How to create a high-impact sales analysis and reporting dashboards

Many SaaS business leaders continue to rely on the familiarity of spreadsheets to analyze sales data, but as the business grows, spreadsheets can quickly become cumbersome and unreliable. If this sounds like you, it’s time to become friends with your dashboards.  

Dashboards provide a graphical representation of your sales data. Instead of juggling multiple tabs and formulas, a comprehensive dashboard can help organize, track, and analyze all sales-related information.

A well-designed sales dashboard can also strengthen your competitive advantage by helping your sales team focus on closing deals, highlighting opportunities, and providing actionable insights for efficient sales reporting.

In this article, you’ll learn about the different types of sales dashboards used in SaaS businesses, the components they should contain, including key metrics, and how to build an effective SaaS sales dashboard. You’ll also learn more about the important role of sales and finance tools in tracking key sales and revenue metrics and how they can improve sales analysis and reporting. 

Why sales dashboards are so important for SaaS businesses 

Sales dashboards, similar to your car’s dashboard, ensure that you can track key sales data at a glance, with the help of clear visuals (e.g., charts and graphs). Business leaders and sales teams use these dashboards to review current sales operations and health, keep track of the sales pipeline (for emerging trends and growth) opportunities, perform variance analysis and update assumptions and forecasts, as well as monitor sales rep performance and product performance—to make more insightful and data-driven business decisions.

Unlike static and unwieldy spreadsheets, dashboards have interactive features that facilitate collaboration between different teams, such as sales and marketing, helping them analyze related metrics to prioritize leads and deals, mitigate any challenges or gaps as they arise, and stay aligned on the overall business goals. 

Over the years, sales dashboards have become more sophisticated, allowing users to summarize assumptions and forecasts from various methods as well as sort data by different sales metrics, such as the total dollar amount per purchase or the transition of marketing qualified leads (MQLs) to sales qualified leads (SQLs) and, finally, to a paying customer.

Components of a SaaS sales dashboard

• Actionable metrics: Any sales dashboard should display key sales and revenue metrics and KPIs that directly impact your business, such as monthly recurring revenue (MRR), customer acquisition cost (CAC), customer lifetime value (LTV), churn rate, and sales cycle length. These metrics help teams keep track of the sales pipeline, identify trends and gaps, and take immediate action.

• Integration features: Modern sales dashboard tools should be able to seamlessly connect with different CRM and email tools—to easily consolidate the required sales data and become the central data hub for all things sales related.

• Real-time data analysis: SaaS businesses work in fast-paced markets. A real-time dashboard gives teams access to the most accurate and up-to-date data. Sales teams can quickly react to trends or changes in the market, track the sales rep's performance, even analyze customer behavior.

• Customizable features: Each SaaS company has different priorities, so dashboards should be customizable. Users should be able to adjust views, filters, and reports to fit their specific needs. For instance, a sales leader might focus on pipeline metrics, while a CXO may prioritize overall revenue trends.

• Dynamic visuals and graphics: Data is only helpful if it’s easy to understand. Dynamic visuals like heat maps, trendlines, and pie charts facilitate both analysis and reporting. Features like exportable summaries and automated email alerts enable teams to collaborate and share insights more efficiently.

• Enhanced sales and predictive analytics: Advanced SaaS dashboards are more than just reporting tools. They help sales teams prepare for any shifts (both opportunities and challenges) by predicting trends using actual and historical data.

Common SaaS sales metrics to track in your sales dashboard

Most of the common sales dashboards feature (a combination of) the following metrics:

• Quota attainment rate measures the percentage of sales targets achieved by sales representatives (and teams) to meet their targets and is useful for evaluating individual team performance, forecasting revenue, and optimizing their sales strategy. 
• Traffic-to-lead conversion rate is the percentage of leads that become paying customers. A strong rate shows your sales process is effective. A low rate may point to issues with lead qualification or sales tactics.
• Lead momentum tracks the volume and quality of leads entering the sales funnel. It is a metric to measure the efficiency of your sales pipeline. A lack of momentum indicates bottlenecks or inefficiencies that need to be addressed to keep the pipeline moving.
• Sales velocity measures how quickly your sales team can move a deal from opportunity to close. This metric is not only useful for analyzing the health and productivity of a sales team, including process improvements, but also for sales forecasting as it helps predict expected revenue within a specific period.
• Sales cycle length is the average time to turn a lead into a customer. Shorter sales cycles mean faster revenue generation and less resource investment per deal, making it a key efficiency metric.
• Sales qualified leads (SQLs) are leads that have been vetted and deemed ready for engagement by the sales team. Tracking SQLs ensures that your sales team is focusing on high-quality prospects with better chances of conversion
• Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total cost of acquiring a new customer. The cost includes marketing and sales expenses. Tracking CAC helps ensure profitability. High acquisition costs compared to revenue can drain resources and limit growth.
• Customer lifetime value (LTV) is the total revenue a customer generates during their time with your business. LTV helps you understand the long-term profitability of your customer base. A higher LTV indicates strong customer retention and sustained revenue growth.
• Win rate measures the percentage of closed sales deals. It is essentially a north star metric to track the success of your sales team. High win rates are an indicator of a strong sales strategy, effectively executed by the sales team.
• Lead momentum measures the efficiency of your sales pipeline, by tracking the volume and quality of leads entering the sales funnel. A lack of momentum indicates bottlenecks or inefficiencies that need to be addressed to keep the pipeline moving.
• SaaS magic number measures how effectively your sales and marketing investments translate into revenue growth. A higher magic number indicates that your spending on customer acquisition is delivering strong returns, while a lower number may suggest inefficiencies in your growth strategy.

