Chapter 20

Exposing Metrics on Your Dashboard

In This Chapter

Guiding your business with metrics

Choosing the right Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

Viewing your data in graphs

Getting to the bottom of things through drill-downs

Adding specialized portlets to your dashboard

At its most basic level, accounting is about record keeping. In decades past, record keeping consumed most of an accounting department’s time. Compiling standard reports such as financial statements and balance sheets consumed the rest of it. Dedicated bookkeepers, often depicted wearing green visors and sleeve garters, toiled over leather-bound journals and ledgers.

But ain’t technology grand? Today, when your customer buys something from you through the Internet, NetSuite records the entire transaction automatically. In fact, depending on your business model, NetSuite can handle all of your company’s processes end to end, from buying supplies to delivering products. Instead of arduously maintaining records you can mine them for precious nuggets of wisdom. Businesses have gone from being producers of vast quantities of data to consumers of it.

This chapter lays the foundation for leveraging NetSuite’s powerful set of analytical tools that can distill your data into the rich knowledge needed to propel your company forward.

Harnessing the Power of Key Performance Indicators

Key performance indicators (KPIs) are quantifiable and measurable — repeat, quantifiable, and measurable — metrics that companies use to determine how well they’re achieving their pre-determined goals. “Gross Sales” is quantifiable and measurable. “Way Cool” is not. Although “Way Cool” may be a stated goal in your business plan, and laudable at that, it doesn’t make for a good KPI because there’s no objective way to measure it.

A metric is simply a standard of measurement. Within NetSuite, it’s a way of turning your raw data into useful information from which you can draw valuable insight about your business. One way to think of a metric is as an answer to a question about your data. Who are my top salespeople? How do they compare to each other? How do they compare month to month? How do they compare to each other month to month? All of these questions and many more can be answered using metrics.

NetSuite has over 75 pre-designed standard KPIs built in to it that you can set up in the Key Performance Indicators portlet on your dashboard. The standard KPIs available to you depend upon which role you’re using; the KPIs can each be viewed in four different ways, which are discussed in this chapter:

Summary: This most basic view of a KPI is presented in a one-line summary format in the Key Performance Indicators portlet.

Meter: A KPI Meter presents data in a graphic that closely resembles a gauge on your car’s dashboard. This view appears in its own specialized portlet.

Trend graph: This view is a line graph that shows the KPI data values on the y-axis with time intervals on the x-axis. It appears either in a pop-up or in its own specialized portlet.

Scorecard: A KPI Scorecard provides comparisons among multiple KPIs over multiple date ranges or accounting periods. Spreadsheet-like formulas can be added to Scorecards that include KPIs and functions in their expressions. To use it you must enable this view before you can use it. Once enabled, you add a specialized Scorecard portlet to your dashboard.

You discover more about each of these views in detail later in this chapter.

Once you have added a KPI to your dashboard, you can review the basic metrics at a glance and drill down to the detailed data that supports it. (Simply click it.) In short, KPIs place a tremendous amount of analytical power right at your fingertips. And if that’s not enough, you can create custom KPIs for your very own pie-in-the-sky KPI.

When to use a KPI

The two best times to set up a KPI are

When you can have an impact on the data.

When the data can have an impact on you.

In other words, it doesn’t make any sense to track something that you have no control over or that otherwise has no effect on how you do your job. If you’re a Marketing Director tracking the Gross New Leads KPI and it dips below a pre-determined threshold, then you can take some action to try to drum up more leads. But what’s a Customer Service Manager going to do with that same information? Customer Service likely has little or nothing to do with lead generation, nor does Gross New Leads have any effect on how that department performs its duties. The customer service manager is better off using the Cases Escalated and Cases Closed KPIs.

Most often, a company uses many KPIs to achieve the primary goals of the organization at large. For instance, the president probably has an eye firmly fixed on the Profit KPI as the company’s primary goal. The chief financial officer looks at specific KPIs as they relate to profit such as cost of goods sold (COGS), while the sales director monitors the Quota KPI among others, all in the pursuit of the same goal — higher profits. Practically every NetSuite user can find a standard KPI that accurately reflects his or her own contribution to the bottom line.

Adding the Key Performance Indicators portlet

If it’s not already there, add the Key Performance Indicators portlet to your dashboard:

1. Click the Customize this Page link.

The link’s on the upper-right side. The Add Content pane opens.

