Executive Dashboard

The Executive Dashboard is an add-on to Agvance Accounting that provides a visual and interactive view of the company’s financial performance and profitability. Monitor real-time activity in a variety of ways by selecting filters that can isolate specific Product lines and/or Locations in addition to viewing data on a company-wide basis. Including a prior year dataset allows information to be compared between the current and prior year. As a management tool, the Executive Dashboard provides quick, convenient access to key information.

Information is organized into five main areas under the following tabs:

Sales Summary – Compares YTD and monthly sales to the previous year for selected sales categories and Locations
Sales Scorecard – Displays sales, profit, and margin by category or Product line along with a view of the Top Customers, Products, and Salespersons based on the selected parameters
Cash Flow – Provides a view of the company’s cash position, credit limit status, and accounts receivable status by Location
Bottom Line – Displays a Consolidated Statement of Income with Year-to-Date and Current Month views
Inventory View – Displays inventory and Product detail by Location

Executive Dashboard is accessed from the Hub using the Dashboard shortcut icon.

Setup

Executive Dashboard is activated by the user. Within the Dashboard, module users may be blocked from one or more of the five tabs at Setup / Security.

Access to the Dashboard module and/or the Security menu within the module may be blocked by editing User Roles at Hub / Setup / Users.

Information is grouped according to the category set on the individual Inventory Departments. This category is set on the Profile tab at Accounting / Setup / Inventory Departments. Departments not essential to the overall position of the company could be set to a category such as Misc or Other to group those types of departments together. It is important that the department and category information in prior years match the current year for prior year comparisons to be most useful.

Designate the prior year to be used for comparison at Dashboard / Setup / Preferences. Also set the Print/Preview Orientation in the Preference area.

Sales Summary

Location – Filter for specific Locations, Regions, and Sub Regions or select All to view sales. Information for this tab is pulled from the Inventory Departments for the selected Location.
Month / Year-to-Date – Sales totals will be displayed for Month selected or Year to Date accordingly. The As of Fiscal Month drop-down gives the ability to select a particular month to display. The sales grid may be sorted by any one of the four columns by choosing the column heading. The resulting sales grid is divided into four columns.
Department / Sales Class – Choose either the Inventory Department Category or Inventory Department Sales Class.
Category – Displays either the Inventory Department Category or the Inventory Department Sales Class based on the filter selection.
Current Year – Displays either current month or YTD sales. Sales totals are current as of the last data refresh.
Last Year – Shows the corresponding total for the same time from the prior year designated in the setup area when Year to Date has been selected. These totals are always as of the end of the month.
Variance – This total is calculated as Current Year - Last Year.
Apply – Populates the tab based on the selections made in the Filter area. This is also used to refresh the data on the tab.
Pie Chart – Displays each Category’s percentage of the overall sales. The percentage is calculated based on the Current Year column information (Current Year total for Category / Total Sales (all Categories) * 100). Note that hovering over a section of this chart or any chart throughout Executive Dashboard will display the actual dollar amount that it represents.
Current MTD/Year vs Last Year Bar Graph – Shows a visual comparison of sales based on the information currently selected in the sales grid. Categories may be selected or deselected by choosing anywhere on a row in the sales grid or by using the Ctrl or Shift keys to multi-select rows by choosing the row number. The bar graphs will change with the new selections. Note that hovering over a section of this graph or any graph throughout Executive Dashboard will display the actual dollar amount that it represents.
Sales By Month Bar Graph – When looking at Year-to-Date information, this graph displays total sales by month for the current year for the selected category(ies) in the Sales grid. Categories may be selected or deselected by choosing anywhere on a row in the Sales grid or by using the Ctrl or Shift keys to multi-select. The information in the bar graph will change with the new selections. (This graph will not display when Current Month is selected).

