Creating dashboards

Creating dashboards

Warning
Some of the features mentioned in this document are being released in a phased manner and may only be available to specific users. 
Analytics is a summarized view of the custom report data in Zoho CRM. It provides a platform for real-time analysis of the sales stages and business operations. You can create a dashboard and share it with all the users or a few selected users. You can also create private dashboards that will be accessible only to you.
Alert
The Dashboards tab is renamed as Analytics for selected accounts.
Availability
Permission Required
Users with Analytics and Manage Reports permission in their profile can access this feature.

Create dashboard

Depending on your business requirement you can create dashboards to get an overview of varied business activities such as, email analytics, lead status, marketing metrics, activity stats and so on. Further, you can share these dashboards with selected or all users in your organization.
Note
  1. If a dashboard is shared with all users in the organization, the data in it will be visible only to those users who have the permission to view the field. For example, if you create chart for industry-wise revenue and share with all users, only those users who have the permission to view the Industry field will be able to see the chart.
  2. A user must have the permission to view dashboard enabled in their profile to be able to view the Dashboard tab. Read more Module permission. 

To create a dashboard

  1. Click the Dashboard or Analytics module from the Menu.
    If you can't find the Analytics in the Menu, click the More icon and look for the same.

  2. In the Dashboards or Analytics home page, click the Add (+) icon.
  3. Click Add Component, to add different components to your dashboard.
  4. In the Dashboard Builder page, do the following:
    • Enter the Dashboard Name.
    • Add a description for the dashboard.

    • Select the users with whom you want to share the dashboard. 
      • Only me - Accessible only to you.
      • All users - Shared to all users in your CRM.
      • Custom - Select users from different sources like list of users, roles & subordinates or groups.
        If you want to lock the dashboard to prevent changes by shared users, you can enable Lock this dashboard for shared users.

    • Click on a component on the left to add it to the dashboard.

5. Click Save.

Note
  1. Locked dashboards can be modified only by the dashboard creator and CRM admins.
  2. When a dashboard is shared in unlocked mode, the shared user can make changes but cannot set it to 'Share with only me'.
  3. You can unlock the dashboard at any time by clicking Edit and unchecking Lock this dashboard for shared users.

  4. Shared users will be able to clone locked dashboards.

Clone dashboards

There can be instances when you want to create a dashboard with components that are already present in one of the existing dashboards. In such case, instead of creating a new dashboard, you can clone an existing one and make edits if necessary. You can clone the components too.
To clone a dashboard
  1. Go to the Analytics tab and click the More icon on the top right corner.
  2. Click Clone.
    You can rename the cloned dashboard.
  3. Click Save. 

View dashboards

The dashboards present in your CRM account for your organization are categorized as follows:

  1. Favourites - Dashboards that you have marked as favourites. The dashboards can be reordered by clicking the reorder icon () at the bottom.
  1. Created by me - Custom dashboards created by you (the user).
  1. Shared with me -  Custom dashboards explicitly shared with you by any user in your CRM account.
  1. Public - Dashboards that are accessible to everyone in your CRM account. This also includes the default dashboards provided by Zoho CRM.
  1. Other user's dashboard - Custom Dashboards created by other users in your CRM account, which don't come under the above categories will be displayed. Only Admins and Super Admins will be able to see the dashboards created by other users.

Manage Dashboards

To keep track of your dashboards you can also use the Manage Dashboard functionality, which provides a unified view, consolidating all your dashboards in one location. It enables you to oversee and execute fundamental operations such as renaming, duplicating, and removing dashboards, among other actions.

With the Manage Dashboard feature, you're presented with two viewing options: list view and grid view. This flexibility allows you to choose between a simplified list format or a detailed grid layout, ensuring you can access and review all your dashboards and their pertinent details in the style that best matches your preference.