2. Click the Key Performance Indicators link.

3. Click the X in the upper-right corner of Add Content window.

The window closes

Note: If Key Performance Indicators appears in the list in bold type with a green check mark next to it, then it is already on your dashboard. See Figure 20-1.

Figure 20-1: Add the Key Performance Indicators portlet to your dashboard.

Choosing KPIs

Once the Key Performance Indicators portlet is on your dashboard, you need to add one or more KPIs to make it worthwhile. After all, an empty portlet isn’t very useful, is it? Standard KPIs appear as one-line summaries in your portlet.

To add summary KPIs, click the Set Up link near the bottom of the Key Performance Indicators portlet. The Set Up Key Performance Indicators window opens as shown in Figure 20-2.

Figure 20-2: Set up KPIs.

To add other KPIs, follow these steps:

1. Click the Add Standard KPIs button.

The Choose Standard Key Performance Indicators window opens, as shown in Figure 20-3. Depending on the number of KPIs available, you may see an additional drop-down list that allows you to jump to a particular segment of the alphabetized list.

2. Click the text to select a particular KPI.

The KPIs you choose populate the list on the right. You can select as many as you wish, but pick at least three so you get enough experience with layout options and features.

Figure 20-3: Choose standard KPIs.

3. Click Done.

You’re done now, unless you want to work on the layout of your KPIs, as described in the next section.

4. Click the Save button.

Setting KPI layout options

After you choose KPIs, you’ll see one row for each KPI you selected from the list in the Set Up Key Performance Indicators window. Notice that the same set of fields and options appears on each row. Corresponding to the numbers in Figure 20-4, Table 20-1 details what each of those fields and options means and how each one sets layout options.

Table 20-1 Fields and Options in the Set Up Key Performance Indicators Window
Indicator in Figure 20-4	Name	Description
1	Mover	Click the six small dots (to the far left of each KPI row) to drag the selected row up or down to change its order in the list, or click Move to Top or Move to Bottom to put the selected row in one of those locations.
2.	Help	Click the question mark icon for detailed help on the selected KPI.
3	Key Performance Indicator	Identifies the selected KPI.
4	Range	Use this drop-down list to select a point in time (such as today) or a date range (such as this fiscal month) from the list of dozens of predefined date ranges.
5	Highlight if . . .	Highlight a row of data in the KPI portlet if it’s greater than or less than a particular number that you set in the Threshold column. Highlighted data appears in the KPI portlet in bold followed by a red flag. Leave this field blank if you don’t want to highlight this KPI.
6	Threshold	Set the number above or below which you want to have a particular KPI highlighted.
7	Compare	Select this option if you want to compare the period you specify in the Range column with another period you indicate in the Compare Range column.
8	Compare Range	Specify the period that you’d like to compare to the value you enter in the Range column. Use the drop-down list to access dozens of pre-defined ranges. For example, you may choose to compare today with one month ago.
9	Remove this KPI	Click the X to remove this KPI from the list.

Figure 20-4: Setting the layout options on Key Performance Indicators.

Setting up KPI comparisons

In many cases, a KPI is automatically set to compare two periods by default. In the Set Up Key Performance Indicators window, set up a comparison for a particular KPI:

1. Select the Compare check box.

2. Select a date range from the Compare Range drop-down list.

Your KPI portlet must be in the center column of your dashboard in order for comparison data to appear. Comparison data doesn’t appear in KPI portlets that are placed in the left or right columns of the page.

Highlighting KPIs

You can make data stand out on the page if it’s over or under a pre-determined threshold. In the Set Up Key Performance Indicators window, highlight the data for a particular KPI:

1. Select Greater Than (or Less Than) from the Highlight If drop-down list.

2. In the Threshold field, type a number above or below which you want this KPI to be highlighted.

The KPI appears in the portlet in bold with a red flag next to it if the data surpasses the threshold you’ve set.

3. Click the Save button.

Viewing your KPI data

Your selected KPIs will appear in the KPI portlet on your dashboard after you click Save. Using the corresponding numbers in Figure 20-5, Table 20-2 describes what you’re seeing.

