What should be on a prepaid spend dashboard?
Give funding, completed orders, fees, available float and unresolved orders their own numbers. Show the reporting dates and let readers open the orders behind each total. That way a manager can see where the money went and finance can check it against the supplier statement.
Figures to show and how to count them
| Metric | Definition to publish |
|---|---|
| Funding | Confirmed money transferred to supplier account in period |
| Completed orders | Orders with verified final success status |
| Fees and credits | Documented charges and adjustments, shown separately |
| Closing balance | Supplier-reported balance at stated time |
| Pending exposure | Value of unresolved original orders |
| Reconciliation variance | Difference awaiting explanation or adjustment |
By Freepaid · Published
What finance and operations need to see
Finance needs the period total, the difference from budget and the items it still has to reconcile. Operations needs the orders behind those numbers by outlet, product, status or cashier. Put the period, account, currency and last refresh time at the top.
Avoid metrics without an owner or action. If an exception count rises, the dashboard should let a reviewer find the affected references and assigned next steps. If a balance crosses an internal threshold, identify who is notified and whether replenishment is authorized automatically or still requires approval.
Choose useful exception thresholds
Set thresholds from your operating history and policy. A hypothetical rule could flag any pending transaction at shift close for review, any unassigned cost centre at month end for finance follow-up, or any daily spend above the branch’s approved limit for manager review. These are examples. Your thresholds should fit supplier terms and internal controls.
Show the branch, product, time and status with each alert. Send a branch cap breach to the person who can act on it. A missing reference needs a separate alert so someone can fix the record.
Validate the numbers
At month end, compare dashboard totals with transaction export, invoice and funding records. Confirm that a pending order is not counted as completed spend and that reversals or credits are handled consistently. Sample a few rows from summary to source and back. Record any difference and adjust the metric definition or data pipeline before relying on the report.
Start with the opening supplier balance. Add confirmed funding and credits, and subtract completed order debits and fees. Check which dates the supplier uses, then compare your result with its closing balance. Sample the individual orders even when the totals agree.
Publish definitions with the dashboard
Add a short glossary, source list, data refresh schedule and contact for corrections. Explain whether values are face value or supplier cost and whether taxes are included. Link unresolved items to the exception register with access controls. Review definitions when the supplier, product catalogue or accounting policy changes.
Before building the dashboard, ask which transaction fields your account can export. Freepaid bulk airtime and SIMcloud