Sales Scorecard

Location – Filter for specific Locations, Regions, and Sub Regions or select All to view sales. Information for this tab is pulled from the Inventory Departments for the selected Location.
Month / Year-to-Date – Information will be displayed for Month selected or Year to Date accordingly. The As of Fiscal Month drop-down gives the ability to select a particular month to display.
Apply Button – Populates the tab based on the selections made in the Filter area. This button is also used to refresh the data on the tab.
Inventory Category / Inventory Department / Sales Class – Determines how Products will be selected for the corresponding grids and bar graphs. A specific Inventory Category, Inventory Department, or Sales Class can be selected in the drop-down. Choosing All will display information for all Inventory Categories/Inventory Departments/Sales Classes.
Total Sales – Total sales for the selected Location’s Category(ies)/Inventory Department(s). Regular and prepaid Invoices are included (sales tax is not included).
Total Costs – Reflects the total cost of sales for the selected Location’s Category(ies)/Inventory Department(s). The cost is the Invoice cost saved with the Invoice. The cost may be based on the Average, Last, Replacement, or Estimated Average Cost as determined by the department setting Compute Invoice Cost found when editing an Inventory Department at Accounting / Setup / Inventory Departments on the G/L Posting tab.
Total Profit – Total Sales – Total Costs
Gross Margin – (Total Profit/Total Sales) * 100
Top Customers – Lists the top Customers by MTD or YTD sales for the information selected along with Gross Margin (GM). Enter the number of top Customers to be viewed, then select Load Grid.
Top Items – Lists the top Products by MTD or YTD sales for the information selected along with GM. Enter the number of top items to be viewed, then select Load Grid.
Top Salespeople – Lists the top Salespeople with the most MTD or YTD sales for the information selected along with GM (based on the Salesperson associated with the Invoice). Enter the number of top Salespeople to be viewed, then select Load Grid.

Cash Flow

Location – Filter for specific Locations, Regions, and Sub Regions, or select All to view company-wide information.
Apply – Populates the tab based on the selections made in the Filter area. This is also used to refresh the data on the tab.
Over Credit Limit – Based on information for Customers from the selected Location
- # of Customers Over Limit – The number of Customers currently over their credit limit.
- Total $ Over Limit – The total dollars over credit limit for all Customers.
Average $ Over Limit – The average dollar amount over the credit limit
Aged Accounts Receivable Pie Graph – Based on information for Invoices from the selected Location, shows the percentage of each aging bracket (based on Aging Configuration set on the A/R tab at Accounting / Setup / Preferences). This is always aged as of the system date.
Average Days to Pay – Based on information for Invoices from the selected Location, displays the overall average number of days that Customers take to pay on account. The number of days is calculated both Since Invoice Date and Since Due Date and is displayed on the respective gauges. These gauges default with a range of 0 to 120 days but can be changed by right-clicking the gauge itself. If the average falls outside the range set, the needle will move all the way to the right.
Company Wide Cash Projection – Shows a snapshot of the company’s overall current cash position: Cash on Hand + Current AR – Current AP
Cash on Hand – Sum of all the General Ledger Accounts tied to the GL Cash Acct Classification set on the G/L tab at Accounting / Setup / Preferences.
Current AR – Total of open Invoices due from 30 days prior to 30 days into the future from the system date.
Current AP – Accounts payable bills coming due within 30 days from the system date.

Bottom Line

Profit Center – Filter for a specific Profit Center, multiple Profit Centers, or select All to view income for all Profit Centers.
Month / Year-to-Date – Information will be displayed for Month selected or Year to Date accordingly. The As of Fiscal Month drop-down gives the ability to select a particular month to display.
Apply – Populates the tab based on the selections made in the Filter area. This is also used to refresh the data on the tab.
Consolidated Statement of Income – Displays the totals of each Profit and Loss Category that would normally be included on the Income Statement to give the current Net Profit/Loss. General Ledger Account balances included in each Category are determined by the P/L Category they are set to on the Profile tab at Accounting / File / Open / G/L Accounts.
Description – Profit/Loss Category or total line.
Current – Displays either the current month or year to date total depending on which has previously been selected to display. The total is as of the last time Dashboard was refreshed.
Last Year – Shows the corresponding total from the prior year designated in the Setup area when Year-to-Date has been selected. These totals are always as of the end of month.
Variance – (Current – Last Year)/Current

The grid also calculates the Gross Profit/Loss, Income from Operations, Net Profit/Loss before Taxes, and Net Profit/Loss.

