Excel to Dashboard · Your App Cloud
Build a dashboard from your Excel workbook
Upload the report workbook you update each month. Plan how its monthly tabs become one dataset, how each Summary formula becomes a measure in plain words, and how targets and red cells become thresholds anyone can read.
From monthly tabs to one dashboard.
Tell the tabs that hold rows from the tabs that show results, put every Summary formula into words, then hold a closed month against the workbook.
01
Sort the tabs into data and report
Upload the workbook and list its tabs in the prompt. Name the ones that hold rows, such as the monthly tabs and Targets, and the ones that only display results, such as Summary, Pivot and Charts. Ask for the rows to be stored and the report tabs to serve as the layout to rebuild.
02
Put each Summary formula into words
Select a figure on the Summary tab and use Formulas, Trace Precedents. When it reads another tab, a black arrow points to a worksheet icon. Double-click that arrow to list the ranges it uses. Then write it as a sentence: =SUMIFS(Aug!E:E, Aug!B:B, B5) is August sales for the store named in B5.
03
Match a closed month, then share
Pick a month that no longer changes, such as August. Refresh any pivots in Excel, then compare each figure and its progress against target with the Summary tab. Describe who signs in to view it and try it with a second test account.
What each part of the report workbook becomes.
Each row starts from something you can point at in the workbook. The tab names, formulas and figures are sample data from an imagined bakery with three stores in San Diego, not a real business.
| In your report workbook | On the dashboard | How to confirm it |
|---|---|---|
| Tabs named Jan through Dec, each with Date, Store, Category, Items and Sales columns | One collection of sales rows, with a Month field taken from the tab name | Compare the header row of January with December. If a Discount column appears from June, say what the earlier months should hold: blank, or zero. |
| Summary cells such as =SUMIFS(Aug!E:E, Aug!B:B, "La Jolla", Aug!C:C, "<>Wholesale") | A measure written as a sentence: August sales for the La Jolla store, wholesale orders left out | Read every criteria pair, wildcards included. "North*" adds up every store whose name starts with North, and "<>Wholesale" drops rows without saying so. Put each condition into the sentence. |
| A pivot of Sum of Sales, with Category down the side and Store across the top | A breakdown view with the same rows, columns and grand total | Read the value field's name. 'Count of Sales' means the pivot counted cells, which Excel does when the column holds blanks or text. Say which one the dashboard should show. |
| Slicers for Store and Category beside the pivots | Filters at the top of the dashboard, applied to the charts and tables you name | Select each slicer and open Report Connections on the Slicer tab. A pivot left unchecked there isn't filtered by that slicer, so its figures may cover every store. |
| A Month view tab whose formulas all read a month dropdown in cell B1 | A period filter that opens on the latest complete month | Set B1 and the dashboard to the same closed month and compare three figures side by side, including one store with a small total. |
| A Targets tab with one figure per store per month, such as $48,000 for La Jolla in August | Target records with a store and a month, shown next to actual sales | Say how progress is worked out, and what a month in progress is measured against: the full target, or a share for the days so far. |
| Conditional formatting that turns a total red below 90% of target and green from 105% | A status on each figure, with its thresholds written as numbers | Open Conditional Formatting, Manage Rules, and copy each rule. When two rules clash on one cell, only the one higher in the list applies, so note the order as well. |
| A line chart of monthly sales on the Summary tab | A chart described by type, measure and grouping, such as sales by month for each store | Right-click the chart and choose Select Data. A range that stops at June, or at row 30, while newer figures sit below it means the chart has been leaving them out. |
| A 'Report as of' cell holding =TODAY() | A data-as-of date you ask for, set from the last import | TODAY() displays the current date whenever the file is opened, not the day new rows were pasted. Note the date of your upload and look for it on the dashboard. |
What a report workbook keeps out of sight.
A report workbook is built to be read, not traced. Totals sit in formulas, the period sits in a dropdown and the verdict sits in a fill color. None of it says which rows fed a figure, so work that out on a copy before you upload.
Formulas that broke the pattern
A Summary row usually repeats one formula with a different store or month. A small triangle in a cell can mean its formula doesn't match the pattern of the formulas nearby. Compare it with its neighbors before you write its definition down.