Delete system-defined dashboards and components

CRM provides a set of system-defined dashboards and components that are most commonly used in businesses such as deals in the pipeline, sales by account, campaign vs. revenue etc.

These dashboards are available for Leads, accounts and contacts, cases and solutions, products, inventory, campaigns, and territory. All these system-defined dashboards like Lead analytics, Org Overview, Activity Stats etc. are public dashboards that are available for every CRM user.

By default, these dashboards are accessible to all users in the org and the permission cannot be modified. Sometimes if you do not require these dashboards, you can delete them from the org account. You can also delete components that are not used in your business. A user who has manage dashboard permission in their profile can delete these dashboards and the components in it.

Notes
Note: Deletion of dashboards does not apply to the Classic view.

To delete a dashboard

  1. Go to the Dashboards or Analytics tab.

  2. Select a system-defined dashboard from the drop-down list.
    All the system-defined dashboards will be displayed.

  3. Click the More icon, on the top right corner and click Delete.

To delete a component

  1. In the Org Overview Dashboard, go to the component you want to delete.

  2. Hover on the component and click the More icon.

  3. Select Delete from the drop-down list.

Clone and delete system defined components and dashboards

The system-defined dashboards and its components are displayed and accessible to all users in the org. If you want to delete them for other users and retain certain dashboards for a selected set of users, you can clone them and give permission to the selected users only.

Similarly, the admin can clone the dashboard and keep it for their reference by setting the permission as Only me.

NotesNote: Once deleted the system defined dashboards cannot be retrieved. Hence, the best practice would be to clone it before deleting.
To clone and delete system defined dashboards

  1. Go to the Dashboards or Analytics tab.

  2. Select a dashboard from the drop-down list.
    Likewise, you can select a component in a dashboard.

  3. Click the More icon, on the top right corner and click Clone.
    The cloned dashboard will be named as [dashboard name_Cloned].

  4. Click the All users icon, next to Org Overview_cloned dashboard and select Only me or Custom, to set sharing permission.

  5. If you choose Custom Users, select the list of users with whom you want to share.

  6. Go to the original Org Overview Dashboard and click the More icon.

  7. Select Delete.
    In Are you sure you want to permanently delete the dashboard, click Delete.
    This action will permanently delete the dashboard and you will not be able to undo or retrieve it. 

Special actions on components

The dashboard components allow you to carry out a series of actions based on your requirements. Let's take a look one by one.

Clone

There can be instances when you want to create a dashboard with components that are already present in one of the existing dashboards. In such a case, instead of creating a new dashboard, you can clone an existing one and make edits if necessary. You can clone the components too.
To clone a dashboard
  1. Go to the Analytics tab and click the More icon on the top right corner.
  2. Click Clone.
  3. You can rename the cloned dashboard and change other configurations if needed.

  4. Click Save.

Delete

You can delete components that are not used in your business. A user who has managed dashboard permission in their profile can delete components in a dashboard.
To delete a component
  1. In the required Dashboard, go to the component you want to delete.
  2. Hover on the component and click the More icon.
  3. Select Delete from the drop-down list.

Add to home or favourite

This feature allows you to add the chart to the home page of your Zoho CRM.
To add the chart to your home page
  1. Click the Analytics tab.
  2. On the Analytics Home page, select the required dashboard.
  3. Click the More icon and select Add to Home or Add to Favorite.

Embed URL

You can embed the dashboard in any web page by copying the dashboard's URL and pasting it in the desired website. You can restrict the dashboard for specific domains by mentioning them as allowed domains. For example, if you want a chart to be displayed only in the .edu domain you can mention this domain in the allowed domain section. This will restrict users from other domains to view the chart. 
Info
Avoid using the following special characters while entering domain details as it may cause validity issues: ^ { } | " < > ` multiple commas, and spaces (goo gle.com). 
To embed the dashboard URL
  1. Click the Dashboards or Analytics tab and select the desired dashboard.
  2. In the Dashboards Home page, select the required dashboard.
  3. Click the More icon and click Embed URL.
  4. From the Embed URL page, copy the dashboard's URL from the text box.
  5. In Allowed Domains, enter the domains where the dashboard should be displayed.
    This dashboard will be visible only in the mentioned domains. 

