Top 10 Excel Dashboard Tips

Introduction

An Excel Dashboard is an interactive data visualization tool that enables users to view, analyze, and interpret data from multiple connected sources and present insights in real time. It is an ideal way to make data-driven decisions with ease and accuracy. Its visual representation of data often makes it easier to interpret insights and draw meaningful conclusions.

Hyperlinking to other data sets provides additional advantages such as connecting data sets directly in one place, making maintenance and updates easier, and being able to see relationships between sets of data. All of this helps increase the quality of decisions and reduce the amount of time needed to make them.

In this blog post, we will discuss the top 10 Excel Dashboard tips that can help you take full advantage of all its great features. We will look at the best practices to navigate the dashboard, optimize it for performance, and customize it with visualizations.

Working with Tables

The use of tables is one of the fundamental features of Excel Dashboard development. Tables are helpful for organizing and displaying large amounts of data that can be used to create powerful visualizations. In order to get the most out of tables for your dashboard, there are a few tips to keep in mind.

Utilizing the Table Structure

When working with tables in Excel, it is important to use the table structure in the most efficient way possible. The structure of the table should be logical, making it easy to interpret the data and make meaningful visualizations. Utilizing the table structure means using the table headers, filtering options, and formatting the table data appropriately.

Using the Table Filters

Table filters are a great way to quickly manipulate and organize data with the click of a button. Filters can be used to quickly sort, group, and filter data allowing you to quickly display only the data that is relevant to your dashboard.

Combining Tables for Value

Combining tables is a great way to increase the value of your dashboard. By combining multiple tables, it can enable users to quickly manipulate and analyze data in a meaningful way. When combining tables, it is important to use the same structure and formatting of the tables in order to ensure the data is displayed correctly.

Keeping it Organized

A well-organized dashboard makes it easier for the audience to comprehend the insights generated. Besides, these tips will help the professional to maintain accuracy and consistency in visualizing the data in the dashboard.

Use Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting gives the ability to emphasize the related data based on the thresholds that are set. It helps to highlight the key insights and make them visually appealing. Some of the conditional formatting features like data bars, color scales, and icon sets can be used to enhance the visualizations. Also, setting up a color palette will make your dashboard more visually stimulating.

Build into Layouts

Designing the the dashboard in grids and layouts helps the audience understand the relationship between different data sets. The dashboards should be divided into parts according to the context. It's important to place each component in the right spot so that the audience can grab the required information quickly. Using clear and distinct divisions in the dashboard will make the workflow easier.

Use Charts and Graphs

Using charts and graphs in the dashboard makes visualization easier. An effective chart should have clearly visible X and Y axis and a title that accurately explains the content in the chart. Try using a combination of different charts to represent the data in an informative manner. Also, be sure to use data labels and gridlines for a better view.

Keep it Simple

When it comes to designing an Excel dashboard, it’s important to keep it simple and not to overwhelm a user. When using a dashboard, the goal is to easily display a large amount of data in a way that is understandable at a glance. Here are some tips on how to keep it simple:

Knowing When to Add or Remove

When creating an Excel dashboard, it’s important to think about the data that is being presented. Is all of the data necessary or are there some elements that could be removed, such as charts or graphics that may distract from the main goal? It’s important to be aware of how much data is being shown on the dashboard as too much information might be confusing or simply take up too much space.

Don’t Overwhelm a User

It’s also important to determine what the most important pieces of data are and focus the dashboard on them. The less data that is visible, the easier it is for a user to understand what is being displayed. When creating an Excel dashboard, it’s also important to keep it visually appealing. Too many colors, charts, graphs, and illustrations can be overwhelming and make it difficult to find the information that is being presented.

Keeping an Excel dashboard simple can make it a lot easier to use and allows users to quickly find the information that they are looking for. Consider the following tips when creating an Excel dashboard:

• Know when to add or remove data to make the dashboard easier to use.
• Focus on the most important pieces of data to keep the dashboard from being cluttered.
• Keep the dashboard visually appealing by limiting the amount of colors, charts, graphs, and illustrations.

Utilize Dynamic Data

Converting your spreadsheets into amazing dashboards starts with understanding the best methods for producing dynamic data. Dynamic data can enable you to showcase more up-to-date information and allow for visuals to easily scale to varied inputs. Here are two powerful options for creating comprehensible and useful dashboards.

Leveraging Formulas

Formulas are one of the most powerful features of spreadsheets. They allow you to quickly and dynamically generate quantitative insights from data. By leveraging the right formulas in your dashboard, you can easily adjust charts and visuals to display updated information without needing to constantly rebuild the dashboard. Formulas can be used to quickly generate insights and integrate them into graphs, such as a Gross Profit Margin dashboard.

Automatically Pulling Data

An increasingly popular approach to creating dynamic dashboards is to utilize standard APIs or web-based integration products such as Zapier to “pull” in data automatically. This approach eliminates the need to manually update your spreadsheets when new information becomes available, allowing for real-time updates within the dashboard. By automatically pulling in relevant data and keeping visuals dynamic, you can create comprehensive, up-to-date dashboards with minimal effort.

6. Utilization of Customization

To boost the productivity of your next Excel Dashboard, there are various ways to minimize the number of steps it takes to complete your task. This section will explain two tools to take advantage of in order to customize your Dashboard.

a. Assigning Macros

Using macros in your Dashboard can save time and provide consistency across multiple projects. Assigning macros in Excel is a fairly easy process. To begin, open Visual Basic in Excel and select the macro you wish to use. Once you have chosen the macro, click the “Assign” button to attach it to Step 1 of your Dashboard. Then, save the workbook and make sure the macro shows up in the list of options under Step 1.

b. Utilizing Shortcuts

Shortcuts can help make your dashboard process easier and faster. In Excel, there are many keyboard shortcuts to take advantage of and here is a list of some of the more popular ones:

• Ctrl + C - Copy
• Ctrl + V - Paste
• Ctrl + O - Open
• Ctrl + S - Save
• Ctrl + P - Print
• Ctrl + Z - Undo
• Ctrl + Y - Redo
• Ctrl + F - Find
• Ctrl + A - Select All
• Ctrl + B - Bold

By utilizing shortcuts, you can minimize the amount of time it takes to complete your Dashboard and focus more time on analysis.

Conclusion

With these 10 tips, you are now ready to build an Excel dashboard that will simplify and streamline your organization’s data collection and organization. Dashboards can help you quickly answer questions, while visualizing the data in a way that was not possible in the past. You can integrate data from multiple sources and create interactive charts and graphs to allow for powerful insights.

Creating a Dashboard that Works

Whether you are creating a dashboard from scratch or transforming an existing spreadsheet, an overall goal should be to create a dashboard that is easy to use and works for everyone. Make sure that you select the right layout and inputs for each of your visualizations. Validate the accuracy and consistency of the data being inputted into the dashboard and use resources like tutorials, help forums, and online guides for support. This can help you get the most out of your Excel dashboard.

Always Revisit and Stay Up to Date

Finally, remember to always revisit your dashboards and stay up to date. A great way to keep motivated and on track is to set a schedule and aim to meet certain goals. Each time you review your dashboard, make sure that data entry, calculations, and variables are up to date. If anything is not functioning correctly, correct the error as soon as possible.