How to Create a Dashboard Using Excel With Practical Tips?

How do you create a dashboard using Excel?

Excel dashboards have become a must-have for businesses today. With over a billion people using Excel globally, the software has evolved beyond simple spreadsheets. It now helps track data, analyze trends, and visualize insights—all in one place. A dashboard makes all of this possible.

According to Forbes, companies that use data analytics effectively are 5% more productive and 6% more profitable. Dashboards play a key role in this. They allow you to consolidate vast data into clear, actionable visuals.

But how do you create a dashboard using Excel that delivers real value? Creating an Excel dashboard might initially sound challenging, but the process is straightforward. We’ll get into the process soon.

Excel’s versatility means that you can build dashboards for any purpose. You can track sales, monitor financial performance, or measure KPIs. 64% of companies say that Excel is their go-to tool for data management. This highlights its importance in day-to-day business operations.

Let me help you stay ahead in today’s data-driven environment. By the end of this guide, you’ll understand how to create a dashboard that transforms raw data into valuable insights.

Table of Contents:

1. What is an Excel Dashboard?
2. Why are Excel Dashboards Useful?
3. Before Creating an Excel Dashboard: What You Should Know?
4. What are the Steps to Create a Dashboard in Excel?
5. How to Create a Dashboard Using Excel?
6. Excel Dashboard Design Best Practices
7. What are the Limitations of Creating Excel Dashboards?
8. Wrap Up

First…

What is an Excel Dashboard?

Definition: An Excel dashboard is a visual tool that displays data in a clear and organized way. It helps you track key metrics, KPIs, and trend analysis.

Dashboards combine tables, charts, and graphs in one sheet, making data easy to understand. They’re used for quick decision-making and monitoring business processes.

Excel dashboards are customizable. This allows you to focus on specific data. They are essential for presenting complex information in a simple, easy-to-digest format.

Why are Excel Dashboards Useful?

Excel dashboards are a game-changer for businesses. They transform raw data into meaningful insights, helping teams stay informed and make smart decisions. But what makes them so useful?

• Data visualization: Excel dashboards present data visually using charts, graphs, and tables, making complex information easier to understand.
• Real-time monitoring: They allow you to track live data, ensuring up-to-date insights for decision-making.
• Enhanced decision-making: Dashboards help make faster, data-driven decisions by showing key metrics in one place.
• Customizable and interactive: You can tailor dashboards to your needs, adding filters and buttons for deeper data analysis.
• Performance and historical tracking: Dashboards track current performance and analyze historical data to spot trends over time.

Before Creating an Excel Dashboard: What You Should Know?

Before creating an Excel dashboard, there are essential things to keep in mind. These steps will ensure your dashboard is clear, useful, and easy to maintain.

1. Define your objectives: Know what you want to achieve. Is it tracking sales, monitoring KPIs, or analyzing data trends? Clear objectives help you focus on the right data and avoid distractions.
2. Know your audience: Think about who will use the dashboard. Different people need different information. For example, executives might want high-level insights, while analysts need more details.
3. Gather relevant data: Before you begin, collect accurate data. Make sure your data is clean and organized. Wrong data leads to bad insights.
4. Choose the right metrics: Stick to the most important metrics. Focus on KPIs that match your goals. Keeping your dashboard simple makes it more effective.
5. Plan the layout: Plan how your dashboard will look, organizing the data logically. A clear layout makes it easier to gain insights.
6. Decide on visualization types: Choose the right visuals for your data. Use charts, graphs, and tables to display information. For example, line graphs are ideal for trends, and bar charts are ideal for comparisons.
7. Data sources and links: Set up reliable links to your data and ensure they are easy to update. This will allow your dashboard to refresh automatically with new data, ensuring accurate insights.
8. Consider interactivity: Add interactivity, like dropdowns or slicers, for deeper data exploration. This makes your dashboard more engaging and flexible, allowing users to filter the data themselves.
9. Design for clarity: Keep the design simple – use consistent colors and fonts and avoid clutter. A clean, simple design helps users understand the data quickly without confusion.
10. Test and validate: Before sharing the dashboard, test it. Check that all the links and calculations work. Then, compare the results to the original data. This ensures accuracy.
11. Plan for maintenance: Dashboards need regular updates, so plan for changes in data sources or metrics. Maintenance ensures your dashboard stays relevant and useful over time.
12. Documentation: Create documentation for future users. Include details on how the dashboard works and where the data comes from. This makes it easier for others to manage and update.