  6. Click Done. 

Move to another dashboard

It is simple to move components between different dashboards. If you think a specific component would be better suited in another dashboard, you can easily relocate it.
To move a component
  1. Go to Analytics and access the dashboard that contains the specific component.
  2. Click on the More icon of the component and click Move to another dashboard.
  3. Select the dashboard from the dropdown in the pop-up, and rename the component as required.

  4. Click Move.
Notes
Note:
  1. A component can't be moved to a dashboard which is locked.

Download

Sharing a component outside the dashboard becomes convenient by downloading its data in the form of an image or a PDF. This allows for effortless sharing and presentation of information.

Restoring recently deleted dashboards/components

There may be instances where you delete a dashboard or its components because they seem unnecessary at the time, but realize sometime after that you still need them, even if for a different purpose. It could also be that you deleted a dashboard or a component accidentally. In such instances, you can restore deleted dashboards and components within 30 days, thereby, minimizing the impact of accidental deletions and facilitating data recovery.


  1. The Recently Deleted section is categorized into two tabs: Dashboards and Components. Each offers grid and list views for enhanced visibility and navigation.
  2. Users with manage permissions for Dashboards can restore deleted items for shared dashboards.

Cases for restoring deleted components

While restoring a deleted component, there are two possible scenarios.
  1. When the parent dashboard of the deleted component(s) is/are available in analytics, you can simply select the component and restore it directly.
  2. When the parent dashboard of the deleted component(s) is/are also in the recently deleted list, a pop-up will appear and ask you to select one of two restoration types:
    1. Restore the component along with its parent dashboard.

    2. Select a different dashboard to restore the component into.
Notes
Notes:
  1. You can access the 'Recently Deleted' section in 2 ways.
    1. On the Dashboard main page, "Recently Deleted" is located in the dropdown on the left panel where all types of dashboard views are listed.

    2. On the "Manage Dashboards" screen, it is positioned at the top right.

  2. Deleted items are organized based on the date of deletion to offer a clear timeline for restoration. They are categorized into four sections based on the date of deletion:
    1. Today
    2. Yesterday
    3. This Week (Excludes Today & Yesterday)
    4. Earlier this week
  3. When performing a bulk action (restore/delete), a maximum of 100 items can be deleted or restored at once.

Drill down view of dashboard components

You can view a detailed report on the selected data in any dashboard component.
To drill-down dashboards
  1. Click the Dashboards or Analytics tab.
  2. Go to the required dashboard and click on the particular component for which you need a detailed drill down view.
The data is displayed in the form of a report. You can modify the columns shown in the drill-down view of the dashboard component, choose a new column remove one, or reorder them as per requirement.


Component filters

Component filters are dynamic and can be instantly applied directly to components without affecting their configurations. Beyond the criteria filters that are specific to each component, the component filters enable individual users to apply personalized filters and obtain the results they need, which enhances the flexibility with which they can view different data perspectives on each component and thereby improves their data analysis capabilities.



The component filter fields must be configured within the component's settings. Each user with access to the dashboard can apply different values to these fields and view the desired results.

You can choose from a broad range of user, picklist, date, and date/time fields from both primary and secondary modules. Additionally, formula fields and roll-up summary fields that return a date or date/time are also available. A maximum of two fields can be selected as component filter fields.


After setting up the filter fields, you can apply the filter values and view the results temporarily by clicking Apply. If you want the filter values to remain active until you decide to remove them manually, clicking Apply and Save will ensure the filters persist even upon refreshing the dashboard URL or navigating away and returning to the page.