Table 20-2 KPI Portlet Options
Indicator in Figure 20-5	Name	Description
1	Refresh KPI	Click this icon (circular arrows) to refresh the data in this particular KPI. Or you can click the Refresh All link near the bottom of the KPI portlet.
2	Indicator	Identifies the KPI.
3	View Graph	Click this icon of a graph symbol to see your KPI presented as an interactive graph. Among the most powerful features in NetSuite, this button appears for any KPI for which comparison values can be set up, whether a comparison for that KPI is actually set up or not.
4	Period	Specifies the date range to which the KPI pertains.
5	Current	Shows the current KPI for the date range indicated in the Period column.
6	Previous	Shows data for the period specified by the compare range, if you select the Compare option when setting up the KPI.
7	Change	Indicates the percentage change between the periods.

Figure 20-5: This Key Performance Indicators portlet has selected KPIs.

Drilling down to the details

In NetSuite, you can access a KPI’s supporting detail instantly by clicking the number in either the Current or Previous columns of the KPI portlet to see the raw data that was used to calculate it. This is referred to as drill down.

If you’re curious about what makes up the number in your Profit KPI, click it to drill down to the financial statement from which it is drawn. If your Employees KPI is showing 28 last month and 31 this month, drill down to the employee roster to see the three people who make up the difference. In many cases, the screen you drill down to can be drilled down even further.

Measuring Performance Using KPI Meters

A KPI Meter resembles a speedometer and appears in its own portlet as a graphical representation of a KPI that is already in your KPI portlet. You can add as many as three KPI Meter portlets to your dashboard. You can format each KPI Meter to handle KPI data for a date range comparison or a highlighted threshold (regardless of how the KPI is originally set up in your KPI portlet). However, when you first add a KPI to a KPI Meter, the KPI will assume the layout options you have set up in the KPI portlet.

To add a KPI to a KPI Meter, the KPI must first appear in your KPI portlet.

KPI Meters are particularly helpful for monitoring those KPIs that are critical to your job performance. Similar to an airplane cockpit that has the most important gauges right where the pilot can see them, a KPI Meter can alert you when to take action. For instance, a production manager monitoring the Inventory KPI Meter can take corrective steps if quantities creep too low or too high.

KPI Meters provide the most useful information when you configure them to highlight a threshold. The threshold number will appear at approximately the one-third or two-thirds mark on the meter depending on whether you have chosen Less Than or Greater Than, respectively, from the Highlight If drop-down list on the Set Up page. The left limit of the meter then represents 0 percent and the threshold mark represents 100 percent. The needle indicates where in relation to those two points the actual data falls.

Special KPI Meters

You can use three special KPI Meters in addition to the ones that are provided by default in your KPI portlet:

Actual vs. Forecast

Actual vs. Quota

Forecast vs. Quota

When you select one of these in a KPI Meter, you may get the message “Please set up this meter.” This message means you need to add one or both of the supporting KPIs to the KPI portlet in order to use this KPI Meter. See Table 20-3 for a list of the supporting KPIs for each special KPI Meter.

Table 20-3 Using Special KPI Meters
To Use This Meter . . .	. . . Place These KPIs in Your Key Performance Indicators Portlet
Actual vs. Forecast	Sales, Forecast (Alt. Sales)
Actual vs. Quota	Sales, Quota
Forecast vs. Quota	Forecast (Alt. Sales), Quota

Adding a KPI Meter portlet to your dashboard

To add a KPI Meter portlet, follow along:

1. Click the Customize this Page link on the page you want to customize.

The Add Content window opens.

2. Click one of the listings for KPI Meter.

You can add up to three, which is why you see KPI Meter listed three times.

3. Close the Add Content window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the window.

Figure 20-6 shows the KPI Meter portlet on the dashboard.

Figure 20-6: The KPI Meter portlet appears on the dashboard.

Setting up your KPI Meter

Set up one of the KPIs in your KPI portlet:

1. Select a KPI from the View drop-down list in the KPI Meter portlet.

2. Click the Set Up link.

By default, the details on the KPI Meter Set Up page will be the same as in the KPI portlet for any given KPI. Figure 20-7 shows an example of the KPI Meter Set Up page.

3. Select a value from the Highlight If drop-down list.

4. Type an appropriate number in the Threshold field.

5. Select the Compare check box.

6. Select a period from the Compare Range drop-down list.

7. Click the Save button.

Figure 20-7: Setting up a KPI Meter.

