As important parts of business intelligence, scorecards and dashboards can both play an obvious role in promoting enterprise performance management. However, many users are confused with the difference between scorecard vs. dashboard. This article aims to provide a reference for the choice of enterprises.


Definition of scorecard and dashboard

What is a scorecard?

Scorecards use excellent visual effects to present key performance indicators (KPIs), which can help companies compare predicted targets with actual conditions to measure and manage business performance.The KPIs on the scorecard must be determined as early as possible and present a more static view of the organization at some point in time. Therefore, scorecards are often used to achieve the goal of aligning operational execution with companies’ business strategies.

scorecard vs dashboard template and example
Progress Bar (made by FineReport)


What is a dashboard?

As a business intelligence tool, dashboards visualize large amounts of data in the form of charts, which can help companies monitor relevant information at a glance. The dashboard dynamically shows the current status and trends of the organization’s key performance indicators so that decision-makers can track the status in real-time and make appropriate management decisions immediately. Companies can also update the dashboard in real-time by changing the data in the database.

Invest Schedule Dashboard (by FineReport)


Differences between scorecard vs dashboard

Although scorecard and dashboard are both beneficial to the enterprise as they transform data into a more readable way. However, there are also differences between scorecards vs dashboards.

Main purpose

Although scorecards and dashboards are ultimately helpful to businesses, they are used for different purposes. The scorecard is mainly used for corporate management to adjust corporate strategy in a timely manner by tracking goals. The dashboard is to measure the performance of the company, and to detect the production and operation status, so as to predict the subsequent development of the company.

Updating

The frequency and speed of scorecard and dashboard updates are not consistent. Because the dashboard is associated with the reporting tool, the dashboard can be updated in real-time by changing the data reported in the report. The scorecard is updated according to a set period of time.

KPI dashboard (scorecard vs dashboard.)
Financial KPI Dashboard (From FineReport)


Fitful for different scenarios

Due to the different characteristics of the scorecard and the dashboard, the two are also suitable for different scenarios. If you need to understand the overall operation of the organization and view the trend of change, the dashboard is more suitable; if you need a concise view of a specific area to identify areas that need improvement or ways to improve the efficiency of specific tasks, the scorecard is a more ideal choice.

In summary, as has been mentioned above, scorecards can track corporate indicators and compare them with target values, providing a concise view of specific areas and a reference for how each department achieves the set goals. Moreover, it can also help you identify areas that need improvement or ways to improve the efficiency of specific tasks. Dashboards are good at helping you understand your organization’s performance on specific issues or at a specific time, and understand the trends of your organization. And the dashboard can realize the continuous updating of data, giving the organization the opportunity to track its operational performance in real-time.

scorecard vs dashboard.
Dashboard


Similarities of scorecard and dashboard

As an important way to realize business intelligence, scorecards and dashboards have similarities in the benefits they provide to enterprises.

  • Simplify the presentation of data. Scorecards and dashboards centrally process the disparate and scattered data and present them to employees in the form of data visualization, simplifying the process of finding and viewing data.
  • Assist companies. In fact, whether it is a scorecard or a dashboard, assisting companies is its greatest use value. With the help of scorecards and dashboards, companies can measure current operating status and determine whether they need to adjust subsequent corporate strategies to achieve maximum benefits.


How to choose a scorecard and dashboard?

In fact, in practical applications, the decision between scorecard vs dashboard is not necessarily mutually exclusive. Using both at the right time can give your organization a clearer picture of your health and progress in achieving operational and strategic goals.

What’s more, in the design of business intelligence software, scorecards and dashboards are not necessarily limited to choosing one. Instead by combining the best parts of scorecards and dashboards, helps companies make full use of data and continuously optimize decision-making.

FineReport works as a representative of such software. If you are seeking a great combination of scorecard and dashboard, download and use FineReport now!



FineReport helps you be more professional

FineReport is a representative business intelligence platform and professional dashboard software on the market to provide dashboards and scorecards, which could be shown in the following article. You can rest assured of the products and services that FineReport provides, otherwise, FineReport will not win the favor of so many customers.

As for the price, FineReport is absolutely price-friendly. If you have doubts on my sayings, why not have a free trial of FineReport or request a demo to fully experience it?

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