Case Study: CBS (CRM Business Solutions) Delivers Real-Time GP% Analytics Dashboards for Sales and Investor Insights

Overview

CBS (CRM Business Solutions), a Zoho Certified Partner, partnered with a mid-sized B2B distribution company to build a comprehensive analytics solution within Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics. The client needed real-time visibility into Gross Profit Percentage (GP%) at multiple levels across individual salespeople, time periods (weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly), investor categories, and product lines.

CBS designed a customized dashboard suite that empowered executives, investors, and sales leadership with actionable insights at their fingertips.

Challenges

  • Fragmented reporting: Financial data and sales metrics were stored across multiple spreadsheets and systems.

  • Time-consuming analysis: Sales managers manually calculated GP% for different periods, delaying decision-making.

  • Lack of granularity: No easy way to analyze GP% by salesperson, product category, or investor group.

  • Investor transparency: Investors lacked a clear view of performance segmented by their portfolio or categories.

CBS's Solution

1. Unified Data Sources

  • Integrated Zoho CRM, Zoho Books, and external Excel files into Zoho Analytics.
  • Standardized data formats and built auto-refresh connections to maintain real-time accuracy.

2. GP% Metrics Defined and Automated

  • Created calculated fields within Zoho Analytics for:

    • GP% = (Sales Revenue – Cost of Goods Sold) ÷ Sales Revenue × 100

  • Automated historical GP% calculations for all past sales data, ensuring full historical analysis.

3. Multi-Dimensional Dashboards

  • CBS developed multiple dashboard views, allowing the client to filter and drill down easily:

  • By Salesperson: GP% by rep, ranked by performance over any selected period.

  • By Time Period: GP% trends week-over-week, month-over-month, quarter-over-quarter, year-to-date.

  • By Product Line: GP% by major product categories and specific SKUs.

  • By Investor Category: Customized dashboards segmented by investor groups, each with their own product focus or sales territories.

4. User-Friendly Navigation and Filters

  • Interactive filter panels to select date ranges, sales reps, product types, and investor categories.

  • Color-coded KPIs (e.g., Green = target GP% achieved, Red = under target) for quick visual health checks.

  • Mobile-optimized views for executives and investors on the go.

5. Security and Access Control

  • Role-based access permissions:

    • Executives: Full dashboard access.

    • Sales Managers: View sales team data.

    • Individual Salespeople: Restricted to their own performance metrics.

    • Investors: Limited access to dashboards relevant only to their category.

Results

  • Reduced reporting time from several days to real-time, on-demand dashboards.

  • Increased sales visibility, helping sales reps track their own margins proactively.

  • Improved strategic decisions, with leadership identifying low-margin products and adjusting pricing.

  • Enhanced investor transparency, leading to stronger investor relations and easier portfolio reviews.

  • Early detection of margin erosion by category or rep, enabling quicker corrective action.

Client Testimony

“CBS transformed our ability to see and react to GP% trends across the business. What used to take multiple spreadsheets, late nights, and manual calculations is now a few clicks away. Our investors are impressed, and our sales team is more accountable than ever.”
– CFO, Envoy Data Scottsdale, AZ

About CBS (CRM Business Solutions)

CBS is a Zoho Certified Partner since 2014 delivering tailored CRM, analytics, and process automation solutions. With a deep expertise in the Zoho ecosystem, CBS helps organizations turn data into decisions, improve operational efficiency, and drive profitable growth.