Family Office Dashboard: What to Track, Who Needs What, and How to Build One That Holds Up
A family office dashboard is a set of role-based views that summarizes the family’s wealth, performance, liquidity, and operational status across accounts, entities, and asset types. It should help people make decisions quickly, without rebuilding the story in spreadsheets every time someone asks a question.
Dashboards are not hard because charts are hard. They fail because data definitions drift, alternatives arrive late, and nobody is sure when a number is “ready to trust.” This article is a practical blueprint for family office executives, investment teams, and tech and ops leads who want a dashboard that stays reliable as complexity grows.
Key takeaways
- A dashboard is a decision tool, not a design project. Start with what decisions it supports, then build views and data rules around those decisions.
- You need both performance and operations. A “returns” screen is not enough. The dashboard should also show whether the data is complete, reconciled, and up to date.
- Alternatives are the stress test. Commitments, capital calls, stale valuations, and document timing are where dashboards break first.
- Every headline number needs a drill-down path. If you cannot explain where a number came from, it will eventually create mistrust.
- Governance beats heroics. A simple sign-off moment and basic controls matter more than adding more charts.
What is a family office dashboard
A family office dashboard is a structured set of views that presents consistent metrics across:
- Multiple custodians and banks
- Multiple entities (trusts, LLCs, partnerships, foundations)
- Multiple asset types (public, private, real assets, alternatives)
- Multiple stakeholders (family, executives, investment staff, accounting, advisors)
It should answer the questions that come up repeatedly in family offices:
- What do we own, and where is it held
- How are we performing, and what is driving the result
- How liquid are we, and what is coming due
- What changed since last month or last quarter
- Are the numbers complete enough to use in a meeting
Dashboard vs report vs portal
A dashboard, a report, and a portal are related, but not the same.
- A dashboard is an interactive set of views meant to support decisions. It is designed for frequent use.
- A report is usually a packaged output (PDF, Excel, monthly book) that is distributed on a cadence.
- A portal is the delivery layer. It answers “how do users access the reports and documents securely.”
A strong dashboard strategy connects all three. The dashboard helps the team work, the reports help the office communicate, and the portal helps deliver information safely.
The 5 dashboard views most family offices actually need
If you try to build everything at once, you will end up with an impressive interface and unclear ownership. Start with these five views, then expand.
1) Net worth and entity rollup
What it shows
- Consolidated net worth
- Breakdowns by entity, by household member, and by major asset class
- Top holdings and top concentrations
- “What changed” since the last period
Why it matters
Net worth is the simplest question and the easiest place to lose trust if the numbers do not tie.
Common failure mode
Double-counting and missing entities. This happens when one asset is held through multiple layers, and the dashboard does not understand the ownership map.
Minimum requirements
- A clear entity structure and ownership logic
- Ability to roll up and drill down without manually mapping each month
2) Performance and allocation
What it shows
- Portfolio return views by period (MTD, QTD, YTD, since inception)
- Allocation by asset class, geography, sector, strategy, and manager
- Performance contribution by the major sleeve
- Policy targets and drift (where allocation is moving away from the policy)
Why it matters
This is where investment teams spend time. It is also the view that family members expect to be simple and clear.
Common failure mode
Performance definitions drift. One person quotes money-weighted returns, another quotes time-weighted returns, and they are both “right” but not comparable.
Minimum requirements
- Clearly labeled performance methodology
- Consistent benchmarks and time periods
- A “policy view” that matches the family’s investment policy statement
3) Liquidity and cash flow
What it shows
- Cash across all banks, custodians, and entities
- Near-term obligations (tax estimates, planned spend, debt service)
- Scheduled inflows (dividends, coupons, distributions)
- Upcoming capital calls and expected draws
- A simple liquidity runway, such as “months of coverage at current spend”
Why it matters
Families rarely run into trouble because they did not know their IRR. They run into trouble because they did not see a liquidity pinch early enough.
Common failure mode
Cash is shown at the account level but not at the entity level. That leads to false comfort, because cash in one entity may not be usable in another.
Minimum requirements
- Entity-level cash visibility
- A consistent way to classify obligations and expected inflows
- An “upcoming capital calls” list that is easy to verify
4) Alternatives and commitments
What it shows
- Commitments, called capital, unfunded commitments
- Distributions and distribution history
- Latest valuation, valuation date, and valuation source
- IRR and MOIC where applicable
- Documents status (capital call notices, quarterly statements, K-1s)
Why it matters
Alternatives are where reporting becomes slow and fragile. They involve documents, timing gaps, and valuation lags.
Common failure mode
Stale valuations and missing documents. The dashboard looks current, but the private sleeve is weeks or months behind.