Notes
Notes:
  1. Component filters are supported for all types of dashboard components except Anomaly Detector, and that these filters won't be applicable for Comparator when its parameters relate to different modules. 
  2. For both picklist-type component filter fields and user filter fields, a maximum of 25 values can be selected.
  3. Applied filter values will not be carried over to the Home page, but saved filter values will be.
  4. During the print/download process, the filtered data of the component will be downloaded regardless of whether the component filter values are applied or saved.
  5. If the filter values are saved, the filtered data will be shown where the component is embedded. However, if the filter values are only applied, the data in the embedded component will not be filtered.
  6. If filter values are saved for a component and then temporarily altered and applied, those changes will not persist when the user switches to another dashboard or module and then returns. The component will display the previously saved filter values rather than the temporarily applied ones.

Create category for grouping values

Alert
It’s being rolled out in a phased manner and is currently available only to selected customers.
Analyzing large datasets can be challenging when dealing with numerous individual data points. It's often difficult to extract meaningful insights when information is scattered and ungrouped. 

To address this, you can create categories for each grouping field in an analytical component. This allows you to group related values for clearer and more insightful data analysis.

For example, let's say you're analyzing leads based on their sources and recognize that you've received leads from various channels, such as cold calls, advertisements, employee referrals, trade shows, and chats. To determine which leads were generated through active engagement versus passive engagement, you can categorize them as follows:
  1. Active engagement: Cold calls, employee referrals, chats
  2. Passive engagement: Advertisements, trade shows
This categorization helps classify records and analyze which sources involve direct interaction and engagement with potential leads (active) versus those that provided information or opportunities without direct interaction (passive).
Key benefits:
  1. Simplified data analysis: Grouping similar data points reduces complexity, making it easier to spot trends and patterns.
  2. Enhanced visualizations: Categories make your charts and reports more readable and focused.
  3. Custom groupings: You have the flexibility to define categories that make sense for your business needs.
Categories can be created for two types of grouping fields:
  1. Picklist fields
  2. Numeral fields (Currency, Number, Long Integer, Decimal, Percent, Formula, Roll-up summary)
Category for picklist fields
Category for numeric fields
Category for picklist fields
Imagine you have a picklist field Country as a grouping field in a chart component. Analyzing each country individually can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Additionally, you might have business goals that require monitoring or analyzing these deals by grouping them into certain categories, such as regions/continents.

To create categories for a picklist field
  1. Add/Clone/Edit an analytical component.
  2. Select the picklist field(s) for the grouping, and click Create Category Field.

  3. On the New Category Field pop-up:
    1. In the Grouping dropdown, select the picklist field for which you want to define categories.
      Picklist and numeric fields used for grouping in the analytical component will be listed here. If only one grouping is selected for the component, it will be selected automatically for creating the category field.
    2. Provide a name for the Category field (e.g., Continents), and click Create Category.

    3. Give a name to the category (eg. Asia) and select the grouping/picklist values (eg. India, Japan, China).
    4. Click Done.

    5. You can add more categories (e.g., Africa, Europe, South America) for other picklist values by clicking the New Category button.

    6. Click Done.
  4. Review the configuration of the component and click Save.

Once you save the component, the details will be categorized as per the configurations.


Notes 
Notes:
  1. You can move a particular picklist value from one category to another by clicking on the three dots beside the picklist value, selecting Move to, and then choosing from the existing categories or clicking New Category.

  2. You can remove a particular value from the category by clicking the three dots and selecting Remove.
  3. You can manage a category (modify its name or selected values), or delete it entirely, by using the three dots available for each category.

  4. Any values not assigned to a category will appear under a link labelled 'Remaining uncategorized values'. You can click the link to view these values, select them, and move them to an existing category or create a new one.


Category for numeric fields
The ability to categorize numeric fields allows you to organize numerical data into meaningful ranges, providing clearer insights and making analysis more intuitive. 

