Griffin Marine Services uses Metabase's built-in CSV database for reporting.

The Challenge: Griffin Marine Services didn’t have its database infrastructure and needed a cost-effective BI solution to track project performance, including revenue, costs, and gross profit, with dashboards that update every hour.

The Solution: Metabase provided a built-in database to store and analyze CSV files, integrated with Microsoft Power Automate for automated data uploads, removing the need for complex database infrastructure. They moved from Power Query to SQL models to make data processing simpler.

The Results: Metabase made reporting easier with real-time updates and less manual work. Project managers now get accurate insights from their CSV dashboards and can make faster, better decisions.

"With Metabase, we’ve cut down report generation time. What used to take 30 minutes per file with Power Query is now simplified with SQL models, enabling real-time updates. "

Raihan Khalil Abdillah
Data Analyst at Griffin Marine Services

Why Metabase?

Before Metabase, Griffin Marine Services used a different BI tool to track project performance—revenue, costs, and gross profit—along with the value of ongoing jobs.

The need for another tool became obvious when they set out to build new dashboards. Not just a copy of the old one, but something more advanced. Leadership wanted deeper insights—future earnings projections, a clearer breakdown of current jobs, and more transparency into their financials.

While searching for a budget-friendly alternative to Power BI, Griffin Marine Services found Metabase on Reddit. It checked all the right boxes.

The data

Griffin Marine Services doesn’t have its own database infrastructure, either on-premises or in the cloud, but they still need dashboards that update every hour, from 5 AM to 5 PM local time. That’s where Metabase steps in with its built-in database to store and analyze CSV files.

Griffin Marine Services integrates Metabase with Microsoft Power Automate. They receive CSV reports from their job management software, and Power Automate processes and uploads them to Metabase via API. This setup keeps their dashboards up-to-date, all without the need to manage a complex database infrastructure.

How the Griffin Marine Services team uses Metabase

Griffin Marine Services uses Metabase to track key project metrics, including invoiced revenue, costs, gross profit, and job details, helping them keep a close eye on ongoing projects.

In Metabase, they focus on financial and operational data, such as:

• Sales performance: Invoiced revenue, costs, profit, and average margins for the current month and fiscal year.
• Margin analysis: Grouped by task type and client.
• Sales pipeline: Quotes, conversion ratios, and total sales.
• Labour utilisation: Efficiency and resource allocation.

Griffin Marine Services uses Metabase across all levels, with project managers relying on it most for real-time insights, while executives and senior managers use it for high-level financial and performance overviews.

They built and manage two key dashboards, using saved questions for frequent queries. Initially, they used the graphical editor but now create the data model directly in SQL, fine-tuning with the graphical editor.

To improve efficiency, Griffin Marine Services switched from Microsoft Power Query to uploading raw CSV files directly into the Metabase’s built-in database. They use SQL to refine key columns, like converting date fields to ISO 8601 format, ensuring the data model is optimized for fast queries.

The results

Metabase made it easy for executives, senior managers, and project managers to access real-time data, cutting down the time spent on manual reporting and improving data accuracy.

They switched from Winkreports, which was expensive and lacked detailed drill-down features, and found Metabase offered the same functionalities at a better price. What began as a cost-saving move turned into detailed CSV dashboards, providing insights into future earnings and project data. While there’s no formal ROI analysis, the team has seen significant time savings and better decision-making with more accurate, accessible data.

Advice for others

One key takeaway for the Griffin Marine Services team is how well Metabase integrates with automation tools. Initially, they struggled with slow processing times for large CSV files in Power Query. The breakthrough came when they realized they could upload raw data directly into the database and transform it using SQL. This significantly improved processing speed, making data updates faster and more reliable.

While they expected Metabase to be mainly used by senior management, project managers are now the most active users. They rely on it daily for tracking job progress and finances, reducing their need for job management software.

For those starting out, spend extra time structuring your data model correctly. Moving from the graphical editor to SQL-based models made everything much more efficient for them. Additionally, if you’re using Metabase Cloud Storage, automate data imports with tools like Power Automate. This ensures your CSV dashboards are always up-to-date, saving time and providing real-time insights without manual effort.