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Understanding Your Dashboard

The docs101 dashboard gives you a real-time overview of your business performance. This guide explains each KPI card and how to use them for business insights.

Dashboard Layout​

When you log into docs101, the dashboard displays six key metrics cards and a monthly performance chart.

KPI Cards Explained​

1. Total Invoices (YTD)​

Metric: Count of invoices created year-to-date

What it shows:

  • Total number of invoices (all statuses) from January 1st to today
  • Includes Draft, Sent, Paid, and Canceled invoices
  • Resets on January 1st each year

How to interpret:

  • Growing number — Indicates increasing business activity
  • Seasonal trends — Compare month-to-month growth
  • Baseline metric — Use to track customer acquisition and transaction volume

Example: "127 invoices YTD" means you've created 127 invoices since January 1st.

Invoice Tracking

Click on the card to filter invoices by status (Draft, Sent, Paid, Canceled) and see detailed breakdowns.

2. Volume (YTD)​

Metric: Total net revenue year-to-date (excluding VAT)

What it shows:

  • Sum of all invoice subtotals (before VAT) from January 1st to today
  • Includes invoices in all statuses
  • Displayed in your default currency (EUR by default)

How to interpret:

  • Revenue growth — Compare to previous years
  • Business health — Growing volume indicates successful sales
  • Quarterly analysis — Use monthly breakdown to identify peak seasons
  • Forecasting — Extrapolate to annual revenue targets

Example: "145,350 EUR YTD" means your total net invoiced value is 145,350 EUR so far this year.

Volume vs. Cash

Volume shows invoiced amounts, not actual cash received. Compare with the "Paid" card to see collection rate.

3. Paid​

Metric: Count of paid invoices

What it shows:

  • Number of invoices marked as "Paid" in your system
  • Does not distinguish by amount or date of payment
  • Counts only invoices explicitly marked as paid

How to interpret:

  • Collection rate — Divide by "Total Invoices" to see payment ratio
    • Example: 95 paid / 127 total = 75% collection rate
  • Customer reliability — High paid percentage indicates reliable customers
  • Cash flow — More paid invoices = better cash flow

Example: "95 paid" with "127 total invoices" = 75% payment rate

Marking Invoices Paid

Remember to mark invoices as paid when payment is received. This updates the KPI in real-time.

4. Open​

Metric: Count of unpaid invoices

What it shows:

  • Number of invoices with "Sent" status (not yet paid or canceled)
  • Does not include Draft or Canceled invoices
  • Shows your accounts receivable count

How to interpret:

  • Outstanding receivables — Total open invoices = money owed to you
  • Collection focus — High number indicates follow-up needed
  • Cash flow concern — More open invoices = less immediate cash
  • Aging analysis — Click to see which invoices are overdue

Example: "32 open" means 32 invoices are awaiting payment.

Open + Paid = Active Invoices

Together, Open + Paid invoices (excluding Draft/Canceled) represent your active invoicing.

5. Average Payment Duration​

Metric: Average number of days from invoice send to payment

What it shows:

  • Mean time taken to receive payment across all paid invoices
  • Only includes invoices marked as paid
  • Updated as new payments are recorded

How to interpret:

  • Payment speed — Lower is better; indicates customers pay promptly
  • Cash flow planning — Use to forecast when you'll receive cash
  • Customer reliability — Compare over time to see if payment speed improves
  • Terms compliance — Compare to your "Net 30" or other payment terms
    • Example: If your terms are Net 30, an average of 28 days is excellent

Example: "22 days" means customers take an average of 22 days to pay after invoice delivery.

Calculation Note

This average includes all paid invoices. Overdue invoices that are eventually paid will skew this higher. Use it as a trend indicator, not an absolute rule.

Improving Payment Duration
  • Set clear payment terms on invoices
  • Send payment reminders for overdue invoices
  • Offer early payment discounts
  • Follow up with slow-paying customers

6. Monthly Chart​

Metric: Invoice count and volume (revenue) by month for the current year

What it shows:

  • Two overlaid metrics:
    • Blue bars — Number of invoices per month
    • Orange line — Total revenue per month
  • Displays all months of the current year
  • Updates automatically as invoices are created

How to read the chart:

  • X-axis — Months (January through December)
  • Y-axis (left) — Invoice count scale
  • Y-axis (right) — Volume (revenue) scale
  • Tooltips — Hover over bars/lines to see exact values

Example interpretation:

  • January: 12 invoices, 18,500 EUR revenue
  • March: 18 invoices, 32,200 EUR revenue
  • June: 25 invoices, 41,800 EUR revenue

Year Navigation​

Above the chart, you can navigate between years:

  • Previous Year — Click arrow to view previous year's performance
  • Current Year — Displayed by default
  • Next Year — Navigate forward once data is available
Year-over-Year Comparison

Use the year selector to compare current performance with previous years. Are you growing month-to-month?

