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Understanding & Creating Dashboards in Sentir

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Overview

Dashboards provide visual displays of key metrics and trends across your Sentir instance, enabling your team to monitor business performance, track client activity, and identify opportunities at a glance. For wealth management firms, this means advisors and management can quickly assess portfolio performance, client engagement, revenue trends, and operational efficiency without having to run individual reports manually. 

What Is a Dashboard?

A dashboard consolidates multiple data visualizations into a single view, providing an at-a-glance understanding of key performance indicators for your firm. Each visualization on a dashboard, called a widget, draws its data from an underlying report. 

The relationship between dashboards and reports is straightforward: reports can exist independently, but every dashboard widget requires a report as its data source. This design gives you flexibility in how you analyze and present information. A single report can power multiple widgets on the same dashboard, each displaying the data in a different visual format. For example, you might show new client acquisition data as both a bar chart and a pie chart within the same dashboard.

Similarly, you can combine widgets from different reports into a single dashboard. This capability proves particularly valuable when you want to monitor related metrics together. A sales performance dashboard might include widgets for pipeline value, close rates, and activity metrics, each pulling from its own specialized report but displayed together for comprehensive oversight.
 

Dashboards combine multiple visualizations to provide comprehensive business insights.

Dashboard Functionality

Dashboards share several functional characteristics with reports while introducing some unique considerations around data visibility. 

  • Folder-based access works similarly to reports: dashboards stored in a folder inherit that folder's access controls. If users have access to a dashboard folder, they can view the dashboards stored there. However, viewing a complete dashboard requires access to both the dashboard itself and the underlying reports that power its widgets. This layered permission structure ensures that users see only the data they're authorized to access. 
  • The running user is a critical concept for dashboard configuration. Every dashboard has a designated running user whose security settings determine what data appears in the dashboard. This matters because dashboard viewers see data based on the running user's permissions, not their own. You have two approaches to configuring the running user:
    • Specific user dashboards designate one person as the running user. All viewers see data according to that person's access level, regardless of their own permissions. This approach requires careful consideration of who you select as the running user. For example, if you designate a team manager as the running user, their team members will see dashboard data for their own team but not for other teams the manager might oversee. This configuration works well when you want consistent visibility across a defined group.
    • Dynamic dashboards automatically set the logged-in user as the running user. This means that each person sees dashboard data based on their access level. Dynamic dashboards provide the most secure approach when record visibility is a concern, as they prevent users from seeing information they wouldn't normally access. They work particularly well in organizations with strict data access policies or when different advisors should only see their own client data. 
  • Editing capabilities allow you to refine dashboards after they are created. You can add new widgets as your monitoring needs expand, remove widgets that are no longer relevant, or adjust the layout to prioritize the most important information. This flexibility ensures your dashboards remain valuable as your firm's priorities evolve.

Dashboard Folders

Dashboard folders control both access and organization for your dashboards. By configuring folder permissions, you determine which users or groups can view, edit, or manage the dashboards stored in the folder. This structure allows you to create role-specific dashboards (such as executive summaries for partners or activity dashboards for advisors) while maintaining appropriate data visibility across your organization.

Creating a New Dashboard Folder

To create a dashboard folder:

  1. Click the caret button next to the Navigation menu, then select Analytics from the drop-down menu.

     
  2. Click the Create button in the upper-right corner of the Analytics page.

     
  3. Select the Folder option from the drop-down menu.

     
  4. In the Create a Lightning folder pop-up menu, select the type of Lightning Dashboard Folder. Enter a name for the folder in the Label field. Choose a name that clearly indicates the folder's purpose or the team it serves (for example, "Compliance Dashboards" or "Advisor Performance Dashboards").
  5. Click Save to finalize the creation of this folder.

Editing Folder Access

Dashboard folder access determines who can see, modify, or manage the dashboards within. Understanding these permission levels helps you balance data visibility with security, ensuring that sensitive business intelligence reaches the right audience while protecting confidential information.

To share a dashboard folder:

  1. On the Analytics page, click the Browse tab on the left side of the screen.

     
  2. Locate the dashboard folder you would like to edit and click the caret button for that record, located on the right-hand side of the table.

     
  3. Select Share from the drop-down menu.

     
  4. In the Share With field, select the style of sharing. The options available are as follows:
    • Users

    • Groups

       

  5. In the Name field, enter the name you want to match. The name must match the category selected in the Share With field. For example, if you select User as the category, specify the user’s name.

     
  6. Select the access level from the Access drop-down field. The options available are as follows:
    • Viewer: Users can only view the dashboards within the folder.
    • Editor: Users can edit and view dashboards saved to the folder.
    • Manager: Users can edit and view dashboards and modify permission access to the dashboard folder.

