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The Truth About Agency Reporting Platforms

Quick Answer

Agencies routinely spend $300–$700 per client per month on reporting once you include platform fees, data connectors, and the hours required to build, QA, and explain dashboards. Meanwhile, BI/reporting adoption hovers around ~26% in organisations—so many multi-tab dashboards go barely skimmed. The fix: adopt summary‑first reporting (a 1–2 page narrative with 3–5 KPIs, a simple ROI table, and next steps), then keep deep dashboards as optional appendices.

Reporting platforms promise automation and executive polish. But the economics can quietly erode margin: every connector, refresh limit, and troubleshooting hour compounds your true cost‑to‑serve. This article breaks down the real numbers, why clients disengage, and a pragmatic reporting model that gets read, remembered, and acted on—without paying for glitter your clients never open.

1) Reporting landscape & pricing reality

The “headline” SaaS price rarely equals your per‑client cost. Connectors, refresh frequency, user seats, and ad‑hoc fixes drive the real bill.

Median per‑client platform + connectors

$75–$180

Median build + QA time

2.5–5.0 hrs

Typical hourly fully loaded

$60–$110

Blended TCO (all‑in)

$300–$700

Platform	Pricing model	Published price (examples)	Per‑client reality in agencies
DashThis	Dashboards (often 1 per client)	$149/mo ≈ 10 dashboards; site notes most users create one dashboard per client	~$15/client at small scale; doubles if you need multiple dashboard views per brand
Databox	Tiered (Professional/Growth/Premium)	$159–$799/mo; free plan sunset July 2025	Agencies typically land $40–$100/client after limits & add‑ons
Klipfolio	Edition‑based	Commonly $90–$350/mo	SSO/dedicated options can push total to $500+ before connectors
AgencyAnalytics	Per client/campaign	Often cited $12–$24/client; entry plans from ≈$59–$79/mo	At 20–30 clients, expect $500–$900/mo base + add‑ons
Connectors: Supermetrics	Per destination & connector limits	From ≈$29–$49+/mo for Looker Studio/Sheets	5–7 connectors quickly equals $200–$350/mo
Connectors: Porter	By # of accounts	≈$8–$15 per account at volume	Budget‑friendly; still adds $80–$150/mo for 10–15 accounts
Data pipelines: Fivetran	Usage‑based (Monthly Active Rows)	Free tier to 500k MAR; paid tiers scale with volume	Costs escalate fast for multi‑connector setups with frequent updates

Takeaway: The platform is the chassis. The engine—connectors, refreshes, and people-hours—drives the bulk of your per‑client cost.

2) The adoption gap: why reports aren’t read

Inside client organisations, BI/reporting adoption averages ~26%. That means most stakeholders never log into dashboards—and the ones who do often skim for a single KPI and bounce. Agencies also report that monthly is the norm for sending reports, yet engagement remains mixed.

In practice, only a minority read full reports; most skim or don’t open them.

Reporting habit	Observed benchmark	Implication
Cadence	Monthly is most common	Consistency beats frequency; add a quarterly strategy layer
Login behaviour	~¼ of users adopt BI tools	Don’t assume dashboards are “self‑serve”—summaries win
Open behaviour	Short summaries get higher opens	Lead with narrative, not widgets

Focus your energy on making a one‑screen summary unmissable; treat dashboards as reference material.

3) The anatomy of $300–$700 per‑client TCO

“We pay $149/mo, so reporting costs us $15/client.” That’s the myth. Here’s the reality once you include connectors and people-time.

Cost driver	Typical monthly spend	Per client @ 20 clients	Notes
Platform licenses	$600	$30	Dashboards, users, white‑labelling
Data connectors	$400	$20	Supermetrics/Porter/others across sources
Staff time (3 hrs @ $60/hr)	$3,600	$180	Build + explain + iterate
QA & troubleshooting	$1,200	$60	Fixes, refresh limits, broken auth
Total	$5,800	$290	Before meetings & context work

Time dwarfs tool fees. Every hour you remove from the process has outsized ROI.

Sensitivity check: If staff time is 4.5 hrs/client at $80/hr, that’s $360 time cost alone—before any tools. Your “$149 plan” isn’t the problem; your process is.

4) ROI math: dashboard‑first vs summary‑first

Two operating models; same data, very different results.

Summary‑first cuts cost and increases the odds your work is actually read.