What are the Steps to Create a Dashboard in Excel?

Creating an Excel dashboard is a powerful way to turn raw data into insights. You can visualize important metrics, track performance, and make smarter decisions with a few simple steps.

But where do you begin? Let’s walk through the process step by step.

Step 1: Import the Necessary Data into Excel

Start by bringing in the data you need. Whether it’s from a database, external file, or manual input, ensure the data is accurate and complete. Clean data is the foundation of a reliable dashboard.

Step 2: Set Up Your Workbook

Organize your Excel workbook. Create separate sheets for raw data, calculations, and the dashboard itself. This keeps everything structured and easy to navigate.

Step 3: Add Raw Data to a Table

Convert your raw data into an Excel table. Tables make it easier to filter, sort, and update your data. Plus, they allow for automatic expansion when new data is added.

Step 4: Data Analysis

Perform calculations or apply formulas to analyze your data. This could include summing values, finding averages, or calculating percentages. Data analysis helps you identify the key metrics to display.

Step 5: Determine the Visuals

Choose the best visuals to represent your data. Use charts, graphs, control charts, and tables to highlight trends, comparisons, and key metrics. Pick visuals that make the data easy to understand.

Step 6: Create Your Excel Dashboard

Now, start building the dashboard. Combine your visuals and data into a single sheet. Organize the layout so that important information is easy to spot.

Step 7: Customize Your Excel Dashboard

Personalize the dashboard to meet your needs. Add slicers, filters, and formatting to enhance usability. Customize it so that users can easily interact with the data.

How to Create a Dashboard Using Excel?

Have you ever tried making sense of endless rows of numbers? It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

But don’t worry; data visualization helps turn that chaos into something you can understand.

What about Excel? Excel is excellent for basic tasks but needs more advanced data visualization.

That’s where ChartExpo comes in. It’s a powerful add-in that transforms Excel into a visual powerhouse. With ChartExpo, creating the best-designed dashboards that truly bring your data to life becomes simple.

Let’s see how to create a dashboard using Excel—and take it to the next level with ChartExpo.

Top 10 Charts

Horizontal Waterfall Chart

Comparison Bar Chart

Likert Scale Chart

Circular Org Chart

Multi Axis Line Chart

Mosaic Plot (aka Mekko)

Multi Gauge Chart

Slope Chart

Progress Chart

Sankey Chart

Let’s learn how to install ChartExpo in Excel.

1. Open your Excel application.
2. Open the worksheet and click the “Insert” menu.
3. You’ll see the “My Apps” option.
4. In the Office Add-ins window, click “Store” and search for ChartExpo on my Apps Store.
5. Click the “Add” button to install ChartExpo in your Excel.

ChartExpo charts are available both in Google Sheets and Microsoft Excel. Please use the following CTAs to install the tool of your choice and create beautiful visualizations with a few clicks in your favorite tool.

Dashboard Template in Excel Example

Let’s create a dashboard in Excel from the data below using ChartExpo.

Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4	Level 5	Level 6	Count
Jobs applied	Replies	Initial interviews	Task requested	Offer received	Accepted	1
Jobs applied	Replies	Initial interviews	Task requested	Offer received	Rejected	1
Jobs applied	Replies	Initial interviews	Task requested	Rejected		2
Jobs applied	Replies	Initial interviews	No task required	Rejected		1
Jobs applied	Replies	Initial interviews	Rejected			4
Jobs applied	Replies	Replied too late				6
Jobs applied	Rejected					5
Jobs applied	No reply					12

• To get started with ChartExpo, install ChartExpo in Excel.
• Now Click on My Apps from the INSERT menu.

• Choose ChartExpo from My Apps, then click Insert.

• Once it loads, choose the “Sankey Chart” from the charts list.

• Click the “Create Chart From Selection” button after selecting the data from the sheet, as shown.

• ChartExpo will generate the visualization below for you.

• If you want to have the chart’s title, click Edit Chart, as shown in the above image.
• Click the pencil icon next to the Chart Header to change the title.
• It will open the properties dialog. Under the Text section, you can add a heading in Line 1 and enable Show.
• Give the appropriate title of your chart and click the Apply button.

• You can disable the percentage value as follows:

• You can disable the Node Outline as follows:

• You can change the width size of Nodes as follows:

• You can disable the parentheses and change the status from the drop-down as follows:

• You can add the colors of all Nodes and change the direction as follows:

• You can disable the Footer label as follows:

• Click the “Save Changes” button to persist the changes.