       
  7. Click Add. The change will then move the sharing settings to the Shared with... list. Continue adding entries following the steps above as needed. The highest permission is granted when a user is assigned to multiple entities. For example, a group is added with view-only permissions, but a user in that group is also added with edit permissions. In this case, the edit permissions apply to that user.

     
  8. To delete or modify a Shared with... entry, click the caret menu with their access displayed to the right of the entry. Then select the permission level you would like them to have, or select None to remove them.
  9. Click Save to finalize your changes.

 

Dashboards

Creating a New Dashboard

Creating a dashboard establishes the foundation for your visual analytics. As you build your dashboard, consider what information would provide the most value to your intended audience, whether that's tracking client acquisition for business development teams, monitoring assets under management for executives, or reviewing task completion for operations managers.

To create a new dashboard:

  1. If not already within Analytics, use the Navigation menu and select Analytics from the drop-down menu.
  2. On the Analytics page, click the Create button.

     
  3. Select the Dashboard option from the drop-down menu.

     
  4. In the New Dashboard properties window, enter the dashboard name into the Name field.
  5. In the Description field, enter a short description of the report and its purpose to help your team easily identify the report. While this information is not required, it is highly recommended as it helps users understand the dashboard's purpose at a glance.
  6. Use the Select Folder button to select the save location for the dashboard. Once the folder is chosen, click the Select Folder button again to return to the New Dashboard properties window.
  7. Click the Create button to finalize the dashboard creation.

 

Adding Widgets

Widgets transform your report data into visual formats that make patterns, trends, and insights immediately apparent. The variety of chart types allows you to match the visualization to your data, whether you need to compare values with bar charts, show composition with donut charts, or track changes over time with line charts.

To add widgets to your dashboard:

  1. Click the blue +Widget button located on the right-hand side, then select Chart or Table. Alternatively, you can add a text widget or image widget to provide context or branding to your dashboard.

     
  2. In the Select Report window, select the report from which the widget should draw information. The report name will be highlighted when selected.

     
  3. Click the Select button to choose this report. If the report is not grouped, you cannot access the Display As options described in the next step.
  4. Set Display As to how you would like this information to be displayed visually. The options available are listed below. Depending on your report settings, some display options may not be applicable and will not be available for selection. If your report features a chart and you would like the dashboard to display the same chart, check the Use chart settings from report box.
    • Horizontal Bar Chart
    • Vertical Bar Chart
    • Stacked Horizontal Bar Chart
    • Stacked Vertical Bar Chart
    • Line Chart
    • Donut Chart
    • Metric Chart
    • Gauge Chart
    • Funnel Chart
    • Scatter Chart
    • Lightning Table

5. Set the Y-Axis, X-Axis, Sliced By, or Display Units fields to the field names you would like the chart's information to be based upon. If using a Lightning table option, select the columns you want to display within the widget.

 

6. In the Title field, enter the title for the dashboard widget if desired. This is not required, but it can help keep widgets organized when multiple widgets of similar types are displayed on the dashboard.

 

7. Optionally, you can enter a subtitle in the Subtitle field to add a smaller title that will display under the Title on the widget.

8. Enter information in the Footer field if you want a small title to display at the bottom of the widget. This is optional.

9. Set the Widget Theme to either Light or Dark options. This defaults to the dashboard’s theme. Dashboards support a mix of themes across widgets and do not require all to be set to a single choice.

 

10. Once all aspects of the widget have been set, click the Add button to complete the creation of the widget.

 

Editing Widgets and Placement

Dashboard layouts can be adjusted to highlight the most important information or create logical groupings of related metrics. This flexibility allows you to design dashboards that align with how your team naturally reviews and interprets business data.

To make changes to widgets:

  1. Click Edit on the dashboard if it is not already in edit mode. Then, click the pencil icon on the widget you want to edit.
  2. Once the changes are made to the widget, click Update.
  3. To change widget placement, click and drag the widget around the grid to the desired location.
  4. Widgets can be resized by clicking the edit squares at the corners and sides. Click these blue squares and drag them to the desired size to adjust the widget's size.

Working with Dashboard Filters

Dashboard filters enable users to slice data without creating separate dashboards for each perspective. For wealth management firms, this means a single dashboard can serve multiple purposes: advisors can filter by their book of business, managers can filter by team, and executives can view firm-wide metrics, all from the same dashboard configuration.

After filters are defined, users viewing the dashboard can select a filter to visualize the data most relevant to them. The filtered view is remembered, so the next time the user visits the dashboard, the same filtered view is shown.