For example, if you're analyzing Deal Amounts, it can be overwhelming to look at individual deal values, especially with a large dataset. By creating categories, you can group these deal amounts into ranges, such as "Medium Value Deals" for amounts between 15,000 and 50,000, "High Value Deals" for amounts between 50,000 and 100,000, and "Enterprise Deals" for amounts above 100,000.

Additionally, you can use the Lower Values Category option to capture all deal amounts below 15,000, naming this category "Small Value Deals." Similarly, using the Higher Values Category option will group all deal amounts exceeding 100,000 into "Enterprise Deals." While creating categories for a numerical field, the range values are designed to be continuous to ensure no value unintentionally falls into the uncategorized "Others" section. Once you save the component, the data will be categorized based on these configurations, making it easier to identify trends and act on insights.

To create a category for a numeric field
  1. Add/Clone/Edit an analytical component.
  2. Select the numeric field(s) for the grouping (e.g., Amount), and click Create Category Field.

  3. On the New Category Field pop-up: 
    1. In the Grouping dropdown, select the numeric field for which you want to define categories.
      Numeric and picklist fields used for grouping in the analytical component will be listed here. If only one grouping is selected for the component, it will be selected automatically for creating the category field.
    2. Name the Category field (e.g., Deal Size).

    3. Enter the names for the middle range categories (e.g., Medium value deals, High value deals) and start and end ranges for each category.

    4. Click on the gear icon if you want to add lower and higher value categories.

    5. Click Done.
  4. Review the configuration of the component and click Save.

Once you save the component, the details will be categorized as per the configurations.


Notes
Notes:
  1. The category fields and the categories you create are specific to an analytical component.
  2. For a category field, you can add up to 10 categories and up to 20 values within each category.
  3. The Others category shown on the component includes grouping values that are not assigned to any category, as well as records with no values for the field for which the category was created.
  4. Category creation is supported for all types of analytical components except Anomaly Detector and Stage Component.

Determine the count of records in analytical components 

The 'Count of' feature allows a user to get the number of records available in modules saved in their CRM system, providing valuable insights for reports and analytics, monitoring product performance, and facilitating effective data management.

To get  a count of records when only one module is involved 

When a user wants to get the number of records using an analytical component, they can use the 'Count of' measure. As a sales manager, Carol needs to find the number of accounts created this month. To do so, she uses a KPI component with the 'Count of - Accounts' measure to get the desired value in return.

 

To get a count of records when two modules  (primary & related ) are involved

Case 1 : When  two modules are related with a single-lookup field 

When two modules ,a primary module and a related module, are linked with a single lookup relation in an analytical component, then, a user can use the 'Count of Unique' measure to get an exact number of records for the primary module and the 'Count of' measure to the number of records in the related module.

For example, when the Accounts module and the Deals module are linked or related, there will be only a single lookup related list for these two modules. This is because an account can have multiple deals, but a deal cannot be associated with multiple accounts.
Let's look at how Timothy, a sales manager, uses the 'Count of Unique' measure to get the exact number of records in both the Accounts module (primary module) and the 'Count of' measure to get the number of records in the Deals (related module). He has set up three accounts: A, B, and C, and closed four deals: W, X, Y, and Z. The records or entries will be stored as the number of rows in his CRM account, as displayed below.

Primary Module  - Accounts

Related Module - Deals

Account A 

Deal W

Account A 

Deal X

Account B

Deal Y 

Account C 

Deal Z


From the table above, we see that Account A is associated to two deals (W & X) and Accounts B and C are associated to one deal each (Y & Z resp).  When Timothy uses the 'Count of' and 'Count of Unique' measures, the values he gets in return will be:

 
'Count of - Accounts': 4 [ Total count of the number of rows shown in the table above ]
'Count of Unique - Account': 3 [ Exact count of records in the primary module-Accounts ]
'Count of - Deals': 4 [ Count of records in the related deals module ]

The 'Count of Unique' measure can be used to find the exact number of records for the primary accounts module, and the 'Count of' measure can be used to find the number of records in the related deals module.

