Common Questions
Data and Updates
Q: How often is the analytics data updated?
A: The backend pre-computes analytics data from your raw appointment records. You can see when it was last updated in the toolbar (e.g., "Updated 2h ago"). If you've made recent changes and need the latest numbers, use the Recalculate button to re-compute data for specific dates.
Q: Why do some tabs load instantly while deep dives take time?
A: The main tabs (Overview, Appointments, Customers, Team, Services, Financial) display pre-computed summary data that loads instantly. Deep dives (Appointments Deep Dive, Pet Demographics, Revenue Forecast, Map) fetch raw records and compute analytics in real-time when you trigger them. This takes longer but provides much richer, cross-dimensional analysis.
Q: What happens when I tap Recalculate?
A: It re-computes the pre-computed analytics from raw appointment data for the date range you specify. This is useful when you've recently completed appointments, processed payments, or issued refunds and want the numbers to reflect those changes. The recalculation range is independent of your viewing range.
Q: Can I view data for more than one year?
A: The maximum date range is 365 days. If you have comparison periods active, the combined span (your selected range plus comparison periods) also cannot exceed 365 days.
Tabs and Navigation
Q: Why are there only 7 tabs? I was expecting 8.
A: The 7 tabs are Overview, Appointments, Customers, Team, Services, Financial, and Map. The deep dives (Appointments, Pet Demographics, Revenue Forecast) are embedded within their parent tabs rather than being separate tabs.
Q: Where is the deep dive content? I can't find it.
A: Deep dives appear as gradient-coloured cards near the bottom of their parent tab. Scroll down on the Appointments tab (for Appointments Deep Dive), the Customers tab (for Pet Demographics Deep Dive), or the Financial tab (for Revenue Forecast Deep Dive). The Map tab itself is entirely an on-demand deep dive.
Q: Do deep dive results disappear when I switch tabs?
A: No. Once you run a deep dive, the results persist even if you switch to another tab and come back. You only need to re-run if you change the date range or want to refresh the data.
Insight Cards
Q: Why are some insight cards not appearing?
A: Insight cards only appear when the data meets certain thresholds. For example, team insights require at least 2 team members with appointment data. Revenue concentration only triggers when there's a measurable imbalance. If a tab shows no insight cards, it means nothing notable was detected for the selected date range.
Q: What do the insight card colours mean?
A: Green = positive (something is going well), Red = negative (needs attention), Grey = neutral (an observation), Amber = warning (a developing risk), Blue = tip (a suggestion or opportunity).
Q: What does "Create Special Service" do on the demand imbalance insight?
A: When the system identifies consistently underbooked working days, it offers to help you create a promotional service to fill those gaps. The dialog opens pre-filled with suggestions based on the insight data, such as a "Tidy Tuesday" promotion for your quietest day.
Q: Can I dismiss or hide insight cards?
A: Insight cards cannot be individually dismissed. They are generated automatically based on the current data. If the underlying data changes (e.g., you adjust staffing or fill quiet days), the insights will update accordingly.
Comparison and Forecast
Q: What does "comparison" mean exactly?
A: Comparison overlays the average performance from prior periods of equal length onto your current view. If you're viewing the last 28 days and set 2 comparison periods, it averages the two 28-day periods immediately before your selected range and shows that as a dashed grey line on charts and "vs. prev. avg" on metric cards. See Compare and Forecast for full details.
Q: What does "forecast" mean exactly?
A: Forecast projects your metrics forward based on the data in your selected period. It extends trend charts with a dashed amber line and shows projected values on metric cards. See Compare and Forecast for full details.
Q: Is the page-level forecast the same as the Revenue Forecast Deep Dive?
A: No. The page-level forecast (via the Compare button) is a simple projection based on your current period's data. The Revenue Forecast Deep Dive (in the Financial tab) uses a more rigorous method: it analyses 3 prior periods of equal length, averages them day-by-day, and produces a forecast with a min-max confidence band. Both can be active at the same time without conflicting.
Filters
Q: Can I filter by both team member and service at the same time?
A: Yes. All filters work together. You can, for example, view Sarah's Full Groom appointments specifically by selecting both the team member and service filters.
Q: Do filters affect deep dives?
A: The team member and service filters apply to the main tab views (which use pre-computed data). The on-demand deep dives fetch raw data independently and may not be affected by these filters.
Geographic Intelligence (Map)
Q: Why does the Map tab require me to run an analysis?
A: Unlike other tabs that use pre-computed data, the Map needs to fetch full appointment records, extract customer addresses, and geocode suburbs via a mapping service. This is computationally intensive and done on-demand.
Q: Why are some customers missing from the map?
A: Geographic Intelligence requires the suburb field on customer profiles to be populated. Appointments for customers without address data are excluded. The more complete your customer profiles, the more comprehensive the map analysis.
Q: What are the 5 map modes?
A: Revenue (bubbles by suburb revenue), Customers (individual customer dots colour-coded by recency), Team (team members at business centroid), Weekday (day-of-week patterns by suburb), and Boundaries (suburb boundary polygons shaded by revenue with weekday filtering). See Geographic Intelligence for full details.
Export and Email
Q: What does the CSV export include?
A: It exports the analytics data for whichever tab is currently active.
Q: What does the email summary include?
A: It generates a formatted email with key metrics and insights for your selected date range. Deep dive cards also have individual email buttons that send a summary specific to that analysis.
Access
Q: I can't see Reporting and Intelligence in my sidebar. Why?
A: Reporting and Intelligence is available on eligible subscription plans. If it's not visible, check your plan details or contact support about upgrading.
