How to build an MD dashboard for a ₹50 Cr business — what to track, and what to ignore.

Most founders of ₹20–100 Cr businesses have one of two problems. Either their dashboard is a ghost town — they set it up once, never looked at it, and now run the business from memory and WhatsApp messages. Or it's overloaded with 47 metrics that nobody actually checks, because nobody agreed on what matters.

After working with dozens of Indian MSMEs, we've converged on a set of KPIs that's tight enough to actually use and broad enough to give you real control. Here it is.

The rule before the metrics

A dashboard should answer one question in under 30 seconds: is my business healthy right now? If looking at it takes more than 30 seconds to form a view, it's too complex. Start there.

The 8 metrics that actually matter

1. Cash position (live)

Not P&L. Cash in bank right now, minus committed outflows this week. This single number tells you whether you can make payroll, pay a vendor, or take on a new order without a cash squeeze. Most founders find out about cash problems at month-end. You should know daily.

2. Receivables overdue >30 days

The value of invoices that are more than 30 days past due. This is your stuck capital. A healthy business keeps this below 15% of total receivables. If it's climbing, your collections process is broken — not your sales.

3. Revenue vs. target (MTD)

Month-to-date revenue as a percentage of your monthly target. Simple. Are you on track or behind? If you're at 60% of target on the 20th, that's a different conversation than 80%.

4. Pipeline value (sales)

The total value of deals in your pipeline, broken by stage. This is your 30–60 day revenue preview. If pipeline is thin today, revenue will be thin next month. Most founders find out too late.

5. Payables due this week

What you owe vendors, landlords, and lenders in the next 7 days. Cross-reference this against cash position and you'll never be surprised by a payment you forgot.

6. Headcount and payroll cost (current month)

How many people are on your rolls and what this month's payroll will cost. If your HR team can't give you this number in 30 seconds, your systems are broken.

7. Gross margin by product/category

Not blended. Per product or category. You need to know which lines are making you money and which are slowly bleeding you. Most founders are surprised when they see this for the first time — a product they thought was profitable often isn't, once you account for returns, freight, and discounts.

8. Open approvals and escalations

How many POs, expense claims, and leave requests are sitting unactioned? If the number is above 5, something is stuck. Approvals that wait three days kill your team's momentum.

What to ignore

Social media followers. Website traffic (unless you're an e-commerce business). Employee satisfaction scores on the homepage. Number of support tickets opened (look at resolution time instead). Email open rates.

None of these belong on an MD dashboard. They belong on departmental dashboards, reviewed weekly by the relevant team lead — not by you, daily.

How to build it

1. 1
   Audit what data you actually have and where it lives (Tally, Zoho, bank feeds, spreadsheets).
2. 2
   Connect those sources into one system — we use a combination of integrations and custom agents.
3. 3
   Set up the 8 KPIs above with real-time or daily-refresh data.
4. 4
   Put it on your phone. If it's not on your phone, you won't use it.
5. 5
   Review it every morning for 2 weeks. After that, you'll only open it when something looks off.

“

A ₹40 Cr Noida manufacturer reduced daily MIS time from 2 hours to 4 minutes after we connected their Tally, HR system, and bank feeds into a single dashboard. The MD now checks it every morning in under a minute.

— MSME Automation case study

Next step

If you want to see what your business would look like inside this kind of dashboard — with your own numbers — book a free Diagnostic. We'll show you live, not in a slide deck.