Pay attention to the relationship between the KPI Meter portlet and the KPI portlet. When you change the Set Up parameters for a particular KPI in one, it changes the Set Up parameters for that KPI in the other. However, the changes for the other portlet (the one you didn’t edit directly) don’t take effect until you refresh that portlet’s data by clicking Refresh (or, if there’s more than one, Refresh All).

Monitoring Activity Through Trend Graphs

In NetSuite, a trend graph is a line graph that shows the differences in KPI data values over time. The y-axis shows the selected KPI’s values, and the x-axis represents the time interval. You can change the time interval as needed to daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly. You can also export a trend graph to a spreadsheet.

As the name implies, a trend graph is best used to examine changes in data over an extended period of time to discover patterns of behavior (trends). This differs from the Summary KPI and the KPI Meter, which both represent snapshots of data at specific points in time. The trend graph is a reflective look at the data that can answer broader questions: When are our best selling seasons? Are sales increasing? Which way are costs moving?

NetSuite’s trend graphs display in two different modes:

Pop-up trend graphs display in their own windows when a View Graph icon is clicked.

Trend Graph portlets display continuously in their own portlets on the dashboard.

Setting up pop-up trend graphs

To set layout options for all pop-up trend graphs, follow along:

1. Click the Set Up link in the KPI portlet.

2. Click the Pop-up Trend Graphs tab.

3. Select one or more of the following options for your graph (shown in Figure 20-8):

• Show Rolling Average on Pop-up Trend Graphs: By default, trend graphs show a solid line and shading for the actual data. Selecting this option adds a dotted line that represents a rolling average of the data.

• Show Last Data Point on Pop-up Trend Graphs: Trend graphs display data through the last closed period unless you choose the Show Last option, in which case pop-up trend graphs show the very latest data even if a period is still open in NetSuite.

• Include Zero on Y-Axis: Y-axis values begin with an approximation of the lowest value in the data set. Choosing this option shows y-axis values starting at 0.

Figure 20-8: Setting up pop-up trend graphs.

Displaying a pop-up trend graph

Pop-up trend graphs are available from the KPI portlet for all standard KPIs for which the Compare feature is available. Figure 20-9 shows the View Graph icon in the KPI portlet. You can also enable the View Graph icon in the KPI Scorecard, which is covered later in this chapter. In Figure 20-10, notice that the pop-up Trend Graph page is interactive.

Figure 20-9: The View Graph icon appears in the Key Performance Indicators portlet.

Different KPIs display different time-interval options.

Figure 20-10: The pop-up Trend Graph page is interactive.

Adding a Trend Graph portlet to your dashboard

A Trend Graph portlet functions the same as a trend graph pop-up except that you can permanently attach the portlet to the dashboard.

You can add up to five Trend Graph portlets to your dashboard:

1. Click the Customize this Page link on the page you want to customize.

The Add Content pane opens.

2. Scroll down and click + to expand the Trend Graphs folder.

The remaining number of trend graphs you can add to your dashboard is listed in parentheses next to the folder. If no trend graphs are currently on your dashboard, you will see (5 available). Which trend graphs are available depends on which role you’re using.

3. Click the trend graph you want to display.

The trend graph is immediately added to your dashboard. Repeat if you’d like more trend graphs on your dashboard.

4. Click the X in the upper-right corner of the Add Content pane.

The Add Content pane closes, and you’re done.

Setting up a Trend Graph portlet

A Trend Graph portlet is functional as soon as you add it to the dashboard, but you can change its appearance and how it presents the data. Figure 20-11 shows the Trend Graph portlet Set Up page, which is opened by clicking the Set Up link near the bottom of the portlet. The following options can be selected on the Set Up page:

Trend Type: Select Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly or Yearly from the drop-down list to change the default period for this Trend Graph portlet.

Show Average: By default, Trend Graph portlets show a solid line andshading for the actual data. Selecting this option adds a dotted line representing a rolling average of the data.

Average Window: This number represents the window of data to average based on the date range selected in the Trend Type field. For example, if you selected weekly and enter 3 as the window, the data points on the y-axis represent a 3-week average.