What a cell holds, not what it shows
A number format changes how a value looks, not the value itself. A tile reading $12.3K may hold 12,340.55, and 94% may hold 0.9378. Click the cell, read the formula bar, and say how the dashboard should round.
Error values inside totals
#DIV/0! appears when a formula divides by zero or by an empty cell, as progress does for a store with no target yet. Formulas, Error Checking steps through each one. Say whether a missing figure should show as blank, a dash or zero.
Figures that live in another file
A target pulled from ='[Budget 2026.xlsx]Targets'!C4 depends on a workbook you may not upload. Data, Queries and Connections, Workbook Links shows the files it links to. Copy their figures into a tab of this workbook before you upload, and note which file each came from.
An illustrative starting point
What people read instead of the workbook.
Monthly rows in one place, measures written as sentences, targets beside actuals, and a view people read without touching a formula.
One dataset instead of twelve tabs
Every month's rows can sit together with a Month field. A year-to-date total or one store's trend then comes from a single set of rows, not from a formula that reaches into each tab.
Measures with written definitions
Next to each figure, ask for the sentence you wrote from its SUMIFS, such as retail sales for all stores in the chosen month, wholesale excluded. The next person reads it instead of tracing cell references.
Targets and thresholds in the open
Actual sales can appear beside the figure from the Targets tab, with the rule behind each color stated: red below 90% of target, green from 105%. Nobody has to open Manage Rules to learn why a cell turned red.
Who reads and who changes targets
Store managers can sign in and read their figures without a copy of the workbook, where one stray keystroke replaces a formula. Say who changes targets and who only reads, with the access you describe for each collection. Then open it with a manager's test account and try to change a target.
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A little more context
Good questions.
Do my pivot tables carry over to the dashboard?
Describe each one rather than relying on the file to explain it: the field in Rows, the field in Columns, the value and whether it is summed or counted, and any filter or slicer. Ask for a breakdown view built from that description. Refresh the pivot in Excel first, then compare two of its cells with the dashboard.
What happens to a workbook with a tab for every month?
Ask for the tabs to be combined into one set of rows, with the month taken from the tab name or from a date column. Check that the combined row count equals the rows on all the tabs added together, and look closely at the month when a column was added or renamed.
Will the dashboard update when I add next month's tab?
Not by itself. The upload holds the workbook as it was on the day you sent it. New months reach the dashboard when you import them on purpose, when store managers enter sales in the app instead, or through a supported integration. After importing only the new tab, check that last month's total stayed the same.
Why doesn't a figure match my Summary tab?
Start with the Summary cell. It may show a value rounded by its number format, read a range that ends before the newest rows, come from a pivot that hasn't been refreshed, or apply a condition your written definition left out. Compare one store and one month at a time until the difference appears.
Can store managers see their figures without editing anything?
Plan it with the access you describe for each collection. For example, each manager signs in and reads the figures for their own store, while only you import new months and change targets. Then sign in with a second test account and check what it can open and change.
Can the app send each store its monthly figures?
Yes. An app can send email, and a task that runs on a schedule you set can prepare the message, for example a note to each store manager on the third of the month with last month's sales against target. It only knows months already imported, so time it after the import, send the first few to yourself and check the figures.
Can I get the sales rows out again later?
Your app's data and code can be exported. Try one export while the monthly tabs are still current: open it, find the sales rows and targets, and check that the tools your analyst uses can read them. Keep the last workbook until a full month has gone through the dashboard.
Which plan does a dashboard built from a workbook need?
This kind of dashboard keeps imported rows and targets, and it asks store managers to sign in. Both need a backend, so it is an app with data, and putting it live needs a paid plan. Compare the plans on the pricing page before you upload the workbook.
Explore Pricing for plans, included capabilities, and usage details.
Keep exploring.
Connect your business information ↗
See the outcome and the capabilities behind it.
Turn an Excel report into a dashboard you can trust ↗
The method behind the upload: define every figure, check one total by hand and choose how next month's numbers arrive.
Understand data and context ↗
Give information the right place in your app.
Prepare to publish ↗
Check the experience you will share.
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