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  3. Reports & Dashboards

Creating Dashboards

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Overview

Dashboards provide visual displays of key metrics and trends across your Practifi 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 manually running individual reports.

For a deeper understanding of how dashboards and reports work together, consult our Understanding Reports & Dashboards article.

Dashboard folders

Dashboard folders control both access and organization for your dashboards. By configuring folder permissions, you determine which users, roles, 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 Dashboards from the drop-down menu.

  2. Click the New Folder button located in the upper right-hand corner of the Dashboards page.

  3. In the Folder Label field, enter the name of the dashboard folder.
  4. Click on the Folder Unique Name field. This value will auto-populate based on your folder label.
  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 Dashboards page, click the All Folders tab on the left-hand 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
    • Roles
    • Role, Internal, and Partner Subordinates
    • Role and Internal Subordinates

    • Public Groups

      Please note: If you are unsure which option to select, please contact your CSM.

  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:
    • View: Users can only view the dashboards within the folder.
    • Edit: Users can edit and view dashboards saved to the folder.
    • Manage: Users can edit and view dashboards and modify permission access to the dashboard folder.

  7. Click Share. The change will then move the sharing settings to the Who Can Access list. Continue adding entries following the steps above as needed. You can share with users, groups, roles, divisions, or a combination.

    Please note: 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 a Who Can Access entry, click the X icon to the right of the entry. To modify the access level for an entry, select a new access level from the drop-down menu next to the entry name in the Who Can Access list.
  9. When you have finished adjusting the sharing settings, click Done.

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 Dashboards, use the Navigation menu and select Dashboards from the drop-down menu.
  2. On the Dashboards page, click the New Dashboard button on the screen's right-hand side.
  3. In the New Dashboard properties window, enter the dashboard name into the Name field.
  4. 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.
  5. Use the Select Folder button to select the save location for the dashboard. Once the folder is chosen, click the Select Folder button again.
  6. 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.

    Please note: 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.

    Please note: If the report is not grouped, you cannot access the Display As options described in the next step. For more information on grouping, see our Creating Reports article.

  4. Set Display As to how you would like this information to be displayed visually. The options available are as follows:

    • 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

    Please note: 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.

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 modify the size of the widget.

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 of most interest. 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.

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. Select a dashboard filter from the dropdown list. 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.

        Please note: 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 are making decisions based on current data rather than outdated snapshots, which is critical for time-sensitive activities like 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 replenish your dashboard 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.

    Please note: You cannot refresh a dashboard more than once per minute.

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

Subscribing Team Members

Dashboard subscriptions deliver analytics directly to users’ inboxes on a schedule you define, ensuring that critical business metrics reach stakeholders without requiring them to log in and check manually. This proactive approach to data distribution helps maintain visibility across distributed teams and supports timely decision-making.

To subscribe team members to a dashboard:

  1. After clicking Done to view the completed report, click the Subscribe button next to Edit. This will open the Edit Subscription window to build all the relevant settings.
  2. Set the Frequency to either daily, weekly, or monthly. This selection determines how often the subscriber will receive a dashboard subscription email.
  3. Select the Days options to designate which days the email should be sent. When selected, the value will be highlighted. If you would like to remove a day from the selection, click on the day again to remove its selection. Multiple day options can be selected for one subscription.
  4. Set the Time field to the time the email subscription should arrive. This will be based on the individual user's time settings and not your organization's locale settings.
  5. Check the Receive new results by email when the dashboard is refreshed box if you want the subscriber to receive an email notification each time the dashboard is refreshed.

  6. Click the Edit Recipients button and then search for users. Select Add to add the user to the list of recipients. They will now be displayed under the Subscribers section. To remove a subscriber, Click the X icon to the right of their name.

    Please note: The dashboard must be saved in a public folder to add users as subscribers.

  7. Click Save to finalize this subscription.

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