If you're tired of squinting at canned reports and tabbing through half-baked charts, you're not alone. Sales teams need dashboards that actually show where deals are, what’s stuck, and what needs attention—without endless clicking or data dumps. This guide is for anyone who wants real pipeline visibility out of Microsoft Dynamics—whether you’re a sales manager, a hands-on rep, or the person who always gets roped into “fixing the CRM.”
Let's cut through the noise. Here’s how to build dashboards in Dynamics that aren’t just pretty, but actually help you sell.
1. Know What You Need (Before You Click Anything)
It’s tempting to jump right into the dashboard builder, but that’s how you end up with a mess of charts nobody uses. Start by answering:
- What’s the single most important thing you need to see? (e.g., deals by stage, stuck deals, sales rep performance)
- Who’s actually going to use this dashboard? (Managers? Reps? Executives?)
- How often will they look at it? (Daily? Weekly? Monthly?)
Pro Tip: If you can’t explain what the dashboard should tell you in one sentence, you’re probably overcomplicating it.
Common Pitfall: Trying to please everyone. Don’t. Build for your core users, and iterate.
2. Get Your Data House in Order
Dashboards are only as good as the data behind them. Garbage in, garbage out.
- Spot the gaps: Make sure the fields you care about (e.g., Opportunity Stage, Estimated Close Date, Owner) are required and consistently filled in.
- Standardize picklists: If sales stages or lead sources are all over the place, your charts will be too.
- Audit for duplicates: Duplicate opportunities or contacts can throw off your numbers fast.
Honest Take: Don’t bother with dashboards until you trust the data at least 80% of the time. Otherwise, you’ll just be tracking fiction.
3. Pick the Right Tools in Dynamics
“Microsoft Dynamics” actually refers to a bundle of apps (Sales, Customer Service, etc.), but if you’re building sales dashboards, you’re probably using Dynamics 365 Sales.
You’ve got a few options for dashboards:
- Personal Dashboards: Easy, fast, user-specific. Great for reps or quick prototypes.
- System Dashboards: Visible to everyone (or specific teams). These are the “official” dashboards for managers or execs.
- Power BI Dashboards: For next-level analytics, but overkill for most day-to-day sales needs. Power BI comes with a steeper learning curve, but you can embed these into Dynamics if you want.
What to ignore: Unless you’re a data analyst, skip building charts in Excel and importing them. It’s clunky and never stays up to date.
4. Build Your First Dashboard
Let’s get to it. Here’s how to build a custom sales dashboard in Dynamics 365 Sales:
a. Choose Where to Build
- Go to Sales > Dashboards in Dynamics.
- Click New for a personal dashboard, or ask your admin for a system dashboard.
b. Start Simple: Pick Your Layout
- Pick a layout that fits your needs (usually 2 to 4 columns).
- Don’t overcrowd it—four to six components is plenty for most dashboards.
c. Add Visuals That Matter
For each dashboard “component,” you can add:
- Charts (bar, pie, funnel, etc.): Driven by views and filters.
- Lists/Views: Tables of opportunities, leads, or accounts matching your criteria.
- Web Resources: For embedding custom content or Power BI tiles (if you’re fancy).
Examples of useful components: - Pipeline by stage (bar or funnel chart) - Opportunities closing this month (list) - Top open deals by value (bar chart) - Stuck deals (aged opportunities, list) - Activities due this week (list)
How to add a chart: 1. Click Add Component > Chart. 2. Select the record type (e.g., Opportunities). 3. Pick a view (e.g., “Open Opportunities”). 4. Choose a chart or create a new one (you can edit or build custom charts in the chart designer).
Pro Tip: Use “views” to filter data before it hits the dashboard. For example, create a view for “Opportunities closing in the next 30 days” and build your charts from that. This keeps things focused.
d. Rearrange and Resize
Drag-and-drop to rearrange your components. Resize to keep the most important stuff above the fold.
5. Make It Actionable, Not Just Pretty
A dashboard should answer questions, not just look good.
- Highlight problems: Use color coding or charts that make issues obvious (e.g., red for overdue deals).
- Don’t overdo pie charts: They look nice, but a bar or funnel chart is usually easier to read for sales stages or pipeline.
- Lists > Charts (Sometimes): Sometimes you just need a sortable list of “Stalled Deals” or “Deals Over $50K.” Give users quick ways to jump into records.
What doesn’t work: Dashboards crammed with vanity metrics (e.g., “Number of logins,” “Total activities ever created”) rarely help sales teams. Stick to pipeline health, conversion rates, and what’s actionable now.
6. Share and Secure Your Dashboard
- Personal dashboards: Only you see them (unless you share).
- System dashboards: Need admin privileges to create. You can set visibility by security role (e.g., only sales managers).
If you want to share a personal dashboard: - Click the Share Dashboard button. - Pick users or teams.
Caution: Be careful with sensitive data (like deal values or commission rates). Double-check who can see what.
7. Iterate—Don’t Set It and Forget It
- Check usage: If nobody’s looking at your dashboard, find out why. Maybe it’s too cluttered, or it’s missing what people really need.
- Gather feedback: Ask your team what’s missing or what could be simpler.
- Tweak views: Update filters and charts as your sales process changes.
- Archive old dashboards: Too many dashboards just confuse people—clean house every quarter.
Pro Tip: Once a dashboard is working, clone it for other teams or use it as a template. No need to reinvent the wheel.
What’s Worth Doing (And What Isn’t)
Worth your time: - Building dashboards that answer real sales questions (“What’s stuck?” “Who’s close to quota?”) - Using filters and views to keep data focused - Keeping dashboards simple and uncluttered
Not worth it: - Endless “nice to have” charts nobody looks at - Fancy Power BI integrations unless you really need deep analytics - Micromanaging every metric—focus on the ones that move the needle
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Don’t aim for dashboard perfection on day one. Build something simple, get people using it, and improve from there. The best dashboards are the ones your team actually checks—and that help you spot problems early, not after the quarter’s over.
Start with what matters, ignore the rest, and tweak as you go. You’ll end up with dashboards that actually help you sell—not just tick a box for management.