Show Last Data Point: Trend Graphs show data through the last closed period. When this option is selected, Trend Graph portlets show the very latest data even if a period is still open in NetSuite.

Include Zero on Y-Axis: Y-axis values begin with an approximation of the lowest value in the data set. Selecting this option shows y-axis values starting at 0.

Color: Click here to change the color of the primary trend line and its shading.

Figure 20-11: You set up options on a Trend Graph portlet.

Taking a tour of a trend graph

Figure 20-12 shows a Trend Graph portlet on the dashboard. Trend graphs offer the following features:

Time Period: Click one of these buttons (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly, or Yearly) to change the time period for which the trend graph is drawn.

Trend Line: This line shows the trend for the raw data for this trend graph for the period indicated. You can set the color for this line on the Set Up page.

Average Line: If selected on the Set Up page, this optional line shows the average trend in specific time increments that can be chosen on the Set Up page.

Y-axis Origin: You can set the y-axis to originate with 0 on the Set Up page. Otherwise, the y value origin is based on an approximation of the lowest value in the data set.

X-axis Values: The x-axis represents the time intervals over which the trend is graphed. These intervals change depending on the time period you select.

Refresh: In a Trend Graph portlet, click this button to refresh the data set and redraw the graph, if necessary. This button doesn’t appear in a trend graph pop-up. To refresh the data in a trend graph pop-up, close and reopen the pop-up.

Set Up: In a Trend Graph portlet, click this link to access the Set Up page (see “Setting up a Trend Graph portlet”). This link doesn’t appear on the trend graph pop-up. To set up a trend graph pop-up, see “Setting up Pop-up Trend Graphs” earlier in this chapter.

Export: Click this link to export data to a spreadsheet, such as Microsoft Excel. (See “Exporting data from a Trend Graph,” described next.)

Figure 20-12: A Trend Graph portlet is shown on the dashboard.

Exporting data from a Trend Graph

Click Export at the bottom of the Trend Graph page, whether a pop-up or a portlet, to create a text file in comma-separated values (CSV) format of the current trend graph view. See Figure 20-13 for an example of the file. You can save this file to disk or open it in your browser, provided you have Microsoft Excel or some other spreadsheet software installed on your computer.

Figure 20-13: Trend graph data can be exported to a spreadsheet.

Grading Your Business with KPI Scorecards

KPI Scorecards are a clever way to illuminate your data because they combine multiple KPIs over multiple date ranges or accounting periods. The underlying strength of KPI Scorecards is their customizability: Scorecards can be modified to include spreadsheet-like formulas using KPIs and functions in their expressions and can display KPI data in many ways, including trend graphs. They slice! They dice! They even julienne!

You wouldn’t necessarily use a KPI Scorecard to determine whether to take immediate action (although you can, if you wish). Instead, it is a more sophisticated way to monitor the health of your business. Think of a Scorecard as a fancy piece of medical equipment monitoring your company’s vital signs. To stretch the medical metaphor, if you were a doctor monitoring someone’s blood pressure, and the pressure suddenly shot up dangerously high, you wouldn’t take action based solely on that one piece of information. You would look for a specific cause before administering treatment. In the same way, the KPI Scorecard can show ratios, percentages, and trend lines that would lead you to investigate further if they don’t fall within expected ranges.

A prime example of this “medical monitoring” concept is the Financial Ratios Scorecard, which is pre-built in NetSuite. It groups together the kind of key financial metrics that CFOs and CEOs get excited about and includes the following comparative KPIs:

Current Ratio

Receivables Turnover

Days Sale Outstanding

Inventory Turnover

Days Inventory on Hand

Asset Turnover

Profit Margin on Sales

Return on Assets

Return on Equity

Debt to Total Assets

Debt to Equity

By default, you can display this scorecard in your KPI Scorecard portlet only if you have permission to view the Trial Balance report. However, Administrators can modify this scorecard’s definitions to create a custom Financial Ratios Scorecard, including granting permission to additional users to display the scorecard.

Enabling the KPI Scorecards feature

You must enable this feature in your account before you can use it and only Administrators can enable features. To enable KPI Scorecards:

1. Log in as Administrator.

2. From the Setup tab menu, choose Company⇒Enable Features.

3. On the Company tab, select KPI Scorecards.

4. Click the Save button.

If the Enable Features option isn’t available on your Setup tab’s menu, you lack the necessary permission to do this. Ask your Administrator to enable the KPI Scorecards feature.

