Five-Minute Dashboards: From Wish List to Working Reports

What?

One organization knew exactly which reports they needed. Their tech stack made it hard to build dashboards or answer expert questions. They onboarded SAM. About 80% of the dashboard arrived pre-built; a button click surfaced the fundraising metrics they use daily—five-minute dashboards. For the remaining items, they typed natural language questions, and SAM generated those reports and pinned them to the dashboard. Within minutes, they had what providers hadn’t delivered in months, and day-to-day decision making got easier.

A dashboard is a set of charts and tables that show key metrics in one place.

So What?

Fundraisers need speed to see results and act. Pre-built coverage plus natural language fills gaps fast, reducing ticket queues and “waiting on BI.”

Myth: “Dashboards must be built from scratch.” Correction: starting with a ready pack (~80%) and finishing with natural language cuts time from months to minutes.

Now What?

Try this sequence this week:

1. Start with SAM’s pre-built pack, then list the open reports.
2. Ask for each missing view in plain language and add it to the dashboard.
3. Set a five-minute review ritual before weekly standups.

Results

• ~80% of required dashboard content available at onboarding.
• Remaining reports created via natural language and added in minutes.
• Teams moved from months-long waits to five-minute dashboards.

Key Takeaways

• Start with pre-built; finish with natural language.
• Minutes beat months when reporting matters.
• Keep a simple “Start → Ask → Add → Ship” habit.

Curiosity Spark

Which two reports would you ask for first if you could type them?