10 sales dashboards offer full visibility into topline revenue generation

Sales dashboards can be customized for different roles, goals, and stages of the sales process. Whether for tracking individual performance, sales and revenue metrics, monitoring pipeline health, or forecasting revenue, there is a dashboard-type to serve a specific purpose and improve sales outcomes. 

Here’s a look at some of the most common sales dashboards used in SaaS businesses. 

1. State of sales dashboard

The state of sales dashboard provides a high-level overview of sales performance, tracking key metrics like overall revenue, MRR, total sales, active deals, and lead-to-close rates. 

Designed for executives, sales leaders, and stakeholders, it is useful during executive meetings or quarterly reviews for a quick glance and assessment of sales health. It helps sales leaders showcase sales trends in board meetings or monitor operational performance across regions or teams.

2. Sales conversion rate dashboard

The sales conversion rate dashboard tracks how prospects move through the sales funnel. Key metrics include conversion rates at each stage, lead-to-customer rates, and opportunity-to-deal conversions. 

Designed for sales managers, it’s used in pipeline reviews to improve funnel efficiency. It highlights where prospects drop off, helping teams refine outreach and nurturing strategies.

3. Sales manager dashboard

A sales manager dashboard gives a clear view of team performance, tracking metrics like MRR, average revenue per user (ARPU), SQLs, pipeline health, and forecast accuracy. Reviewing pipeline data helps managers focus on high-priority deals.

Used daily or weekly, the sales manager dashboard helps assess progress, allocate resources, and spot coaching opportunities. 

4. Sales rep performance dashboard 

The sales rep performance dashboard monitors individual sales rep metrics, like deals closed, quota attainment, meeting activity, lead follow-ups, and win rates. It’s used regularly to track personal performance and provide coaching.

The dashboard can be tailored for sales reps and their managers. Reps can identify areas to improve, such as response times, and track progress against targets or peers.

5. Sales leaderboard

The sales leaderboard showcases top-performing sales reps based on metrics like deals closed, revenue generated, or activities completed.

Updated daily or weekly, it is designed for sales teams and managers to encourage target completion and celebrate success.

Managers use the insights to assess team productivity, motivate sales reps, and recognize top performers in team meetings.

6. Deal performance dashboard

The deal performance dashboard tracks the progress and value of individual deals, measuring metrics like deal size, probability of closing, and key milestones.

It helps manage complex enterprise deals and identify bottlenecks that could delay closing high-value opportunities.

Created for sales managers and account executives, it is used throughout the deal lifecycle to monitor progress and address risks. 

7. Win/loss dashboard

The win/loss dashboard analyzes deals won versus lost, displaying the reasons behind each outcome and comparing performance to competitors.

It is tailored for sales leaders and analysts to review results and improve strategies.

This dashboard is useful for identifying patterns in lost deals to improve future pitches and uncover competitor strategies affecting outcomes.

8. Sales lead dashboard

The sales lead dashboard tracks lead metrics such as volume, sources, quality scores, and follow-up times.

Sales development representatives (SDRs) and marketers use it daily to manage lead generation and follow-ups.

This dashboard helps analyze which campaigns yield the best leads and ensures timely follow-ups to boost conversion rates.

9. Pipeline generation dashboard

A pipeline generation dashboard monitors pipeline growth, focusing on new opportunities, their size, and their stage.

Sales teams and managers use it weekly or monthly to ensure the pipeline stays strong for future revenue.

This dashboard helps balance efforts across pipeline stages and keeps a steady flow of opportunities to meet sales targets.

10. Forecasting dashboard

The forecasting dashboard helps predict revenue using historical data, current pipeline value, and stage probabilities.

SaaS business owners, finance teams, and sales leaders use it to review assumptions and compare forecasts using different methods.

This dashboard helps assess whether the pipeline can meet quarterly or annual goals.

How to build an effective sales dashboard for your SaaS business 

For a sales leader and the overall sales team, a dashboard is your single source of truth.