Adding a KPI Scorecard portlet to your dashboard

To add the KPI Scorecard portlet to your dashboard, do this:

1. Click the Customize This Page link on the upper-right side of the page you want to customize.

The Add Content window opens.

2. Click KPI Scorecard.

3. Close the Add Content window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the window.

If KPI Scorecard appears in the list in bold type, then it’s already on your dashboard.

Creating a KPI Scorecard

Once you’ve added the KPI Scorecard portlet to your dashboard you can create a new scorecard:

1. From the Setup tab menu, choose Customization⇒KPI Scorecards⇒New.

This menu option is only available if the KPI Scorecards feature is enabled. See “Enabling the KPI Scorecards feature” earlier in this chapter.

2. Type Sample Scorecard in the Name field.

Using a unique, descriptive name will save you a lot of time later when you go looking for that KPI Scorecard you just created. Be aware that NetSuite will allow you to duplicate the name of an existing KPI Scorecard.

3. In the Content section of the page, select a standard KPI from the drop-down list.

4. Click Add.

The current KPI is saved and a new line is created.

5. Select another KPI from the drop-down list.

For this exercise, select a KPI that you would like to see in relation to the first one. For example, if you chose the Sales KPI for the first selection, choose the COGS KPI for the second, as the difference between the two indicates a gross margin.

6. Click Add.

7. In the new line, select the same KPI as in Step 3.

In this example, you will compare the first KPI to the second.

8. On the same line, select the same KPI as in Step 5 from the Compare Value To drop-down list.

9. On the same line, select Variance (Percent) from the Comparison Type drop-down list.

10. Click Add.

11. On the same line, type Pct Change in the Label field.

12. Click Add.

13. In the Date Ranges section, select This Month from the Range drop-down list.

If the Date Ranges section has a plus sign (+) next to it, click this to expand the section.

14. Click Add.

15. In the new line, select Last Month from the Range drop-down list.

16. Click Add.

17. In the new line, select This Month from the Range drop-down list.

18. On the same line, select Compare With Previous.

19. On the same line, select Variance (Percent) from the Comparison Type drop-down list.

20. On the same line, type Monthly Change in the Label field.

21. Click Add.

22. Click the Save button.

The new KPI Scorecard is now available for you to add to your KPI Scorecard portlet.

Setting up a KPI Scorecard

Once you create a KPI Scorecard, you must set it up in a KPI Scorecard portlet. Figure 20-14 shows the KPI Scorecard Set Up page. You can open this page by clicking the Set Up link near the bottom of the portlet. You choose from the following options on the Set Up page and click Save to view your changes in the KPI Scorecard portlet:

KPI Scorecard: Select the KPI Scorecard you want to display in the portlet from the drop-down list.

Restrict To: Select the scope of the data that you would like to see in the KPI Scorecard. The KPI Scorecard can reflect all data, only the data relevant to your team, or only the data where you are tagged as the owner. Select an option from the drop-down list:

• All

• My Team

• Only Mine

Orientation: Select how you want the data oriented from the drop-down list: KPIs on Left or Data on Left.

Show Trend Graph Icon: Select this to option to display the pop-up Trend Graph icon.

Show Date Row: Select this option to display the dates for the periods covered by the KPI Scorecard. The dates will appear in a single row above the data.

Figure 20-14: A KPI Scorecard must be set up in a KPI Scorecard portlet in order to be useful.

You may have to scroll down to find the Save button in the KPI Scorecard Set Up page.

Using formulas in a KPI Scorecard

One of the best reasons to use a KPI Scorecard is to embed formulas composed of KPIs and functions to analyze your data in ways the folks at NetSuite could never dream up.

KPI Scorecard formulas come in three flavors:

Currency will add a currency symbol to the result. For U.S. dollars, it will add a dollar sign ($).

Numeric will have no punctuation other than commas and a decimal point where appropriate.

Percent will format the output as a percentage, including multiplying the result by 100 and adding a percent sign (%).

Notice that all three types only format the result. Don’t be misled: Even though there’s a type called Numeric, all three types have to do with numbers. You can’t create formulas that return date, Boolean, or character type results in KPI Scorecards. If you don’t know what those types are, don’t worry. You can’t use them anyway.

