How to Build a Dashboard from Multiple Data Sources

Bringing data together from different systems into one dashboard is one of the most effective ways to improve business decision-making. When teams can view sales, marketing, finance and customer insights in one place, it's easier to spot patterns, track performance and take action.

This blog walks through how to build a dashboard from multiple data sources, with a focus on choosing the right metrics first, selecting tools that work for your team, and building trust in the data you see.

Start with the Right Questions

Before touching a dashboard tool or connecting data, get clear on what you actually want to measure. Start by asking:

• What are the core goals of your team or business?

• What metrics reflect success or progress toward those goals?

• Who will use the dashboard, and what decisions will it support?

This helps prevent the common trap of tracking too much or the wrong things. Keep it simple and purposeful.

Example Questions to Guide Metric Selection

Team	Example Questions
Marketing	Which campaigns are generating leads that convert?
Sales	How is pipeline trending by region or product line?
Finance	Are we within budget this quarter?
Operations	Where are process delays impacting delivery time?

Benefits of Multi-Source Dashboards

1. Holistic Insights You can see performance across departments and systems in one view.

2. Faster Decision-Making When everything is in one place, it reduces the time spent switching between tools or manually compiling reports.

3. Improved Accuracy Fewer manual steps mean fewer errors.

4. Custom Views for Different Roles Tailor dashboards by team or user need, whether it's margin metrics for finance or lead quality for marketing.

5. Stronger Strategic Planning Trends and patterns emerge when all the data is side by side.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building the Dashboard

1. Define the Metrics That Matter

Choose the most important 5 to 10 metrics that reflect business goals. Avoid vanity metrics. Focus on those that help you:

• Track performance

• Spot risks or inefficiencies

• Make faster, smarter decisions

2. Map Your Data Sources

List the systems that contain the data for those metrics. Common examples:

• Google Analytics 4 (GA4)

• HubSpot, Salesforce

• Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks

• Excel, Google Sheets

• Internal databases or APIs

Include where the data lives, who owns it, and how often it updates.

3. Choose a Data Integration Method

You can bring your data together in a few different ways:

A. Manual Import

Download CSVs or spreadsheets from each system and import into a central Excel file or dashboard tool. Simple but time-consuming. Fine for one-off dashboards.

B. Direct Connectors

Many BI tools offer native integrations. These are quick to set up but limited in data transformation.

C. Data Platform + ETL Tool

Use a data warehouse (BigQuery, Snowflake) and connect your systems with a tool like Weld, which syncs your data automatically. This setup is ideal if you want dashboards that scale.

4. Clean and Structure the Data

Raw data often needs to be reshaped before it's dashboard-ready. Common tasks include:

• Standardising dates and currencies

• Matching naming conventions (e.g. customer IDs)

• Removing duplicates

• Filling in missing values

Consistent structure ensures your metrics are accurate.

5. Build the Dashboard

Use a BI tool to design a dashboard around the metrics you prioritised in Step 1.

Popular tools:

• Power BI: Great for Excel-heavy teams

• Tableau: Offers deep visual flexibility

• ThoughtSpot: Lets users explore data using plain language queries

• Google Data Studio: Simple, free option for Google-connected data

Use a mix of:

• Summary metrics (e.g. total revenue, cost per lead)

• Trend charts (e.g. weekly performance)

• Filterable tables (e.g. campaign or product-level breakdowns)

6. Validate, Test and Refine

Always test your dashboard with users before launch:

• Check numbers against known reports

• Ask whether it answers the right questions

• Refine filters, naming, layout and logic

Dashboards should help people work better, not just display data.

7. Automate Where Possible

Use scheduled refreshes or live connections so the dashboard stays up to date without manual effort. Tools like Weld let you control sync frequency and monitor data freshness.

Tips for Success

• Start small: Focus on a handful of valuable metrics first

• Document your logic: Be clear on how metrics are calculated

• Keep users involved: Build for their decisions, not just your curiosity

• Avoid overengineering: A basic dashboard that’s used is better than a complex one that’s ignored

• Keep iterating: Dashboards evolve as your questions and systems do

Example: Marketing + Sales Dashboard

A SaaS company wants to understand how ad spend converts to revenue.

Key metrics:

• Cost per lead

• Website conversion rate

• Pipeline by campaign

• Revenue by source

Data sources:

• Google Ads and Meta Ads

• GA4 for website performance

• HubSpot for lead capture

• Salesforce for opportunity and revenue data

Approach:

• Use Weld to connect all sources into BigQuery

• Clean and model the data using dbt

• Visualise in ThoughtSpot for fast filtering and ad hoc queries

Result:

• Marketing sees which channels drive revenue

• Sales identifies the best-performing lead sources

• Executives have daily access to pipeline trends

Wrapping It Up

Building a dashboard from multiple data sources is more than a technical challenge. It starts with clear questions and good metrics, then follows through with the right tools, clean data and thoughtful design.

The end goal isn’t just prettier charts. It’s helping teams make smarter decisions, faster, using data they can trust.