Therefore, it is important to consider the following questions, before developing the requisite sales dashboards: 

• What are the recurring data points in your reports?
• Which metrics are regularly reviewed in sales team meetings? 
• What are your targets for the current year vs. the business’ overall targets?

Here’s how you can build an effective sales dashboard for your SaaS business:

Step 1. Identify sales goals

Start by identifying and understanding your sales goals. Are you looking to boost revenue, improve lead conversions, or reduce churn?

Clear objectives ensure your dashboard tracks the most relevant metrics.

Step 2. Determine sales metrics to track

Choose metrics that align with your goals. For example, to boost conversion rates track lead-to-close rate and pipeline progress.

Step 3. Identify dashboard users

Determine who will use each dashboard and how it will benefit them.

Sales managers may need dashboards to keep a close eye on the pipeline and also monitor team performance, while sales reps might need access to the overall sales performance and individual performance tracking dashboards.

Role-specific dashboards improve usability and ensure data security.

Step 4. Choose a sales dashboard provider

Choose a dashboard tool that integrates with your CRM and meets your business needs.

Prioritize features like customization, real-time data syncing, and ease of use. Popular options include Salesforce, HubSpot, and Tableau.

Step 5. Sync your data

‍Connect your sales dashboard to your CRM, analytics platforms, and other data sources for seamless integration and up-to-date insights.

Regular data syncing prevents discrepancies and ensures dashboard reliability.

Step 6. Build reports for the sales dashboard

Create reports that visualize your metrics using graphs, charts, and tables for ease of use (that is, analysis and understanding).

You can consider grouping related metrics, like pipeline health and conversion rates, to get a clear view of sales progress.

Step 7. Create and share your dashboards

Design intuitive and visually appealing dashboards tailored to each user’s needs.

Share them with relevant team members and provide training if necessary. Update regularly based on feedback and changing sales goals to stay effective.

Tips and best practices to design and maintain a sales dashboard

A well-designed sales dashboard should not only track key sales metrics tailored to your business needs, but also facilitate efficient sales analysis and reporting with actionable insights. Here are some tips and best practices to design and maintain an effective sales dashboard:

• Don’t overcomplicate it: Keep your dashboard simple by focusing on the most relevant metrics for maintaining clarity and usability. Avoid cluttering it with excessive data that can distract users.
  
• Use a clean layout: Design your dashboard with a clean and intuitive layout for better readability. Organize data logically, group related metrics, and use whitespace to avoid visual clutter and maintain efficiency.
  
• Keep your users in mind: A dashboard should be designed per the needs of its users. Sales reps need performance trackers, while managers need team metrics. User-focused design ensures each stakeholder gets the insights they need without complexity.
  
• Prioritize the most important KPIs/metrics: Ensure that your sales dashboards contain key sales and team performance metrics, in alignment with the overall business targets, Position high-priority metrics at the top or center of the dashboard so that users can easily spot and act on performance trends or alleviate any issues.
  
• Make the dashboard accessible: Make the dashboard accessible on all devices and platforms so users can view it anytime, anywhere. Mobile-friendly designs and collaboration tool integrations improve usability.
  
• Use data visualization: Graphs, charts, and tables turn raw data into clear visuals. Effective data visualization helps users quickly understand trends, comparisons, and outliers.
  
• Enable customization: Allow users to customize their dashboards based on roles or preferences. Each user must be able to focus on the metrics that matter most to their goals.
  
• Ensure real-time data updates: Keep your dashboard accurate and relevant with real-time data. Automated syncing must accommodate headcount changes, new sales channels, and updated timeframes.

Enhance your sales reporting reporting and analysis with Drivetrain

By combining key metrics, real-time data, customizable views, and intuitive visuals in one place, sakes dashboards help SaaS sales leaders and CXOs and sales teams move past guesswork and make more informed decisions for business growth.  

Modern financial planning and analysis platforms like Drivetrain enable business leaders to automate and track their sales pipeline. And with features common in robust sales forecasting software solutions, you can easily create highly accurate sales forecasts.

Drivetrain offers a comprehensive suite of features that not only helps sales teams automate dashboard updates and sales analyses, but also improves dashboard accuracy with predictive analytics.

• Seamless integration: With over 200 integrations, the platform can easily integrate with different CRMs and other apps to consolidate all sales data into a single source of truth.
• Dynamic dashboards and visualizations: Drivetrain enables users to design customizable dashboards with rich graphs and charts for easy analysis of sales data and metrics.
• Advanced reporting features: The platform comes with built-in reporting options, including real-time updates and automated report generation.
• Trends and variance analysis: Drivetrain’s features help users perform sales variance analysis, comparing forecasts with actual results. Predictive analytics helps spot trends and improve performance.
• Scenario planning: Drivetrain helps businesses run "what-if" scenarios and build predictive models to prepare for different outcomes.

Check out Drivetrain to learn more about how you can easily track and manage your sales metrics and improve sales analysis.