What is the difference between a dashboard and a report?

A report is a snapshot of data at a given moment, often a PDF or Excel file. A dashboard is an always up-to-date, interactive view you can filter and drill into. We often use both: dashboards for day-to-day monitoring, scheduled reports for meetings and partners.

Can I use Power BI or Looker Studio instead of a custom dashboard?

Yes, and sometimes that is the best choice. Ready-made tools suit internal use and cost less to set up. A custom build pays off when the dashboard has to sit inside a portal, be shown to customers or follow particular access rules.

How often is the data updated?

It depends on the sources. With APIs it can be every few minutes or in real time; with file exports updates are usually hourly or daily. We set the frequency according to how quickly you need to react.

My data is messy: can you still do it?

Yes, but allow for some clean-up and alignment work at the start. It is also one of the project’s benefits: the dashboard brings errors and duplicates to light so they can be fixed at the source.

Who can see the dashboard?

Only the people you authorise. We set up roles and permissions so each user sees only the data that concerns them, and access always runs over encrypted connections.

Custom business dashboards and reporting

A business dashboard is a web screen that shows your company’s key figures in real time, pulled automatically from your management system, online shop, accounting software, CRM and spreadsheets. PragaWeb builds custom dashboards and reporting for business owners, managers and teams who want to make decisions on up-to-date data, without spending hours stitching Excel files together.

Instead of asking the accounts office for a report and waiting days, you open your browser and see turnover, orders, margins, stock or campaign performance, filtered by period, customer, product or site.

Signs you need a dashboard

Every month someone spends days exporting data from several programs and pasting it into a spreadsheet.
The figures change depending on who prepares them, and meetings turn into debates about which number is right.
You spot problems, such as falling sales or stock that isn’t moving, when it’s already too late.
Your data lives in many systems but there is no overall view.
The reports you need don’t exist in your management system, or they’re too rigid.
You want to share some figures with partners, agents or customers without giving access to everything.

What we build

Automatic data collection: we connect your sources, such as management system, online shop, accounting software, CRM, ad platforms and Google Sheets, through API integration or scheduled file imports.
Key performance indicators (KPIs): KPIs are the handful of numbers that tell you whether the business is heading the right way. We choose them with you, with written, shared definitions.
Interactive charts and tables: trends over time, period comparisons, rankings and drill-down to a single order or document.
Role-based views: management sees the big picture, sales staff their own customers, the warehouse its stock. Everyone accesses only the data that concerns them.
Scheduled reports: PDF or Excel summaries emailed weekly or monthly, thanks to process automation.
Alerts: notifications when a value crosses a threshold, for example stock below minimum or overdue invoices above a set amount.
Export: every table downloads to Excel or CSV for deeper analysis.

How we work

Questions before charts: in online calls we start from the decisions you need to make and the questions the dashboard must answer, not from the charts.
Source map: we identify where the data lives, how reliable it is and how it can be read automatically.
Phased proposal: you get clear timings and costs. The first phase usually covers one area, such as sales or stock, so you get value straight away.
Data clean-up and model: we align codes, dates and master records so that figures from different systems can be compared.
First version and checks: we compare the dashboard’s figures with your current reports until they match or we understand why they differ.
Evolution: new views, sources and indicators as usage grows.

Tools and technical choices

There is no single right answer. Sometimes it pays to use ready-made business intelligence tools such as Power BI, Looker Studio or Metabase, connected to your sources: they cost less to get going and work well for internal use. In other cases you need a custom dashboard, built as a web application with charts drawn using popular libraries such as Chart.js or ECharts: that is the right choice when the dashboard must sit inside a portal, be shown to external customers, follow complex access rules or match your brand. If the data you want to track comes from a business management system we have built, reporting can be part of it directly. We recommend the option that fits best, even when it’s the simplest.

Timings and costs: what they depend on

Number and type of sources: modern software with an API is quick to connect; manual exports or older databases take more work.
Data quality: duplicate records or inconsistent codes need fixing before you can trust the numbers.
Number of views and roles: each different audience needs its own screens and permissions.
Ready-made tool or custom build: the first route is faster, the second more flexible.

A first dashboard for one specific area usually takes from a few weeks to a couple of months, depending on the sources involved.

Why choose us

One point of contact: you talk to someone who understands both your processes and the technical side.
Your data, your code: nothing ties you to us, and access to the data stays under your control.
Readable and accessible: clear charts, distinguishable colours and tables that work with assistive technologies, following WCAG 2.1 AA guidelines.
Software and marketing together: if you want to see the results of your web marketing campaigns next to your sales, we bring them into the same view.

Want to see your numbers at a glance? Tell us about the business dashboard you need and we’ll start from the questions it has to answer.

Dashboards and reporting

In short