Getting started with dashboards

This tutorial walks you through creating your first custom dashboard. You'll clone an existing dashboard, edit the clone, edit a dashboard component, add a new component, move components, and then see the results.

Subscription

Company

Regional availability

All regions

User type All
Permissions

Business user with admin privileges

  • Dashboard: List, View, Add, Edit

Other users

  • Dashboard: View
Restrictions Users must have permissions to view components

Clone an existing dashboard

  1. Go to Dashboards > All and select the dashboard that you're cloning.
  2. In the upper right, select Clone.
  3. In the Dashboard properties window, enter a new Title.

  4. Make any needed changes on the Appearance, Filters, and Permissions tabs.

    Use the field descriptions as a guide.

  5. Select Save.

Edit your cloned dashboard

  1. Go to Dashboards > All and then select the dashboard that you created.

    Refresh your browser if you do not see the dashboard on the menu.

  2. To hide or show individual sections (components) of the dashboard, select Caret right or Caret down to the left of any component title.
  3. In the upper right, select Settings.

  4. In the Dashboard properties window, make changes as needed. Select the following links to view more information about each tab.

    Use the Appearance table to format the dashboard. The following table describes the fields on this tab.

    Appearance tab field descriptions
    Field Description
    Title

    This title appears at the top of the dashboard. If you select a group for this dashboard, that group name appears in front of the dashboard title.
    Description

    Enter notes to remind yourself about the purpose of the dashboard.
    Columns

    Select the number of columns for the dashboard. You can set your dashboard layout to between 1 and 3 columns.
    Flexible-width column

    If a column contains a wide component, give it flexible width to see as much detail as possible without needing to scroll.
    Color

    Select a color theme for the dashboard. To create your own, select Custom color.
    Group

    To help organize dashboards on the Dashboards menu, you can place them into groups. Groups with multiple dashboards appear as submenus.

    To add this dashboard to a submenu, select a submenu group. You see only the groups that you've created. Administrators see all groups.

    To create a new group, select Create new group. Refresh your browser to see the new group in the Dashboards menu.
    Default

    If you select this option for a dashboard, you can open the dashboard by double-clicking the Dashboards menu.

    You can also see the dashboard every time you sign in. For more information, see Make a dashboard your home page.

    Select filters to show at the top of the dashboard, so that you can narrow the scope of these components:

    • Financial reports
    • Financial graphs
    • Performance cards

    You can filter by date or dimensions.

    Use the Permissions tab to give other users and groups permission to use your dashboard. The following table describes the fields on this tab.

    Permissions tab field descriptions
    Field Description
    Owner

    If you're an administrator, you can take ownership of someone else's dashboard or assign it to someone else. This is useful if a dashboard owner leaves the company.
    Group or User

    Before you allow a user or group to use your dashboard, you must first add them to your company.

    Then select either User or Group in the field on the left. Next, select the specific user or group in the field on the right.

    By default, the setting in the Access rights column is Allow. If you do not want the user to have access to the dashboard, you can select Deny.
    Access rights for groups and users

    You can give permission to a group, but deny permission to selected individuals in the group.

    First, set up permission for the entire group. Then select a user and select Deny. The user cannot view the dashboard, but the other group members can.

  5. Select Save.

Edit a dashboard component

  1. In the title area for any dashboard component, select Settings.

  2. Make changes as needed. The fields that you see depend on the type of component. Select one of the following links for more information on each component type.

    Graph components
    Field Description
    Chart type
    • Financial chart: After being created in the General Ledger, a financial graph is automatically available to be added to a dashboard.

    • Standard graph: You must memorize the graph before you can add it to the list.

    Component

    Select any graph.

    Select Add (circle) next to the Component field to create a new graph from within the dashboard.
    Component title

    Enter a heading to appear in the dashboard.
    Chart style

    Select a visual representation for your data.
    X label Select how to display labels for the horizontal axis.
    Legend

    Select where to put the legend in relation to the graph. Legend placement is available for these graph types:

    • Stacked column
    • Stacked bar
    • Area
    • Stacked area
    Font size

    For graphs with a significant amount of text, use a smaller font size.
    Height

    Set the vertical size of the component. The graph scales to fill the available space.
    Dashboard filtering

    This setting applies to filters that you can add to the dashboard.

    • To show filtered content for this graph on the dashboard, select Allow.
    • To show unfiltered content for this graph on the dashboard, select Prevent.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.
    General components
    Field Description
    Component

    List shortcuts, news feeds, and other productivity aids. For example:

    • Closed through summary shows the dates for which books were closed. If added to a top level dashboard, the summary is included unless Entity View is selected. Entity view shows information for all available entities. If the dashboard is specific to an entity, only that entity close dates are shown.
    • Billboard displays text that’s entered when you create the component.
    • Main Shortcuts lists convenient links that take you directly to a page without needing to navigate through menus.
    • Custom Navigation provides a way to include links directly from the dashboard to Sage Intacct menus.
    • Attachments Container provides a link directly to an attachment containing 1 or more documents.
    • Message Board shows messages from your system administrator.
    • New Features lists recent updates to our service.
    • News and Events: RSS enables you to include content from popular news sources, such as the NY Times or CNN Money, by entering their RSS URL.
    • Resources includes links to Help and user guides.
    Component title

    Enter a heading to appear in the dashboard.
    News and Events: RSS URL

    The URL for the news service that you selected.
    Height

    Set the vertical size of the component:

    • To list everything without a need to scroll vertically, select Automatic height.
    • To set a fixed height and require scrolling for longer lists, clear Automatic height, then enter a specific Height.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.

