Overview
gaiia is extremely excited to offer a robust reporting engine that provides easier access to all of your data directly within the platform. Our reporting solution is broken into two major modules:
- Analytics → Key metrics for each of gaiia’s modules that provide a quick reference to understand how various parts of your business are doing.
- Reports → Detailed data on all gaiia modules allowing for in-app analysis and exporting for use in external systems.
This document will provide an overview of gaiia’s reporting solution and how to use it.
Accessing gaiia Reporting
The reporting solution is accessed directly from the “Admin” module within gaiia. In the side menu, look for either the “Analytics” or “Reports” option to begin using the solution.
User Permissions
The same user permissions are required to access both the “Analytics” and “Reports” section of gaiia’s new reporting engine. Users that that already had permission to access gaiia’s previous reporting solution will keep the same access as before.
To provide a new set of users access to reporting, ensure that the “Reports” permission is enabled under the “Admin” permissions category. This will provide full access to all of the report capabilities gaiia has to offer.
Working with Analytics
As mentioned above, the “Analytics” feature in gaiia’s reporting solution is designed to provide a set of key metrics for a variety of the different modules to quickly get a sense of key performance in various areas of the business. Many of the metrics within each dashboard are visual representations of key data to make it easy to quickly understand key information. Each metric can be interacted with to understand the details further or look at the underlying data.
Sharing an Analytics Dashboard
While many of your users will likely interact with the dashboards directly inside gaiia, we offer a few options to share them with external users, use them in presentations, etc. To do this, a “Share” button has been provided with a few different options.
- Share to the Web → This will create the dashboard as a dedicated URL which can be accessed outside of gaiia without requiring the user to login. Please keep in mind, this is publicly accessible, so be extremely careful who this is shared with.
- Download → This will allow you to download the dashboard as a PDF or image allowing for easy inclusion in emails, presentations, etc.
- Send to email → Instead of needing to manually share the dashboard yourself, gaiia can send out the dashboard as a PDF or image directly to the user directly from the tool. In the field provided, enter the email of the recipient and they will be sent an email with the PDF or image of the dashboard attached.
Interacting with Individual Metrics on a Dashboard
Metrics on the dashboard are designed to be interactive offering more insights when hovered over. For any chart or graph, simply hover over a relevant piece of it to understand the data further. In the example below, a portion of the pie chart has been hovered over to understand what value it represents.
All metrics can also be further analyzed by downloading or looking at the data the makes it up. Beside any chart or graph, use the “more options” button (represented by 3 stacked dots) to open up a menu. From there, use the “Expose Underlying Data” option to view all of the data that was used to build the chart/graph or the “Download” option will allow you to download the metric in a variety of formats.
“Expose Underlying Data” Option
When the “Expose Underlying Data” option is selected, a pop-up is shown with the data along with a few options to analyze it further. From here, you can simply review the data or use the provided options for further analysis.
The button represented by a gear will allow you to hide/display any columns of data that are most relevant to what you would like to view.
The filter button (represented by the funnel) will allow you to filter the data shown, by particular columns and values.
Finally, the download button will allow you to export the underlying data for further review in a CSV or XLSX format.
“Download” Option
For any charts/graphs, they can be downloaded as CSV/XLSX (which will focus on the data behind it) or an image (which will maintain the graph/chart currently being displayed).
For tables shown in the dashboard, they can be downloaded as a PDF/CSV/XLSX (which will maintain its structure and format).
KPIs (single metrics represented as a number) cannot be downloaded but the data behind it can be reviewed and downloaded.
Dashboards Currently Offered
gaiia currently offers 5 different dashboards you can use in its currently analytics solution with more to come in the future. The various dashboards are as follows:
- Account Issues → Use to highlight and track the most common account issues that could impact their experience with your company including no payment methods, contact details and accounts in an incorrect state based on their setup (”out-of-sync”).
- Finances → Provides a complete overview of the current financials at your company including overall subscriber count, monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions, invoiced/expected revenue, payments and delinquency.
- Accounts → Helps provide a complete picture of your customer base highlighting key details such as type, key attributes, status and general churn across your company.
- Tickets → Designed to provide a quick picture of all of the tickets being submitted offering insights into average resolution time, how many tickets are being created by priority and general ticket composition.
- Workforce → Quickly understand the various work orders assigned to your technicians and key metrics regarding them such as completions, priority and create/resolution trends.
Working with Reports
gaiia’s reporting feature is designed to provide a comprehensive set of reports that cover it’s modules for detailed analysis and a variety of reporting and reconciliation activities.
When the “Reports” feature is accessed, you are presented with a dashboard of the various reporting categories that are available. Each one focuses on a key area of gaiia.
Once a category is selected, an area is presented that list both reports offered by gaiia and any created by users (discussed further below). If a category has quite a few built-in reports, use the “See all Built In Reports” link to view a page that lists all reports that are available. Alternatively, the “Built In Reports” tab also provides the full list as well.