Adding a Dashboard Filter

To add a filter to a dashboard:

  1. Click the Edit button to edit the dashboard, then click the +Filter button.

     
  2. From the Select Field to Filter By dropdown, select a field to filter on. The dropdown shows fields that can be used to filter all the dashboard's widgets. If there are equivalent fields for your selection, hover over the info icon to see them.
  3. Give the filter a display name to identify it. If the filter has many equivalent fields, consider using a name that works for all widgets.
  4. Click Add Filter Value, choose an operator, and set a value. Optionally, modify the custom display text.
  5. Click Apply.
  6. Click Add. If equivalent fields are available for a widget, you can select which one to use to filter the widget.
  7. Save the dashboard and close the dashboard builder by clicking Done.

Applying a Dashboard Filter

Once dashboard filters are created, you can apply them when viewing a dashboard.

To apply a dashboard filter:

  1. Open a dashboard.
  2. Dashboard filters will display at the top of your dashboard for selection. Each filter has one or more options that you can choose to narrow your selection.
  3. To see data unfiltered, from the filter dropdown, select Clear Filter or All.

Modifying or Deleting a Dashboard Filter

To modify or remove an existing filter for a dashboard:

  1. Click the Edit button to edit the dashboard.
  2. Click the pencil icon to modify the dashboard filter or click the trash can icon to delete it.

Saving and Editing Dashboards

To save or edit a dashboard:

  1. Once the dashboard is completed or ready for saving, click the Save button in the upper-right-hand corner of the dashboard builder.
  2. Click Done to leave the dashboard builder and to see the completed dashboard.
  3. To edit the dashboard, click the Edit button in the right-hand corner. This will return you to the dashboard builder. 
  4. Once all changes have been made, click Save to finalize the changes on the current dashboard or click the caret button next to Save and select Save As to save as a new dashboard.

Dashboard Properties

Dashboard properties control fundamental aspects of how data is displayed and who sees what information. The View Dashboard As setting is particularly important for maintaining data security while providing broad access to analytics across your organization.

To edit dashboard properties:

  1. Click Edit on the dashboard if not already in edit mode.
  2. Click the Dashboard Settings cog located to the left of the Save button.
  3. Make any edits necessary to the dashboard properties. The properties available are as follows:
    • Name
    • Description
    • Folder
    • View Dashboard As: This sets the information the dashboard viewer can see. The options are as follows:
      • Me: Dashboard readers see data in the dashboard according to your access to data. For example, if you can only see clients in Canada, then dashboard readers will only see data about clients in Canada.
      • Another person: Dashboard readers see data in the dashboard according to the data access level of whomever you specify. For example, if you choose someone who can see clients from any country, dashboard readers can see data about clients from all countries.
      • The dashboard viewer: Dashboard readers see data as themselves, according to their access to data. These types of dashboards are often called dynamic dashboards. You can't follow widgets on dynamic dashboards, and they cannot be saved in a private folder. You also cannot schedule refreshes for dynamic dashboards, so they must be refreshed manually.
      • Optionally, select Let dashboard viewers choose whom they view the dashboard as to enable a reader with appropriate user permissions to choose who they view the dashboard as. With the "View My Team's Dashboards" user permission, the reader can view the dashboard as themselves or anyone beneath them in the role hierarchy. With the "View All Data" user permission, the reader can view the dashboard as anyone.
  • Dashboard Grid Size: Set the dashboard size to 9 or 12 columns.
  • Dashboard Theme: Set the default for widgets as Light or Dark. If this is changed after the initial widget placement, it will change all widgets to match the newly selected theme.
  • Dashboard Palette: Set the color theme for your dashboard.

4. Once all changes have been made to the report properties, click Save on the properties menu.

5. Click Save on the dashboard builder page to finalize the change.

 

Refreshing and Downloading

Dashboard data reflects information as of the last refresh. Refreshing ensures that teams make decisions based on current data rather than outdated snapshots, which is critical for time-sensitive activities such as pipeline management or client review preparation.

To refresh or download a dashboard:

  1. If in the dashboard builder, click Done to view the run dashboard.
  2. Click the Refresh button on the upper right-hand side of the dashboard to refresh it with the most recent data. When dashboard data is being refreshed, the Refresh button will grey out until the refresh is completed. Depending on the complexity of your dashboard, the refresh may take up to ten minutes. If your dashboard data doesn’t refresh after ten minutes, the refresh will automatically stop. If necessary, click Refresh again. You cannot refresh a dashboard more than once per minute.

     
  3. To download the dashboard, click the caret button to the right of the Edit button. Select Download from the drop-down menu.

 

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