Make ROI undeniable

One‑screen narrative: Wins, risks, and next steps in plain language.
Three KPIs: traffic/lead/sales trendlines with MoM & QoQ context.
Simple ROI table: cost → leads → revenue, with assumptions stated.
Appendix dashboards: by channel or team; send links, not screenshots.

Stakeholders remember recommendations, not widget grids. Tie every chart to a decision.

5) What clients actually read (UX rules that work)

OK Start with an executive summary (5–8 bullets, 120–180 words).

OK One trendline per KPI (no donut charts for time series).

OK Benchmarks: MoM, QoQ, and YoY where it clarifies seasonality.

Watch Keep it to 3–4 charts in the main report; move the rest to appendix.

Watch Add definitions for any KPI a non‑marketer could confuse.

Fix 20‑page decks of screenshots (no narrative, no decisions).

Readers gravitate to the summary and top KPIs; bury details in an appendix.

6) Cadence benchmarks: monthly vs quarterly

Most agencies report monthly; that’s fine for operations. Layer a quarterly strategy review to reset goals and budgets.

Cadence	Use it for	Pros	Watch‑outs
Weekly	High‑spend PPC, launches	Fast iteration, quick flags	Noise; low executive attention
Monthly	Most retainers	Fresh context; budget pacing	Risk of ritualised reporting
Quarterly	Strategy & planning	Room for narrative and bets	Requires prep; not for firefights

Operational monthly reports + quarterly narrative reviews = clarity without overload.

7) Case study: $96k/year in wasted spend

A 25‑client performance agency ran “dashboard‑first” for two years. Their numbers looked like this:

Avg. platform + connectors

$140 / client

Build + QA time

4.0 hrs

Loaded hourly rate

$80

All‑in TCO

$460 / client

Annualised cost: $460 × 25 × 12 = $138,000. Audit interviews found only ~⅓ of client stakeholders read reports end‑to‑end; decisions happened in Slack and calls. After switching to a summary‑first pack (2 pages + appendix dashboards), they cut average time to 1.5 hours and tool spend by 30%, dropping TCO to ≈$240/client → $72,000 per year. Net savings ≈ $66,000, plus higher NPS and faster approvals.

Moving to summary‑first halved cost and improved client satisfaction.

8) Reusable template & cost calculator

Copy this structure and swap in your data. Keep the main report to one screen per section; ship dashboards as links.

<!-- Agency Reporting Pack (Summary‑First) -->
1) Cover
   - Client, month, your logo

2) Executive Summary (5–8 bullets)
   - Wins, risks, next steps (who/when)

3) KPI Trendlines (one row)
   - Traffic, Leads, Revenue (MoM/QoQ/YoY where helpful)

4) ROI Snapshot
   - Cost → Leads → Revenue; assumptions called out

5) Risks & Decisions
   - 3–5 calls you need from the client; due dates

6) Appendix Links
   - Channel dashboards (PPC, SEO, Email, Paid Social, CRO)
   - Methodology & definitions

Back‑of‑the‑napkin cost calculator

Input	Example	Notes
Platform + connectors per client	$140	Licenses + data connectors amortised
Hours per client	4.0	Build + QA + explain
Loaded hourly rate	$80	Salary + overhead
TCO per client	$140 + (4 × $80) = $460	Target < $250

Spreadsheet formula (paste anywhere): =platform_fee + connectors_fee + (hours_per_client * loaded_rate)
Run it for both models and compare.

9) 30‑day implementation playbook

Shift to summary‑first in four weeks, without breaking your current dashboards.

Week 1 Audit your reporting stack: list every connector, dashboard, and recurring task; timebox the hours.

Week 1 Collect client feedback: what they actually read; top 3 decisions they need from you monthly.

Week 2 Draft the 2‑page summary template (above). Pilot on 3 clients.

Week 2 Prune dashboards: consolidate widgets; link to deep‑dive tabs only when needed.

Week 3 Automate inputs: schedule exports (GA4/GSC/ads) to Sheets/warehouse; reduce manual screenshots.

Week 3 Add a decisions section (what you need from the client by when).

Week 4 Ship to all clients. Measure read rate, meeting time saved, and approvals speed for 60 days.

Week 4 Document methodology & definitions once; reuse across clients.

Tip: Screenshot‑first workflows speed things up. Capture the exact views you trust (GA4, GSC, ad platforms), then generate a branded report from those screens in minutes. It avoids flaky connectors and keeps the story focused on what clients actually read.

Create a report from screenshots

Note: All dollar values are USD for comparability. Use the calculator above to adapt to your own fees and hourly rates.