If a particular report is used frequently, click the “star” icon beside any of them will add it to a list of “Starred” reports that can be accessed through the “Starred” tab to make it easy to find the reports most commonly used. Similarly, clicking the “star” icon on an already “starred” report will remove it from this area.
Clicking on any of the reports from any area will navigate you to a page that displays the report. Within this area, you will be able to review the report as well as look at the various “views” or it (denoted by the tabs).
Reporting works in gaiia through a report/view concept. A report is the main type of data being displayed (such as invoices), and a view is a way to present this data (such as any invoice past due). This views can be presented as tables, charts and graphs and provide an extremely powerful way of analyzing and reviewing various types of data in a variety of different ways.
Within each built-in report, gaiia has provided a number of common views we think would be beneficial, but new ones can always be added in your own custom report (discussed further below).
Interacting with a Report
Each report provides a variety of ways to interact with it. This section will outline the various actions that can be performed.
Exporting a Report
Using the provided “Export” button, the report you are viewing can be shared in a variety of ways. When clicked, you will be presented with two options:
- Export Now
- Schedule Export
The “Export Now” option will allow you to download the report in a CSV or Excel format. Only the current view that you have selected can be exported. In addition, any changes you may have done, such as rearranging or hiding columns, apply filters, etc. will not be represented in the download. If you wish to have those changes permanently affect those exports in the future, please explore creating a custom report (discussed further below).
There may be some reports you may look at frequently or always need a specified interval. Instead of needing to access gaiia to generate it each time, the report can be scheduled to be sent to a specified set of emails at a scheduled interval. To do this, select the “Schedule Export” option after the “Export” option is clicked.
A window will appear providing a few different fields to be completed. Multiple recipients can be specified by separating each email with a comma. Ensure to review the subject and body of the email and specify the type of format to send the report in.
The “Scheduling” fields will then provide the frequency and time the report should be sent.
Scheduled reports can then be found on the main dashboard and will be donated with a “x scheduled email(s)” at the bottom of the report card.
At any point if the scheduled report needs to be modified the same process, as when it was setup can be used. When the “Manage exports” window appears, use the options button (denoted by the 3 stacked dots) to delete the schedule task, modify or send a test.
Using the Filters and Sorting
Most reports gaiia offers includes the ability to filter that data shown by various attributes. To utilize a filter, simply click on the one you wish to filter the report by and select the appropriate value. Multiple filters can be applied at a time and stack on top of each other to ensure specific data can be found.
Filters can also be added temporarily to built-in reports to add even greater flexibility when looking at your data. Please note, unless you save the added filter as a custom report when you are done, any additional filters you add won’t affect the exports nor appear again when you return to it again.
To add a temporary filter, use the “+ Filter” button beside the existing filters already part of the report. This will display a drop-down of all available data (think report columns) that can filter the report you are looking at. Simply select your desired one at it will be added to the filters list for use. You are not limited to how many filters you can add but a filter can only be added for a specific type of data once. For example, in the “Invoices” report, a filter for “Due Date” can only be added once.
Hiding and Displaying Columns (Temporarily)
Reports are built to show almost all of the data in the first view you are looking at with the intent it will be filtered down and additional views providing more targeted views of the data. This can somethings mean too much information can be presented, not relevant for what you are looking for or you wish to see the data order in a certain way.
The “Columns” area in the right side panel, allows the temporary manipulation of the data being displayed. If you wish to keep this display, it is recommended you create a custom report as the adjustments made (if not saved) will not carry forward in exports nor when returned to later.
Using the “Columns” area each column can be dragged and dropped to change the order of a column. Drag and drop and specified column in the order you wish to see it and it will automatically be rearranged in the report.
Columns can also be hidden/display by using the “eye” icon beside each one. Click on it to hide or display it. When the icon has a line through it, the column is hidden. This is only applicable when working with a table report.
Creating Your Own Reports
Custom reports can be created in two different ways: using an existing built-in one as starting point or creating a new one from scratch based on the data sets available.
Creating a Report From Scratch
Creating a report from scratch is useful if you need to do something more unique and can’t find an existing report to base it off of. Each report must be created in a particular category with data unique to it. So, a billing report couldn’t be created in the “Accounts” category as that data wouldn’t be available.
The process to create a report is done by finding the appropriate category and clicking the “New Report” button.
After the button is clicked, a pop-up will appear with all the various datasets available to create a report off of. A dataset is a curated set of data provided by gaiia that can be used to build report off of. For example, the “Invoices” dataset lists all invoice details in a single table for analysis and use in reporting.
Click on each dataset to review the type of data included in it to determine if it contains what is needed for your report. Only one dataset can be selected for the report.
The “Select” button to begin will begin process of creating the custom report.
Creating a Report Using an Existing One
A custom report can also be created based off an existing one that already exists. This can be extremely useful to tailor a built-in report to your liking such as introducing or modifying existing views, hiding data not relevant to the reporting you require, etc.
