Reports vs Dashboards — What's the Difference?

Dashboards show you live metrics at a glance — they update automatically and are designed to be checked regularly. Reports are point-in-time documents you generate, save, and share — designed for specific analysis or stakeholder updates.

Use dashboards when you need to monitor ongoing performance:

• Checking daily/weekly revenue trends
• Watching cash flow in real time
• Keeping an eye on inventory levels
• Tracking your Business Pulse score over time

Dashboards are best for metrics you want to see *regularly*. They auto-refresh every time you open them (or on a schedule you set).

Use reports when you need to analyse a specific period or question:

• Monthly profit and loss for your accountant
• Q3 sales breakdown by product category
• Year-end performance review for investors
• One-off deep dive into customer churn

Reports are static snapshots. Once generated, they don't change — which is exactly what you want when sending to stakeholders who need a fixed reference point.

In practice, dashboards and reports complement each other:

1. Your Dashboard shows something unusual (e.g. revenue dipped last week)

2. You use Ask AskBiz to investigate ("Why did revenue drop last Tuesday?")

3. You generate a Report to document the finding and share it with your team

Think of dashboards as your *windscreen* (real-time view while driving) and reports as your *logbook* (a record you can look back on).

To create a report: go to Reports in the sidebar → New Report → choose your date range, metrics, and format (PDF, CSV, or Excel).

To share: click Share on any report to generate a view-only link, or download and email it directly.

Reports can also be scheduled — set a monthly P&L report to generate and email to your accountant automatically every first of the month.