Using the Dashboard for Business Insights​

1. Revenue Tracking​

Goal: Monitor if you're on track to meet annual revenue targets

  1. Look at the Volume (YTD) card
  2. Divide by the current month number
  3. Multiply by 12 to estimate annual revenue
  4. Compare to your business goals

Example:

  • Current date: June 15th (6.5 months into year)
  • YTD Volume: 145,350 EUR
  • Estimated annual: (145,350 / 6.5) x 12 = 267,885 EUR
  • Target: 250,000 EUR — You're on track!

2. Collection Rate Monitoring​

Goal: Understand how efficiently you collect payments

  1. Check the Paid card (e.g., 95)
  2. Check the Total Invoices card (e.g., 127)
  3. Calculate rate: 95 / 127 = 74.8%
  4. Set a target (e.g., 90%) and track month-to-month

Action: If collection rate drops below target, send payment reminders.

3. Outstanding Receivables Analysis​

Goal: Know how much money is owed to you

  1. Look at the Open card (e.g., 32 open invoices)
  2. Click to see list of unpaid invoices
  3. Identify which customers are overdue
  4. Send follow-up payment requests to overdue customers
Overdue Management

docs101 helps you identify open invoices, but you must manually follow up on overdue payments. Set a reminder for overdue invoices (>30 days).

4. Cash Flow Forecasting​

Goal: Predict when you'll have cash in hand

  1. Check Average Payment Duration (e.g., 22 days)
  2. Look at Monthly Chart to see recent invoice creation
  3. Add 22 days to recent invoice dates to forecast cash arrival

Example:

  • Sent 25 invoices in June (41,800 EUR)
  • Average payment: 22 days
  • Expected cash arrival: Early-to-mid July

Goal: Identify growth patterns and seasonal changes

  1. Review the Monthly Chart for the full year

  2. Look for:

    • Consistent growth — Months trending upward = healthy growth
    • Seasonal dips — Expected patterns (e.g., summer slump)
    • Outliers — Unusually high/low months requiring explanation

  3. Compare with previous year using year navigation

Example interpretation:

  • March--May: Steady growth (good sign)
  • June--July: Seasonal dip (expected for your industry)
  • August onward: Recovery expected

6. Customer Volume Analysis​

Goal: Understand your transaction frequency

  1. Look at Total Invoices growth
  2. Compare Invoices per month in the chart
  3. Calculate average invoices per customer:
    • Total invoices / total customers = average frequency
  4. Higher frequency = better customer retention and loyalty

Dashboard Best Practices​

Daily Check​

  • Morning routine — Review Open and Paid cards
  • Take action — Follow up on overdue invoices
  • Send reminders — For invoices >30 days old

Weekly Review​

  • Collection rate — Verify paid/total ratio
  • New customers — Check total invoice count growth
  • Problem invoices — Identify and resolve issues

Monthly Analysis​

  • Full metrics review — All six KPI cards
  • Monthly chart — Compare to previous month
  • Forecasting — Update annual revenue projections
  • Trend analysis — Identify growth or decline patterns

Quarterly Business Review​

  • Year-to-date trends — Using year navigation
  • Cash flow health — Paid vs. Open analysis
  • Growth metrics — Total Invoices and Volume trends
  • Planning — Adjust targets based on actual performance

Troubleshooting Dashboard Metrics​

Metric not updating?​

  • Check that invoices are saved (not in Draft)
  • Verify customer and invoice data is complete
  • Refresh the page to see latest data

Average Payment Duration seems too high?​

  • Remember this includes ALL paid invoices, even overdue ones
  • Look at recent months only for current payment speed
  • Check for outliers (one very late payment skewing average)

Volume doesn't match your records?​

  • Volume shows NET amounts (before VAT)
  • Check that invoices include all positions
  • Verify no canceled invoices are inflating the number

Next Steps​

Now that you understand your dashboard:

  1. Set KPI targets — Define goals for paid invoices, average payment duration
  2. Create routine — Check dashboard daily/weekly for actionable insights
  3. Explore invoices — Click any KPI card to drill down into detail
  4. Track trends — Use monthly chart to monitor business growth
  5. Optimize collection — Use Open card to proactively manage receivables

For detailed invoice management, see Administration Guide.

Dashboard Mastery

Use these KPI cards regularly to understand your business health, forecast cash flow, and make data-driven decisions.