If you’re a sales leader, you’ve probably stared at a dozen dashboards that told you nothing useful. Or worse—spent hours trying to wrestle canned reports into something that matches how your team actually works. This guide is for people who need dashboards that show what’s really happening in sales, not just what’s easy to graph. We’ll focus on building custom reporting dashboards in Kuration, and cut through the fluff so you don’t waste time.
Why bother with custom dashboards?
Let’s be honest: out-of-the-box dashboards rarely cut it. They’re either too generic or too busy, designed to impress at a product demo but not to help you hit your number. Custom dashboards let you:
- Track KPIs that matter to your team
- Spot issues before they become fires
- Avoid the “Excel Frankenstein” approach to reporting
But don’t go overboard—more charts don’t mean better decisions. The goal is to see what matters, fast.
Step 1: Get clear on what you actually need
Before clicking anything in Kuration, spend 10 minutes figuring out what you need to see. Here’s what not to do: dump every metric you can think of onto a dashboard. Instead:
- List the top 3–5 questions you need answered daily or weekly (e.g., “Are we on track for the quarter?”, “Where are deals stalling?”)
- Write down the key metrics tied to those questions (pipeline coverage, conversion rate, average deal size, etc.)
- Decide who the dashboard is for—yourself, the exec team, or reps? Each group needs different info.
Pro tip: If you can’t act on a metric, don’t add it.
Step 2: Map your data sources
Kuration pulls data from CRMs, spreadsheets, and sometimes other sales tools. Here’s what to check before building:
- CRM connection: Make sure your CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.) is hooked up and syncing correctly. If you see stale or missing data, fix this first.
- Other sources: Got extra data in Google Sheets or elsewhere? Import it or connect it using Kuration’s integrations.
- Data quality: Garbage in, garbage out. If your pipeline fields are a mess or reps aren’t updating stages, clean that up now, or your dashboard will just reflect chaos.
Don’t skip this step. Fancy dashboards on bad data are just expensive wallpaper.
Step 3: Create your dashboard
Now, into Kuration:
- Go to the Dashboards section. Usually, there’s a “New Dashboard” or “Create Dashboard” button—click it.
- Name your dashboard. Use something specific, like “Q3 Sales Pipeline – North America,” not “Dashboard #7.”
- Set permissions. Decide who can view or edit the dashboard. Don’t give edit access to everyone—trust me, you’ll regret it.
What works:
- Making separate dashboards for different audiences (e.g., execs get summary metrics, managers get pipeline detail).
- Keeping dashboards focused (5–7 widgets max).
What doesn’t:
- One monster dashboard for everyone. It’ll be ignored.
- “Just in case” metrics. If you’re not using them now, leave them out.
Step 4: Add and customize widgets
Widgets are the building blocks of your dashboard—charts, tables, leaderboards, and so on. Here’s how to make them useful:
- Choose your widget type:
- Bar/line charts: Good for trends over time (e.g., pipeline growth).
- Pie/donut charts: Okay for showing parts of a whole, but usually overused.
- Tables: Best for seeing raw numbers and details (e.g., deal lists).
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Leaderboards: Great for rep performance, but don’t overdo public shaming.
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Select your data source:
Each widget should pull from the right slice of data. Double-check filters (date ranges, regions, deal stages) so you don’t end up comparing apples to oranges. -
Set up filters and segments:
Add useful filters (e.g., by region, product line, sales rep) so you can slice the data as needed. -
Label everything clearly:
“Pipeline by Stage – Q3” is better than “Chart 1.”
Pro tip:
Less is more. One killer widget beats five mediocre ones.
Step 5: Avoid common dashboard traps
Here’s where most dashboards go off the rails:
- Trying to make it look pretty instead of useful. If it’s hard to read or has too many colors, people tune out.
- Tracking vanity metrics. Don’t include stats just because they’re easy to measure (looking at you, “number of calls logged”).
- Forgetting to update filters or date ranges. Set defaults that make sense, like “This Quarter” or “Last 30 Days.”
- Not testing with real users. Show your draft dashboard to a couple of actual users before rolling out. If it confuses them, fix it.
What to ignore:
“AI-powered insights” and auto-generated recommendations are usually just noise. Start with manual, clear widgets—add the fancy stuff later if it actually helps.
Step 6: Share and automate (but don’t spam)
Once your dashboard’s set up:
- Share with the right people: Send direct links or add to your team’s internal tools. Avoid blasting dashboards to everyone—most won’t care.
- Schedule reports (if needed): Kuration lets you send scheduled snapshots via email or Slack. Set this up for weekly or monthly recaps, but don’t overdo it.
- Document what’s what: Add a quick note or legend so viewers know what each widget means. Saves you from answering the same questions over and over.
Step 7: Review, prune, and improve
Dashboards are living things—they get messy if you ignore them.
- Review monthly: Get rid of unused widgets or dashboards.
- Update metrics: As your sales process changes, your dashboards should too.
- Ask for feedback: A dashboard no one looks at is just wasted effort.
Pro tip:
Don’t chase “dashboard perfection.” Good enough and up-to-date beats fancy but obsolete.
Common questions (and real answers)
Q: Should I build one dashboard for everything or lots of small ones?
A: One-size-fits-all dashboards are rarely useful. Make focused dashboards for different needs—execs, managers, reps.
Q: How often should I update dashboards?
A: Whenever your sales process or targets change. Otherwise, once a month is fine for cleanup.
Q: What’s the biggest mistake people make?
A: Building dashboards no one uses. Ask your team what they actually need before you build.
Keep it simple and iterate
You don’t get points for making the world’s most complex dashboard, just for making one that helps your team sell. Start with the basics, get real feedback, and improve as you go. Most of what matters in sales can fit on a single page—if it can’t, you’re probably tracking too much.
Remember: dashboards are meant to help you see what’s going on, not to impress anyone with your chart-making skills. Keep it simple, check it often, and don’t be afraid to delete what isn’t working.