Minimum requirements
- Clear “as of” dates on private valuations
- A document workflow that ties notices and statements to the underlying holdings
- A way to track commitments and capital activity without relying on a separate spreadsheet
5) Operational controls view (the close readiness panel)
This is the view many offices forget, and it is the view that keeps the other views honest.
What it shows
- Reconciliation status by custodian and bank
- Missing statements or missing feeds
- Stale prices and stale private valuations
- Exceptions needing review
- Approvals pending (if your process includes approvals)
Why it matters
It tells you whether the numbers are ready to use in a meeting. It also reduces the risk of reporting from incomplete data.
Common failure mode
A dashboard that always looks “finished,” even when inputs are missing. People stop trusting it after the first bad meeting.
Minimum requirements
- A visible completeness checklist
- A clear owner for exceptions and sign-off
Who uses the dashboard and what each role needs
A family office dashboard is not one screen for everyone. It is a set of views built on shared definitions, with different depths for different users.
Primary users and what they care about
Family principals and family members
They need clarity, not clutter. They want net worth, performance, liquidity, and plain language explanations.
CIO and investment team
They need performance, allocation, exposures, manager views, and alternatives detail.
Controller and accounting team
They need entity reporting, cash and transaction integrity, and a view of what is missing.
Tech and ops leads
They need integration status, security, permissions, and operational ownership. They also need to reduce manual steps and key-person risk.
External advisors
They need controlled access and standardized outputs, not a flood of raw data.
Table: Dashboard views by role, what to show, and what it depends on
| Dashboard view | Primary user | Decisions it supports | Data sources | Refresh cadence | Control check before you trust it |
| Net worth rollup | Principals, executives | Big picture health, major allocations, governance discussions | Custodians, banks, entity map, valuations | Daily for liquid, periodic for private | Entity ownership map is current and no double-counting |
| Performance and allocation | CIO, investment team | Rebalancing, manager evaluation, policy drift | Market prices, trades, holdings, benchmark data | Daily for liquid, quarterly for private updates | Performance method is labeled and consistent across sleeves |
| Liquidity and cash flow | Executives, ops, accounting | Funding decisions, capital call readiness, spending planning | Bank feeds, cash journals, payables, capital call schedule | Daily for cash, weekly for forecast | Cash reconciled and inter-entity restrictions are reflected |
| Alternatives and commitments | CIO, analysts | Commitments management, pacing, liquidity planning | Statements, capital call notices, valuation updates | As documents arrive | Valuation dates are shown and missing docs are flagged |
| Operational controls panel | Controller, ops | Close readiness, error prevention, meeting readiness | Reconciliation logs, feed status, exception queue | Daily | Exceptions reviewed and a sign-off owner is defined |
| Fees and expenses view | Executives, accounting | Cost control, net performance review | GL, invoices, fund fee schedules | Monthly | Expense classification is consistent and tied to entities |
| Document status view | Ops, accounting | Tax season readiness, audit readiness, investor responses | Document store, admin portals, uploads | Weekly or as received | Latest version is stored and linked to the right holding |
If you are building a first version, focus on the first five rows. Add the others once the foundation is stable.
How dashboards break in the real world, and how to prevent it
1) Definitions drift
One month, “cash” includes money market funds. Next month, it does not. Performance is calculated differently across sleeves. This makes meetings feel like arguments.
Fix
Write definitions down in one place. Use the same definitions in every view. Treat changes like policy updates, not casual edits.
2) Alternatives arrive late
Private funds and real assets are not daily priced. If your dashboard pretends they are, the office will lose trust.
Fix
Show “as of” dates everywhere. Put document status and valuation staleness on the dashboard. Make it normal to say, “private sleeve is as of last quarter.”
3) Spreadsheet glue becomes permanent
Teams start with “temporary” spreadsheets to connect systems. Then the spreadsheet becomes the process.
Fix
Limit spreadsheets to clear exceptions. If a spreadsheet is used every month, it should become a controlled workflow, not an email attachment.
4) No reconciliation checks
If nobody checks that cash and transactions tie out, the dashboard becomes a guess.
Fix
Make reconciliation status visible. Do not hide it in accounting notes. Put it on the operational controls panel.
5) No owner and no sign-off moment
Dashboards often fail because nobody owns “meeting readiness.” The data is always in motion.
Fix
Create a simple sign-off moment. It can be as simple as “Controller confirms the monthly pack is complete by day X.” Then the team knows what to use.
How to build a family office dashboard that stays accurate
Step 1: Write a one-page dashboard contract
This is the fastest way to prevent chaos.
Include:
- Who the dashboard is for
- What decisions does it support
- What it will not do in version one
- Refresh cadence by asset type
- Definitions for key terms (performance, cash, alternatives valuation date)
- What “ready” means for monthly or quarterly meetings
If you cannot fit this on one page, you are not ready to build.