    The following table describes the fields on the Appearance tab.

    Performance card components - Appearance tab

    Field

    Description

    Title

    Enter a brief label to show above the performance card value, such as Net Profit Margin.

    Account group

    Select an account group that's based on one of the following:

    • A single GL account, such as revenue

    • A computation, such as Net Profit Margin, consisting of several account groups.

    If you do not see the account group that you need, create a new one.

    Reporting period

    Select the time span that you're reporting on.

    Show as

    Specify whether the value is shown as a number, currency amount, or percentage.

    The account group determines the format of the value, such as 12 versus 0.12. Selecting Percentage - append % sign does not shift the decimal point.

    Rounding

    Select how much precision to show for the performance card value.

    • No rounding: Show all digits for the number of decimal places defined for an account group—up to 8 places for performance cards. For example, for a value of 12.340600:
      • If the account group is set to display 2 decimal places, the performance card displays 12.34.
      • If the account group is computational and is set to 6 decimal places, the performance card displays 12.340600.

      • Only computational account groups can set a specific number of decimal numbers, but account groups can be members of multiple account groups.

    • Whole number: Show all digits to the left of the decimal place.
    • Thousands: Abbreviate with K. For values less than 10,000, show 1 decimal place. For example:
      • 111,444,777.99 appears as 111,444K
      • 9,444.99 appears as 9.4K
    • Millions: Abbreviate with M. For values less than 100,000,000 and greater than 10,000,000, show up to 1 decimal place. For values less than 10,000,000, show 2 decimal places. For example:
      • 111,444,777.99 appears as 111M
      • 99,444,777.99 appears as 99.4M
      • 9,444,777.99 appears as 9.44M
    • If the rounding will obscure visibility, rounding is ignored. For example, it might appear as a zero if the amount is set to 1000 but the rounding is set to Millions.
    • If the numbers are positive or negative: The maximum number of characters allowed is 11, including the currency sign and a negative sign if there are negative numbers. Positive numbers do not consume a character in the count.
    • For budget or period comparisons, 9 characters are allowed. This limit includes the currency sign and negative sign if the comparison is a negative value.

    Reporting book

    Report on 1 book or combine amounts from multiple books.

    Appears if you have multiple books.

    Comparison

    Choices are based on the Reporting period that you select.

    Period comparisons

    • Finished period: To compare a value from one entire period with a value from another entire period (instead of a partial amount for the current incomplete period):
      1. In the Reporting period field, select a Prior... period option, such as Prior Month or Prior Quarter.
      2. In the Compare to field, select Period.
      3. In the field to the right, select a prior period for comparison.
    • Current period: To compare a value from a current period (such as Current Year To Date) against a partial prior period (up to the same point):
      1. In the Reporting period field, select a Current... period option, such as Current Month To Date or Current Quarter To Date.
      2. In the Compare to field, select Period.
      3. In the field to the right, select a prior period for comparison.
    • Day: To compare a single date (based on the As Of Date for the dashboard) against the same date in another period:
      1. In the Reporting period field, select Today.
      2. In the Compare to field, select Period.

      3. In the fields to the right, select the number of prior years, quarters, months, weeks, or days.

        For example, if the As-of date for the dashboard is 1/1/2025, comparing to a period of 1 year ago compares against 1/1/1/2024.

    Budget comparisons

    Budget: Select a budget that you've set up.

    No comparison

    None: Report on a standalone value, such as Days Sales Outstanding or Days Cash on Hand.

    You can create performance cards that compare an actual figure against a budget. However, creating a computation within an account group with the numerator and denominator coming from different actual versus budget is not supported. In this case, consider a graphical approach to get the comparison with a visualization.

    Grouping

    Organize related performance cards into a group, which you can move and align as a single unit on the dashboard.

    On the filters tab, narrow the scope of the performance card value by selecting one or more filters.

    Record components
    Field Description
    Component

    Select the type of record that will appear in the component.

    For example, if you approve payments or expenses, add a component listing the ones that need your approval. You can then drill down and review the transactions without leaving the dashboard.

    User view

    If you created a custom view on the records' list page, you can select it here.

    For example, you can select a custom view that sows bills in a draft state.
    Component title

    Enter a heading to appear in the dashboard.
    No. of rows

    Show exactly this number of rows. To see additional rows from the dashboard, select Search.
    Automatic height

    To show the number of rows without a need to scroll vertically, select Automatic height.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.
    Sort order Select Ascending or Descending.
    Record details

    Specify which fields will appear in the component.

