Balanced Scorecard - Software Tools

Software Tools

It is important to recognize that the Balanced Scorecard by definition is not a complex thing - typically no more than about 20 measures spread across a mix of financial and non-financial topics, and easily reported manually (on paper, or using simple office software).

The processes of collecting, reporting, and distributing Balanced Scorecard information can be labor intensive and prone to procedural problems (for example, getting all relevant people to return the information required by the required date). The simplest mechanism to use is to delegate these activities to an individual, and many Balanced Scorecards are reported via ad-hoc methods based around email, phone calls and office software.

In more complex organizations, where there are multiple Balanced Scorecards to report and/or a need for co-ordination of results between Balanced Scorecards (for example, if one level of Balanced Scorecard reports relies on information collected and reported at a lower level) the use of individual Balanced Scorecard reporters is problematic. Where these conditions apply, organizations use Balanced Scorecard reporting software to automate the production and distribution of these reports.

A 2009 survey of software usage found roughly one third of organizations used office software to report their Balanced Scorecard, one third used bespoke software developed specifically for their own use, and one third used one of the many commercial packages available.

In February 2011 over 100 Balanced Scorecard reporting applications (i.e. supporting the automation of data collection, reporting and analysis) were available.