rate below 80% signals collection problems that weigh on your cash flow. Analyse the causes: payment terms too flexible, insufficient follow-ups, customers in difficulty.
Automatic reminders significantly improve this rate by systematising follow-ups without manual effort.
Number of active customers and average basket
Track the evolution of the number of active customers (who purchased during the month) and the average turnover per customer (total turnover / number of active customers).
These two indicators reveal whether your growth comes from volume (more customers) or value (customers who spend more). Each lever requires different actions.
A drop in the number of customers offset by an increase in average basket can mask a loyalty or acquisition problem.
Fixed costs vs variable costs
Track the split between your fixed costs (rent, salaries, insurance) and your variable costs (purchases, commissions, subcontracting).
A high ratio of fixed costs increases your risk in case of declining business: you must maintain a high minimum turnover to cover these incompressible costs.
This split directly influences your break-even point and your ability to absorb business variations.
How to build your dashboard in practice
A good financial dashboard remains simple and actionable. The goal is to regularly track your indicators, not to create a complex tool you'll never use.
Start small and adjust progressively according to your real needs.
Choosing the right indicators for your business
You don't need to track all indicators. Select 5 to 8 relevant KPIs according to your sector and your development phase.
At start-up, prioritise cash flow and profitability: cash balance, DSO, monthly turnover, gross margin and break-even point. These five indicators are enough to manage effectively.
Progressively add other KPIs according to your needs: collection rate if you have bad debt problems, average basket if you're working on moving upmarket.
Tools and automation
An Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet is more than sufficient at the start. Create a tab per month with your key indicators and their evolution.
Your invoicing software like BePaid allows you to automatically track several indicators without re-entry: monthly turnover, outstanding receivables, collection rate, breakdown by customer. The data is already there, exploit it.
Tracking your financial indicators via your invoicing software avoids multiplying tools and reduces the risk of error.
Only invest in a specialised tool if your business really justifies it. Simplicity remains your best ally.
Interpreting your indicators and taking action
A financial dashboard only has value if it leads to concrete decisions. Analyse trends over several months rather than reacting to each one-off variation.
Identify alerts: cash flow that regularly decreases, margin that deteriorates, DSO that increases, collection rate that drops. Each signal requires analysis and corrective actions.
Systematically compare your actual results to your forecasts. Your budget forecast serves as a reference to identify gaps and understand their causes.
Define concrete actions: renegotiate your supplier terms, adjust your prices, follow up more actively with your customers, reduce certain costs. Financial management consists of transforming information into decisions.
A monthly financial dashboard transforms your business management. By regularly tracking your cash balance, your collection periods, your gross margin and your break-even point, you make informed decisions rather than navigating blindly. These indicators aren't reserved for large companies: a few well-chosen KPIs are enough to effectively manage your business.
The essential thing is not to multiply complex tables, but to track the right figures at the right time. Start simple with 5 to 7 key indicators, automate their tracking as much as possible, and get into the habit of consulting them each month. Your dashboard then becomes a real management tool, not an administrative chore.
With BePaid, you automatically track your unpaid invoices, your collection periods and your monthly turnover. A solid foundation to build your dashboard without multiplying tools. Test it free and regain control of your finances.