    Field names vary, based on the record type that you select.

    • Field name: The fields that are available for the selected record type.
    • List: Select the fields to show in the dashboard.
    • Sort: Select the field to sort by.
    • Filter: Select this checkbox to filter the list by this field.
    • Field filter operator: Select an operator, such as Equals or Contains.

    • Field filter: Enter the filter criteria.

    You selected Customer as the component, and you want to list customers with a balance due greater than $5,000.

    1. Select the Filter checkbox in the Total due column.

    2. In the Field filter operator column, select Is greater than.

    3. In the Field filter column, enter 5000. Do not include a comma.

    Report components
    Field Description
    Report source Select the source for the report, whether it’s financial, custom, or standard.
    Report type To make it easier to find a specific report, filter the component list by selecting a Report type.
    Report audience To make it easier to find a specific report, filter the component list by selecting a Report audience.
    Component

    Select any memorized or financial report.

    If you select a financial report, Intacct automatically creates it in the General Ledger and displays it in the dashboard component. To see the report, go to General Ledger > All > Reports > My stored reports.

    You can select Add to create a new report from within the dashboard.
    Component title

    Enter a heading to appear in the dashboard.
    Rows

    All rows: every row of the report is viewable in the dashboard.

    • To show every row (with no vertical scrolling), select Automatic height.
    • To limit the vertical size of the component (but allow scrolling), clear Automatic height and enter a specific Height.

    Enter no. of rows: a limited number of the beginning rows are viewable in the dashboard. The component title occupies the first 2 rows (for example, to show 10 rows, enter 12 to account for the title):

    • To show exactly the number of rows (with no vertical scrolling), select Automatic height.
    • To limit the vertical size of the component (but allow scrolling), clear Automatic height and enter a specific Height.
    No. of rows Available if you selected Enter no. of rows in the Rows field.
    Automatic height Select this checkbox to show all rows without the need to scroll vertically.
    Height If you didn't select Automatic height, enter the height of the component.
    Report view
    • Snapshot: The report is generated when you open the dashboard, and it's update only when you refresh the component.
    • Live: The report is refreshed regularly.

    If you do not need filtering for a report, select Snapshot. This reduces processing needs for the report, which helps your dashboard perform better.

    The date and time of the most recent update appear beneath the component title.
    Dashboard filtering

    On some reports, you can use this field to determine whether dashboard filters are applied to the report. The Dashboard filtering field is available if you select Live in the Report view field.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.
    Smart links components
    Field Description
    Smart link type
    • Click: Show links to web pages. When a user selects a link, the page is opened in a new window.
    • Fetch: Show content from a web page directly in the component.

    For example, if you create a report in another web application, select Click to show a link to the report. Select Fetch to show the report directly in your dashboard.

    Some websites do not allow their content to be displayed as a component of another application. In this case, use a Smart link of type Click instead of Fetch. This is commonly encountered when the target URL explicitly includes frame options (such as opening in an iFrame or X-frame) in the header. Client- or server-side errors might also affect the ability to fetch.
    Component title

    Enter a heading to appear in the dashboard.
    Automatic height

    Select this checkbox to show everything without a need to scroll vertically.
    Height If you didn't select automatic height, enter the height here.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.
    Smart link details
    • Link name: Enter text to show for the link.
    • URL: Enter the URL, for example: https://www.sage.com
    • Height, Width: Enter the size, as pixels, of the window that opens when you select the link.
    • Scrolling: Add scroll bars to the window that opens.
    • Resizable: Allow users to re-size the window that opens. If yo do not select this checkbox, the window stays fixed with the height and width that you enter.
    • Tool bar: Show the browser toolbar in the window that opens.
    Collaboration Feed components
    Field Description
    Social Feed

    Select a feed to add to the dashboard. You can add the following feeds:

    • What I Follow feed: shows updates for everything that you follow, including posts from people you follow, groups you’re a member of, and files and records you’re following.
    • To Me feed: shows posts that are made on your profile page, including posts others make; posts and comments where you’ve been mentioned; and posts you made that have comments.
    • Company feed: shows posts and comments from your entire company
    • Group feeds: posts and comments from specific groups you’re a member of.
    Component title

    Enter a name for your feed, or use the automatically generated title.

    Height

    Set the height of the feed window as it will appear on the dashboard. The height is in pixels.
    Show collapsed

    Show only the component title when the dashboard is opened. To see the component details, select the arrow to the left of the title.
  3. Select Save.

  4. To remove a component, select Delete (Trash can) and then select OK.

    To retrieve the component, you can add it back or re-clone the original dashboard.

Add a new component

This example of adding a component covers adding a calendar to your dashboard. Adding other components use a similar process.

  1. In the dashboard, in the upper right, select Add.
  2. In the Component properties window, for Component, select Calendar.

  3. Select Save.

  4. Select Save again.

For more information, see Add dashboard components.

Re-arrange components

To move components to a different location on a dashboard, drag and drop them to the desired location.