For argument’s sake, pretend you’d like sales numbers rounded up to the nearest thousand. So, do this to add a formula to your Sample Scorecard:

1. From the Setup tab menu, choose Customization⇒KPI Scorecards.

2. Click Edit next to the name of the KPI Scorecard you wish to edit.

If you were following along with the previous steps, it’s named Sample Scorecard.

3. In the KPIs section, select Formula (Currency) from the drop-down list.

A new line is automatically inserted at the end of the KPIs section when you enter Edit mode.

4. In the Formula field, type this: ROUND({SALES},-3)/1000

The ROUND() function takes two parameters. The first parameter, {SALES}, is the Sales KPI, and the second parameter, -3, indicates that you want to round up to the thousands. Dividing by 1000 removes the trailing zeros, as is often done on financial reports.

5. Type Sales (000’s) in the Label field.

6. Click Save.

7. Return to the page containing your KPI Scorecard portlet.

If necessary, click Set Up in the portlet and select the scorecard you just edited if it’s not already visible.

8. Click Refresh to view the results of your formula.

You have added a formula to your KPI Scorecard! The crowd goes wild! Time for a victory lap around your desk while someone plays fanfare on a kazoo.

The Formula field can be somewhat temperamental when used in conjunction with the Function and Field drop-down lists. If you’re used to using spreadsheet software, you’ll notice that the behavior between these drop-down lists and the field isn’t as elegant as editing formulas in a product like Microsoft Excel. Any value that you select from the drop-down lists will be appended to the end of whatever is already in the field regardless of where the cursor was last in the field. That can be a bit frustrating. The drop-down lists are useful for looking up available formulas, functions and their parameters, but will require some cutting and pasting in the field when you select items from them.

Building Custom KPIs

If none of the standard KPIs suit your needs, you can create a custom KPI based on a saved search. In NetSuite, there is no limit to how discrete or how specific a KPI can be. If the data is there and changes periodically, chances are it will support a KPI.

Custom KPIs are based on Custom Saved Searches. In order for a Saved Search to serve as a Custom KPI, there are several things to pay attention to depending on how you want the KPI data displayed:

Record counts: To simply display the number of records returned by search results in the KPI, any Saved Search will suffice.

Summary data: In order to display summary data such as sum (total), count, average, minimum, or maximum, the search must contain a summary type defined for an appropriate field on the Results tab of the Saved Search form.

If more than one field is defined as a summary type on the Results tab in the Saved Search form, the KPI will display the data for the first summary field that isn’t defined as Group. (There’s not a simpler way to put it, so re-read the last sentence as often as it takes for you to get it.)

Summary search filters: Because KPI calculations don’t include groupings, KPIs can’t enforce summary search filters. The results for the KPI may differ from a Saved Search’s results if the Saved Search includes any summary search filters.

Summary search filters: Because KPI calculations do not include groupings KPIs cannot enforce summary search filters. The results for the KPI may differ from a Saved Search’s results if the Saved Search includes any summary search filters.

Comparing time ranges: To display a comparison of data for different time ranges, or to use the data in a KPI meter, trend graph, or KPI Scorecard, the search must:

• Not have a date range defined as search criteria.

• Have only one field with a summary type (such as group, sum, or count) defined.

• Have a date column defined as a Filter on the Available Filters tab of the Saved Search form.

Using Periods: If you selected the Use Periods option for a scorecard, you must specify a Period filter as an Available Filter in the Saved Search for it to appear as a Custom KPI in the scorecard.

Adding a Custom KPI to a KPI portlet

Once you verify that a Saved Search meets the criteria for a Custom KPI, you can add it to a KPI portlet:

1. Click Set Up in the KPI portlet.

2. Click Add Custom KPIs.

3. Select the Custom KPI from the list.

Click the name of the Custom KPI you wish to select.

4. Click Done.

5. Set up the Custom KPI with your desired options.

6. Click Save.

Once a custom KPI (or any KPI, for that matter) has been set up in a KPI portlet, it is available for use in a KPI Meter. To use a Custom KPI in a KPI Meter, select it from the View drop-down list in the KPI Meter portlet. Click Set Up to choose layout options.