To do this, open the report you wish to base yours off of. Click the “Save As” button and name your custom report. This will create a new custom version of the built-in report for you to work off of. Any changes will not affect the built-in one.
Working on a Custom Report
The full dataset is always displayed when the custom report is initially created. In the side panel on the left, each column part of your report is displayed. Use the “eye” icon beside each one to hide/display relevant columns and each one can be dragged and drop to change their order.
Ensure that you name your report (by clicking on “Untitled Report”) and click the “Save” button to ensure it is created.
Report Views
As mentioned earlier in this document, each report is made up of a set of views. These views allow you to present the data in a variety of different ways. By default, your newly created report (if starting from scratch) will start with a single view that shows all of the data available in that dataset as a table.
Regardless of whether you are creating a report from scratch or basing it off of an existing one, you will have the ability to name/rename views or add new ways to display the data in a variety of different ways.
Adding Report Filters
Report filters offer a convenient way of easily filter any report to only look at data that meet a specific criteria. A filter can be added for any piece of data available within the dataset you are using to build your report.
Use the “+ Filter” button beside the existing filters already part of the report. This will display a drop-down of all available data (think report columns) that can filter the report you are looking at. Simply select your desired one at it will be added to the filters list for use. You are not limited to how many filters you can add but a filter can only be added for a specific type of data once. For example, in the “Invoices” report, a filter for “Due Date” can only be added once.
You can also use filters to set default filters that are applied each time. When a filter is added, select it, and set the filter criteria ensuring you click the “Apply” button. If your custom report is saved with a filter (or filters) applied, everytime it is loaded, this filters will be applied by default. This can be extremely useful when you are attempting to create a report that always looks at a specific set of data.
For example, you could use this functionality to create a report that only looks at overdue invoices. This can be accomplished by adding a “Due Date” filter on any invoices whose due date has already passed. This will ensure each time you load your report only invoices past due will always appear.
At any time, you can adjust your saved filters by opening them and tweaking or removing the filter criteria. Just be sure to save your report otherwise this change will be temporary and not applied next time you load the report.
Report filters can also be deleted by expanding any filter and selecting the “Delete” link. Unless your report is saved, this change will also only be temporary.
View Types
The reports you create don’t just need to be displayed as a table. You can also use it to create charts and graphs. In the right-hand panel, the drop-down will allow for the creation of a variety of different formats to display your report in. When selecting an option, please ensure what you are selecting fits with the data you are working with For example, a pie chart probably isn’t the best way to display overdue balances, but a ration of customer types would be perfect for it.
Based on the option you select, use the additional fields in the right-hand panel to select the data to populate it. This fields will change depending on what you have selected. For example, if a Bar chart is selected, X/Y values are specified.
Creating Pivot Tables
gaiia’s reporting solution also allows reports shown as a table to easily be modified to shown as pivot tables to summarize certain data or group values by particular data.
In the panel on the right, three sections allow you to do this:
- Values → This will create calculated columns of certain data, such as total overdue balance of all invoices. It offers a few different calculation options that can be set individual for each calculated column you wish to create. Use the drop-down beside each column to define the type of calculation being performed (not all options may be available depending on the type of data being used).
- Group by → Allows you to summarize and group all of the data by a particular column(s), such as grouping all overdue invoice balances per customer. Multiple columns can be used to group data.
- Breakdown → Will breakdown the data into various columns based on the data being used. This is great, for example, if you wished to look at the overdue balance of all invoices based on a particular customer type. It offers a different way to further breakdown the data already being shown.
Drag each piece of data you wish to use from the “Columns” section in the right hand panel into the appropriate area. The table will dynamically update in real-time to provide feedback as you work.
Where the Custom Report Appears
Once the custom report has been created, it will appear underneath the built-in reports area each time you access that reports category.
Reports Currently Offered
Within our currently reporting offering, gaiia provides over 30 built-in reports each containing numerous views that further display data in additional ways. Whenever you load the reports module, you can always expect to see the following report categories and reports under each:
Inventory
Track inventory assignation, costs, customer CPE all through the “Inventory” reports category. Currently 2 reports (with additional views) are provided that contain all the inventory details to begin your analysis.
Tickets
Gain insights and analyze the tickets coming in using gaiia’s “Tickets” report (and additional views) to better understand trends, areas for further analysis, etc.
Workforce
Analyze and track work orders across your technicians for installs, repairs, etc. using this category. gaiia has provided 2 reports (with additional views) that provide all the details on each work order to get you started.
Properties
For our clients who have MDUs, the 2 reports (and additional views) provide all the details necessary to understand unit assignation, property penetration, performance metrics, etc. across the properties that are being managed.
Accounts
gaiia offers 8 built-in reports (and additional views) to analyze, understand trends, insights for follow-up and re-engagement across your customer base.
Billing
Understand revenue, report taxes, determine outstanding customer balances, payments received, etc. With gaiia’s 20 built-in reports (with additional views) everything is offered to get a complete financial picture across your company.