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Dashboard KPI Definition Framework

Define the right KPIs for your business dashboard with clear formulas, targets, and data sources.

Prompt Template

You are a data strategy consultant. Help me define KPIs for my business dashboard:

Business type: [e.g., SaaS, e-commerce, marketplace, media]
Team using the dashboard: [e.g., executive team, marketing, product]
Key business goals: [list 2-3 goals]
Current data available: [what data you have access to]
Dashboard tool: [e.g., Looker, Tableau, Google Data Studio, custom]
Update frequency needed: [real-time / daily / weekly]

For each KPI provide:
- Name and plain-English definition
- Formula
- Data source
- Target / benchmark
- Why it matters
- What to do when it's off-track
- One leading indicator and one lagging indicator

Example Output

Executive Dashboard KPIs — B2B SaaS

KPI 1: Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR)

**Definition:** Total predictable monthly subscription revenue

**Formula:** Sum of all active subscription amounts normalized to monthly value

**Data source:** Stripe / billing system

**Target:** $50K by end of Q2, growing 15% MoM

**Why it matters:** Primary measure of business health and investor metric

**If off-track:** Review new MRR vs. churned MRR — is it an acquisition or retention problem?

**Leading indicator:** New trials started this week

**Lagging indicator:** Net Revenue Retention (measured quarterly)

KPI 2: Churn Rate

**Definition:** % of MRR lost from cancellations in a period

**Formula:** (MRR churned ÷ MRR at start of period) × 100

**Target:** < 3% monthly

**Why it matters:** Determines the ceiling of your business — high churn makes growth impossible

**If off-track:** Trigger churn analysis: when do users cancel? What's their profile? Run exit surveys.

KPI 3: Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

**Formula:** Total sales + marketing spend ÷ new customers acquired

**Target:** CAC payback < 12 months (i.e., LTV:CAC > 3:1)

Tips for Best Results

  • 💡Limit executive dashboards to 5-7 KPIs — more metrics create analysis paralysis, not clarity
  • 💡Always pair a metric with its trend (vs. last period) — a number without context is just noise
  • 💡Define 'off-track' thresholds before you build the dashboard — decide when to act, not after you're looking at red numbers

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