Displaying a Custom KPI in a Trend Graph portlet

To display a Custom KPI in a Trend Graph portlet:

1. Click Customize this Page.

2. Expand the Trend Graphs folder.

Click the plus sign (+) next to the folder.

3. Select Custom KPI #1.

Or select the next available Custom KPI in the series. There are 10 in all.

4. Close the Add Content window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner.

5. Click Set Up in the new Trend Graph portlet.

6. Select the Custom KPI you wish to display from the Custom Trend Graph drop-down list.

7. Set the other layout options as desired.

8. Click Save.

Showing a Custom KPI in a KPI Scorecard

To show a Custom KPI in a KPI Scorecard:

1. Click Edit in the KPI Scorecard portlet where you want to add the Custom KPI.

2. In the Content section of the KPI Scorecard, select a Custom KPI from the Custom KPI #1 drop-down list.

To add up to 10 Custom KPIs, select them in order from the respective drop-down lists labeled Custom KPI #1 through Custom KPI #10.

3. In the KPIs section, select Custom KPI #1 from the KPI drop-down list.

4. Click Add.

5. To add additional Custom KPIs, repeat Steps 2–4.

6. Click Save.

7. Return to your KPI Scorecard portlet

8. Click Refresh to see the newly added Custom KPI.

Seeing Your Business Through Report Snapshots

A report snapshot shows summary data from one of the many pre-built reports provided by NetSuite through a Report Snapshot portlet on your dashboard. NetSuite allows up to 10 Report Snapshot portlets on a dashboard at any one time.

The Report Snapshot portlet is a keyhole view of a standard report for a given date range since it only looks at a given number of records taken from the top or bottom of the report. It includes a View Report link for you to access the underlying detail. Many of the snapshots allow you to configure the number and order of results, as well as choose the format that best suits your needs.

By now, you may be wondering why there’s often a limit to how many of an item you can add to a dashboard: three KPI Meters, five trend graphs, ten report snapshots, and so on. This is to avoid creating a performance bottleneck on the system. Too many portlets refreshing data at the same time can slow your dashboard down dramatically, which probably wouldn’t make you happy. The folks at NetSuite want you to be happy.

Use a report snapshot for those standard reports that you access most frequently and which have the greatest impact on your daily or weekly affairs.

Which report snapshots you can access depends on the role you’re using. In addition to standard report snapshots, roles with access to sales reports can view Sales Management Snapshots that are rolled up to different management levels. There are three Sales Management Snapshots:

Sales Managers by Sales Orders: Based on the Sales Orders by Sales Rep Summary report, this snapshot displays the approved sales order totals for each manager and sales rep in a selected date range.

Sales Managers by Forecast: Based on the Forecast vs. Quota report, this lists the quota, actual sales, calculated forecast, and override forecast for each manager and rep in a selected date range.

Sales Managers by Sales: Based on the Sales by Sales Rep report, this snapshot shows sales revenue by each sales manager in the selected period range.

Adding a Report Snapshot portlet to the dashboard

To add a Report Snapshot portlet, follow along:

1. Click the Customize this Page link on the page you want to customize.

The Add Content window opens.

2. Scroll down and click + next to the Report Snapshots folder.

The number of Report Snapshots you have left to add to your dashboard is stated in parentheses next to the folder.

If no Report Snapshots are currently on your dashboard, it says (10 available). Which Report Snapshots are available depends on your role.

3. Close the Add Content window by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the window.

Setting up a Report Snapshot portlet

A Report Snapshot portlet works as soon as you add it to the dashboard, but you can change several aspects of its appearance and how it presents data. Figure 20-15 shows the Report Snapshot portlet Set Up page. Open this page by clicking the Set Up link near the bottom of the portlet. The following options can be selected on the Set Up page:

Date Range: Select the date range you wish the report snapshot to display from the drop-down list.

Display Type: Select whether you want the report snapshot to display as a list or a graph.

Display Order: Select whether you want the results to be from the top of the report or the bottom of the report.

How Many: From the drop-down list, select how many items you want to display from the report.

Layout: If you chose to display the report snapshot as a graph, here you can select what type of graph you would like to see.

Color: If you chose to display the report snapshot as a graph, click here to change the graph’s primary color.

Figure 20-15: You can choose options for your Report Snapshot portlets.