You have objectives and indicators, but do you have a tool to link them? If you’re still using Excel and scattered spreadsheets, it’s time to adopt the scorecard (BSC), a strategic dashboard, provided you know how to use it effectively.
What is a Scorecard in Performance Management?
A scorecard (or Balanced Scorecard) is a structured evaluation and visualization tool that allows comparing results against clearly defined objectives. Unlike a dashboard, which presents observed data, the scorecard emphasizes objectives to be achieved.
Each indicator is linked to a strategic purpose, integrating concepts of forecasting, actual achievement, and especially, decision-making based on measured deviations. Popularized by the Balanced Scorecard model (Kaplan & Norton), it typically covers four perspectives:
- Financial
- Customer
- Internal Processes
- Learning and Innovation
In other words, the scorecard doesn’t just indicate the current position, but illuminates the path forward. This type of measurement tool allows decision-makers to stay focused on priorities, while ensuring regular and structured sales tracking.
KPIs to Include in your Scorecard
The indicators to track depend on your industry and priorities. Here are two concise lists to customize for an effective BSC:
Financial KPIs:
- Operating Margin
- Cost per Service Delivery
- Billing Rate (or Average Daily Rate)
- Revenue Growth
Operational KPIs for an IT Services Company or Service SME:
- Consultant Utilization Rate
- Average Response Time to Client Requests
- Customer Satisfaction Rate
- Number of Projects Delivered On Time
This data must be automatically integrated into your performance and management dashboard to avoid manual re-entry. This is the case with Furious, which offers an automated management tool allowing you to visualize your key indicators.
We have a number of KPIs that allow us to see at a glance where we stand and to delve into the project or quote details to adjust if necessary.
Benefits of a Scorecard for Service Companies
For a service company, an IT services company, or an SME, a scorecard enables you to:
- centralize KPIs from different departments (technical, sales, HR),
- align objectives with the management strategy,
- identify roadblocks before they affect the client,
- improve the management of margins, productivity, and service quality.
A good performance dashboard integrating a Balanced Scorecard offers a concise yet comprehensive view of the activity.
Scorecard and ERP Tools: a Winning Duo for IT Services Companies
For a service company or an IT services company (Entreprise de Services du Numérique), mastery of projects, human resources, and invoicing is essential. In this context, the scorecard performance dashboard coupled with an ERP management software becomes a competitive advantage.
The ERP allows collecting data related to time spent, project profitability, missions sold, consultant utilization rates, etc. This information automatically feeds the scorecard, which provides real-time insights into the company’s health. This winning duo promotes increased responsiveness to uncertainties, better planning, and rapid decision-making.
How to Build a Relevant and Actionable Scorecard?
Designing a scorecard cannot be improvised. It requires prior strategic planning. It first involves defining the company’s priority objectives, then identifying the indicators capable of measuring their achievement. Each KPI must be linked to a strategic axis: growth, quality, profitability, innovation, customer satisfaction, etc.
The performance dashboard then structures and continuously updates this data. The display must remain clear, concise, and understandable to all decision-makers. The key to success lies in the balance between comprehensiveness and readability.
A useful scorecard is one that allows, at a glance, to answer the question: “Are we aligned with our objectives?”
Tracking the Evolution of your Indicators: from Management to Reporting
Tracking company performance indicators via a scorecard does not stop at simply viewing them. It also requires analyzing trends, understanding deviations, identifying root causes, and taking corrective measures. This implies a regular reporting approach, aligned with the company’s key milestones (monthly, quarterly, or in real-time).
Modern management tools now allow generating dynamic reports, cross-referencing data, and even anticipating risks through predictive analytics modules. Thus, the scorecard becomes a living dashboard, serving strategic management and continuous improvement.
Scorecard, KPI, and ERP: Assets for Businesses
In an uncertain environment, businesses must constantly adjust priorities. The ability to quickly modify objectives or indicators becomes a competitive advantage. The scorecard fits perfectly into this logic of agility.
The tool allows adapting performance indicators to new challenges, without questioning the entire decision-making architecture. The performance dashboard facilitates these adjustments by offering rapid data updates and analysis axes. This trio of scorecard, KPI, and performance tracking tool thus constitutes an agile, reactive, and results-oriented system.
The Furious ERP fits perfectly into this logic. By integrating all key functions – commercial management, project tracking, invoicing, profitability, human resources, automatic reminders – into a single interface, the measurement tool facilitates a smooth and immediate update of key indicators. Every deviation, every drift is detected in real-time, allowing for the readjustment of priorities and objectives without disrupting the overall management system.
With Furious, we found a solution that truly allows us to track our projects from A to Z, but also provides the key indicators we need to manage the agency day-to-day.
Thanks to its modular architecture, dynamic dashboards, and configurable alerts, Furious transforms the scorecard into a lever for decision-making agility. The company gains in responsiveness, strategic coherence, and operational control. This scorecard–KPI–ERP triptych thus creates a flexible, reliable management environment perfectly aligned with current performance and adaptability challenges.
You might be Asking Yourself these Questions?
01 What is Automatic Transaction Categorization?
This is an AI-based feature that automatically categorizes your expenses according to their nature, for simplified and more reliable financial tracking.
02 how Does Furious AI Work to Categorize Transactions?
With each import or bank synchronization, the AI analyzes the label, amount, and context to suggest a relevant category and tags. You validate, adjust if necessary, and the tool learns from your choices.
03 What are the Benefits of Automatic Categorization for Financial Teams?
Less manual entry, better accounting consistency, reduced human errors, and significant time savings on recurring tasks.
04 Can You Maintain Control over the Categories Suggested by the AI?
Yes, you remain in control of the suggestions: each classification can be accepted, modified, or refined. Automation supports, not replaces.
05 Does the AI Improve its Suggestions over Time?
Absolutely. The more you use the feature, the more the AI learns from your corrections and offers categorizations tailored to your habits.
06 who is this Feature for?
For financial managers, executives, or anyone looking to automate accounting processing, optimize cash flow, and focus on analysis rather than data entry.