• Your final chart will appear below.

Insights

• 12 applications had no response.
• 5 were immediately rejected.
• The majority of rejections occurred post-interview.
• Only 1 offer was accepted.
• Delayed replies and rejections before task requests stand out as patterns.

Unlock Data Insights and Efficiency by Creating a Dashboard with Microsoft Excel:

1. Open your Excel Application.
2. Install ChartExpo Add-in for Excel from Microsoft AppSource to create interactive visualizations.
3. Select the Sankey Chart from the list of charts.
4. Select your data.
5. Click on the “Create Chart from Selection” button.
6. Customize your chart properties to add header, axis, legends, and other required information.

The following video will help you create a Sankey Chart in Microsoft Excel.

Excel Dashboard Design Best Practices

Are you designing an Excel dashboard? Here are some best practices to follow for a clean, effective layout:

• Define objectives: Know what key insights you need to show.
• Keep it simple: Avoid clutter. Stick to essential data for quick understanding.
• Use consistent formatting: Maintain uniform colors, fonts, and layouts for a professional look.
• Prioritize data visualization: Use charts and graphs to make data easy to digest.
• Ensure interactivity: Add filters or slicers so users can explore data in real-time.
• Test with users: Get customer feedback to ensure the dashboard meets user needs and is easy to use.

What are the Limitations of Creating Excel Dashboards?

Excel dashboards are powerful tools, but they come with some limitations. Here are some challenges you might face when creating an Excel dashboard.

• Performance issues: Large datasets can slow down Excel. As your dashboard grows in complexity, performance may suffer. Slow load times and lag can affect usability, especially when dealing with real-time data.
• Complexity: Building complex dashboards in Excel can be time-consuming. Advanced features like dynamic charts and pivot tables require a deep understanding of Excel. This steep learning curve can be a challenge for beginners.
• Static nature: Excel dashboards are often static. They don’t update automatically unless linked to external data sources. This limits real-time monitoring and requires manual refreshes to stay updated.
• Limited interactivity: While Excel allows some interactivity with slicers and filters, it’s limited. Excel dashboards offer fewer interactive options than more advanced tools like Power BI or Tableau.
• Design constraints: Excel’s design options are basic. It lacks flexibility in designing visually appealing dashboards compared to specialized dashboard tools.
• Collaboration challenges: Sharing Excel dashboards can be tricky. Multiple users working on the same file can lead to version control issues. Collaboration features are not as robust as those of cloud-based tools like Google Sheets or Power BI.

FAQs

Can I create dynamic dashboards using Excel?

Yes, you can create dynamic dashboards in Excel. Use features like PivotTables, PivotCharts, slicers, and data validation lists. These allow you to interact with the data, filter results, and update charts automatically for real-time insights.

What is the use of Microsoft Excel as a dashboard designing tool?

Microsoft Excel is a powerful tool for dashboard design. It helps visualize data through charts, graphs, and PivotTables. Excel allows real-time data updates, interactive filtering, and customization. This makes it ideal for tracking metrics and business performance efficiently.

What kind of charts can you make using an Excel dashboard?

You can create charts in an Excel dashboard, including bar, column, pie, line, area, scatter, and combo charts. You can also use PivotCharts, histograms, and waterfall charts for more advanced data visualization and analysis.

Wrap Up

Creating a dashboard using Excel is straightforward but requires careful planning.

Start by defining your objectives and knowing what metrics and KPIs are essential for your audience. This will ensure that your dashboard delivers clear insights.

Next, gather and organize your data. Ensure it’s clean and appropriately structured. This step is crucial for accurate calculations and charting. Excel’s data tools, like sorting and filtering, help you get your data in shape.

Once your data is ready, it’s time to design your dashboard. Use PivotTables and PivotCharts to summarize key information. These tools allow you to interact with your data dynamically, giving users control over what they see.

Choose charts wisely for visual appeal. Bar, line, and pie charts work well for different data types. Keep formatting consistent and simple, and avoid overloading the dashboard with too many elements.

Add slicers and data validation lists to make your dashboard more interactive. These features let users filter and explore data easily, making your dashboard flexible and adaptable.

Finally, test your dashboard. Get feedback from users to ensure it’s user-friendly and meets its purpose.

Excel’s basic features provide a solid start. But install ChartExpo to elevate your visuals even further.