Case 2 : When two modules are related with a multi-lookup field 

When two modules ,a primary module and a related module, are linked with multi-lookup relation in an analytical component then, a user can use both the 'Count of Unique' measure to get an exact number of records for the both modules and the 'Count of' measure to the number of rows/entries created when both modules are linked.

For example, when two modules Courses and Students are linked or related, we get a multi-lookup related list. This is because each course can have multiple students, and each student can take up multiple courses.
Let's see how Amelia, a course coordinator, uses the 'Count of' and 'Count of Unique' measures to check how many records are there in the Course module (primary module) and how many records are there in the Students module (related module). She has setup two courses, A & B, in the Course module with four registered students, W, X, Y, and Z, in the Students module. The records or entries will be stored as the number of rows in his CRM account as displayed below.

Primary Module - Courses

Related Module - Students

Course A

Student W

Course A

Student X

Course A

Student Y

Course B

Student X

Course B

Student Y

Course B

Student Z


From the table above, we see that Course A has three registered students, W, X, and Y, and Course B has three registered students, X, Y, and Z. When Amelia uses the 'Count of' and 'Count of Unique' measures, the values she gets in return will be:
Count of - Courses: 6 [ Total count of rows as shown in the table above]
Count of Unique - Courses: 2 [ Count of the exact number of courses ]
Count of - Students: 6 [ Count of the number of rows as shown in the table above ]
Count of Unique - Students : 4 [ Count of the exact number of students ]

To get a count of records using an analytical component:
  1. Navigate to Analytics or Dashboards. Click Add Component on the top-right of the screen of your desired dashboard.
  2. Select the component.
  3. Choose the modules and select Count of Unique or 'Count of' based on your requirement and click Save.

To create a presentation from a dashboard

NotesAvailability
This feature is being released in a phased manner for orgs using Enterprise edition and above in US, AU, EU, IN, JP, and CN DCs.
You can quickly convert a dashboard into a presentation and use it in your team meetings, strategy sessions, performance reviews, and so on. You can start presenting the new slide deck right from your CRM. If you want to make some changes, you can easily open the slide deck in Zoho Show. The changes made there will be synced back to the slide deck in your CRM.

To do this:
  1. Click the Analytics module.
  2. Select the required dashboard in the left pane.
  3. Click the more (...)  icon at the top right corner of the dashboard and select Create as Presentation.
    Note: When a presentation is being created, you will not be able to create another one. Each user can create a maximum of 10 presentations per month. The slide deck will be erased one month from the time of creation.

  4. You will get a notification once the presentation is created. Click View in Zia Notification.

  5. The notification will be selected by default, and the presentation will be shown in the Dashboard Presentation pane.

  6. If you want to start presenting from within the CRM, use the presentation options available at the bottom of the slide deck. You can:
    1. View the slide deck in full-screen mode.
    2. Zoom to a particular section.
    3. Use a pointer or marker, along with the options to hide and erase markup.
    4. Navigate to the next or previous slide, or pick a particular slide

  7. f you want to present the slide deck from Zoho Show or want to make changes to it, click View in Show.


Notes
Note
  1. Each user can create a maximum of 10 dashboard presentations per month. You can see how many you've already created by hovering over the Create as Presentation option.

  2. When a presentation is being created, you will not be able to create another one.

  3. You can access your slide deck by clicking on the Zia Notification Panel from the bottom of your CRM application. The slide deck will be erased one month from the time of creation.

  4. If you open the slide deck in Zoho Show and make changes to it, the changes will be synced back to the deck in the CRM. Markup will not be saved. Please note that these options are available only when you are using a paid edition of Zoho Show. Otherwise, you'll be able to view, present, download, and print the slide deck in Zoho Show, but you'll not be able to perform other actions.

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