Gross Profit/Loss – (Income – Cost of Sales)
Income from Operations – (Gross Profit/Loss – Overhead Expenses)
Net Profit/Loss before Taxes – (Gross Profit/Loss + Other Income – Other Expenses)
Net Profit/Loss – (Net Profit/Loss before Taxes – Taxes)

Selecting a row in the grid will display those totals on the bar graph below and on the gauges to the right.

Bar Graph – Displays the actual dollars for the highlighted row vs. budget totals. This graph always displays the monthly totals for the selected row from the current year. The line graph tracks the monthly budget figures.
Profit Margin Gauge – (Current for selected row / Current for Income) * 100
YTD Growth Gauge – (Current for selected row – Last Year for selected row) / Last Year for selected row * 100
Percent of Budget Gauge
- Year-to-Date – (Current for selected row / YTD Budget for selected row) * 100
- Month – (Current for selected row / Budget for the month for selected row) * 100

The range the gauges display may be changed by right-clicking on the gauge itself.

Inventory View

Location – Filter for a specific Location, Regions, and Sub Regions, or select All to view Product detail.
Select Products – Gives the ability to select multiple Products to view in the grid below.
Clear Rows – Clears the Products that have been selected.
Units – Controls which units are displayed in the grid below as well as the units for the On Hand and Available in the top right corner.
Apply – Populates the tab based on the selections made in the Filter area. This is also used to refresh the data on the tab.
Product View – Displays information about the Product in the selected row within the grid.
On Hand – Actual amount of Product in the warehouse according to Agvance for the filtered Locations for the Products selected in the grid.
On Order – Sum of unprocessed Purchase Orders (the portion of Purchase Orders that have not been used on Purchase Receipts and/or Purchase Invoices).
Unused Booked – Sum of uninvoiced Bookings.
Delivered Booked – Amount of Product on uninvoiced Delivery and Blend Tickets.
Undelivered – Amount of booked Product remaining that has not been invoiced or delivered. It is calculated by taking Unused Booked - Delivered Booked. This calculation is reviewed Customer by Customer in the background. If a Customer is overdelivered (ex. Unused booked = 100 and Delivered = 150), then the undelivered quantity is set to 0 as Agvance totals the Product.
Available – Displays the current available inventory for the filtered Locations for the Product selected in the grid: On Hand + On Order - Undelivered = Available
Product Grid – Displays Product quantities for selected Products from the filtered Locations. The Product IDs must match in order for the Products to pull in. The columns on the grid follow the rules of the Inventory Book report. To view the Product detail for specific Locations, select the + to expand the row.
Bar Graph – Displays Product quantities for selected Products from the filtered Locations. View the amount on hand or the available units.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I know there has been activity in the data but the information in Dashboard has not changed.

A. Dashboard does display up-to-the-minute information, but it will be necessary refresh in order to have the most up-to-date information available. Refresh the screen by selecting Apply.

Q. My screen does not seem to be pulling information from my prior year.

A. In order for prior year information to be included, a prior year must be designated in Dashboard at Setup / Preferences / Last Year’s Database.

Q. If I want to compare current year totals to prior year, when is the best time to do that?

A. Since prior year totals are always as of the end of the month, it would be best to look at the comparisons just prior to closing the fiscal month in the current year. By analyzing the information then, it will be a more true comparison of information.

Q. Once the Executive Dashboard module is activated, will it be available in any dataset I log in to?

A. Yes, this feature can be utilized when logging into any dataset once it has been activated for the user/machine.

Q. The Net Profit/Loss on the Bottom Line tab does not look as expected.

A. The information on this tab will reflect real-time information. However, the Net Profit/Loss will be reflected most realistically if it is viewed after the Post Inventory to GL process has been done in Accounting.

Q. When I pull up the Dashboard, all the tabs are blank.

A. The data will not pull in until the screen is refreshed by selecting Apply. The data will then be pulled in based on the filters that are set.