Step 2: Map data sources and set refresh rules
Create a data map that includes:
- Custodians and brokers
- Banks
- Private fund statements and notices
- Real estate valuations and appraisals
- General ledger and entity accounting
- Manual inputs and who owns them
Then define refresh rules:
- Liquid markets can update daily
- Cash can update daily
- Alternatives update when documents arrive
- Valuations must show an “as of” date
- Forecast items must be labeled as forecast, not actual
Step 3: Add controls and minimum viable governance
You do not need a heavy governance program to improve reliability. You do need a few controls.
Minimum controls that most offices benefit from:
- Cash reconciliation checks
- Missing statement flags
- Stale valuation flags for private assets
- Role-based access controls
- An audit trail for changes to classifications and overrides
- A review and sign-off step for meeting packs
Step 4: Design drill-down paths
Every top-line number should be explainable.
Design a drill-down path like:
- Total wealth
- Entity
- Account
- Asset
- Transaction or valuation source
This is how you turn “a dashboard number” into “a number we can defend.”
Where FundCount fits in a family office dashboard stack
Many family offices find dashboards are easier to trust when portfolio activity, multi-entity accounting, and reporting live in one controlled system rather than being stitched together from spreadsheets and point tools. FundCount is an example of a platform designed for that approach.
FundCount supports portfolio accounting, partnership accounting, and a full general ledger, so transactions recorded once can flow into reporting views without re-keying. It also supports multi-entity consolidation and multi-currency reporting, which matters when wealth is spread across trusts, LLCs, and holding structures.
For alternatives, FundCount can help centralize capital activity and documents, and its reporting layer can turn governed data into stakeholder-ready dashboards and scheduled outputs. Role-based permissions and audit trails support controlled access for family members, staff, and advisors. Depending on the office, FundCount can also support delivery through a portal.
Dashboard requirements checklist
Copy and paste this into your internal project doc.
Data coverage
- Supports all entities in the family structure without manual rollups
- Handles multiple custodians and banks
- Supports public and private assets in one reporting model
- Supports multi-currency with clear base-currency reporting
- Supports ownership mapping so assets are not double-counted
Alternatives handling
- Tracks commitments, called capital, and unfunded commitments
- Tracks capital calls and distributions with history
- Shows the valuation date and the valuation source
- Tracks document status (statements, notices, tax forms)
- Makes stale valuations visible, not hidden
Controls and reliability
- Cash reconciliation status is visible
- Missing feeds or missing statements are flagged
- Exceptions have owners and a review process
- Overrides and classification changes are tracked
- There is a sign-off moment for meeting readiness
Reporting and delivery
- Can produce monthly and quarterly packs without rebuilding from scratch
- Supports scheduled distribution (PDF, Excel, dashboards)
- Supports different views for different stakeholders
- Supports drill-down for explanations and audit support
- Supports secure document sharing when needed
Security and access
- Role-based access by user and entity
- Two-factor authentication
- Clear permission scopes for advisors
- Audit trail for access and changes
- Policies for onboarding and offboarding users
Implementation reality
- Clear owner of dashboard definitions and governance
- Clear scope for data migration and history
- Clear process for manual inputs and validation
- Clear process for alternatives updates
- Plan for ongoing maintenance, not just go-live
FAQ
What is a family office dashboard?
A family office dashboard is a set of role-based views that summarizes wealth, performance, liquidity, and operational readiness across entities and assets. It is meant to support decisions, not just display charts.
What should a family office dashboard include?
At minimum, it should include net worth, performance and allocation, liquidity and cash flow, alternatives and commitments, and an operational controls panel. If you skip the controls panel, trust usually breaks over time.
How often should it update?
Liquid assets and cash can update daily. Alternatives usually update when documents arrive and valuations change. The key is to show “as of” dates clearly so users know what is current.
What is the hardest part?
Alternatives, entity complexity, and definitions. If you do not define what “performance” and “cash” mean, and if you cannot map entities cleanly, the dashboard becomes inconsistent.
How do we avoid a dashboard that looks good but is wrong?
Make reconciliation status visible, flag missing data, and require drill-down paths for key numbers. Also, assign an owner and a sign-off moment for meeting readiness.
Do we need separate software, or can it come from our accounting system?
Many offices use an accounting and reporting system as the backbone and build dashboards from that governed data. This approach can reduce spreadsheet dependency and make the dashboard easier to defend.
Conclusion
A family office dashboard should not be treated like a reporting makeover. It is a governance tool for decision-making.
Start with five views that cover net worth, performance, liquidity, alternatives, and operational readiness. Then protect those views with clear definitions, basic controls, and drill-down paths that let you explain every number when it matters.
If you build the foundation first, your dashboard becomes the place your team actually goes to run the office, not just a screen you open during quarterly meetings.
