Widgets are the panels on a dashboard. Each one is powered by a saved report and displays that report's data as a single figure, a chart, or a pivot table.
Before You Add a Widget
A widget needs a saved report to draw on, and one detail about that report decides what you can build:
A widget can only use columns that were selected on the report. The Field, X Axis and Y Axis dropdowns are built from the report's Selected columns — not from everything the report type offers. If the field you want is missing, the fix is in the report, not the widget: open the report, move that column into the Selected panel, save, then return to the widget.
Note: You do not need to enable anything on the report first. Every saved report for the outlet appears in the widget's Report list. The report's Dashboard toggle is a different feature entirely — it pins the report to the Reports landing page and has no effect on Analytics.
Adding a Widget
Open the dashboard from Analytics → Dashboards.
Select Add Widget at the top of the dashboard.
Choose the Report, then the Type. The remaining fields change according to the type.
Select Save. The widget appears on the grid, where you can drag and resize it.
To copy an existing widget, use the Duplicate Widget button at the top of the dashboard — not the widget's own edit icon. It opens the editor pre-filled so you can adjust and save a variant.
The Three Widget Types
Type | Shows | Best For |
Single | One calculated figure, with an optional icon | Headline numbers — revenue this month, occupied slips, outstanding balance |
Chart | A chart of one field against another | Trends over time, and comparisons between docks, loops, categories or staff |
Pivot | The report data in a pivot table you can rearrange | Exploring figures across two dimensions at once |
Single Widget Fields
Field | What to Set |
Report (required) | The saved report to draw from |
Field | Which of the report's selected columns to calculate on |
Calculation | How to reduce that column to one figure — the choices depend on the field, see below |
Icon | An optional icon shown beside the figure |
Which Calculations You Get
The calculation list is decided by the field you pick, which is a common surprise:
If the field is… | You can choose |
Numeric — an amount, a count, a rate | Total (adds the values), Average, Min, Max |
Anything else — a name, a status, a date | Distinct count only — how many different values appear |
Note: If you were expecting to total a column and only Distinct count is offered, the field is not a numeric one. Pick the amount column rather than the label column — for example Total on an invoice report rather than Invoice Status.
Chart Widget Fields
Field | What to Set |
Report (required) | The saved report to draw from |
Chart Type | The chart style to draw |
X Axis | The grouping along the bottom — dates, product names, docks, staff |
Y Axis | The value being plotted. Must be a numeric field — see below. |
Y Axis Calculation | How values are combined within each X grouping |
Sort By | Whether to order the chart by its X values or its Y values |
Top Records | Limits the chart to the highest N points. Leave blank for all — worth setting on anything with many categories, or the chart becomes unreadable. |
The Y Axis list only offers numeric fields. If the field you want is absent, it is because Sharper cannot plot it — you cannot chart a status or a customer name as a value. Chart the amount and use the label on the X Axis instead.
Pivot Widget Fields
A Pivot widget needs only the Report. It renders that report's data as a pivot table which viewers can rearrange in place. Because it shows the whole result set rather than one calculated figure, give it plenty of room on the grid.
How the Date Range Applies to a Widget
When a dashboard runs a widget, it sends the filter bar's date range to the report behind it. The report applies that range to one specific date column that Sharper designates as its dashboard date.
Most report types have a dashboard date column, so their widgets update as you change the filter bar. A few report types don't — a catalog listing or a customer roster has no natural date to filter on, for example — and a widget built on one of those always shows its complete, all-time figure rather than a figure for the selected period.
Telling the two apart: change the filter bar to a deliberately narrow range, such as Today, and watch the widget. One built on a report type with a dashboard date column will update; one that always shows an all-time figure will not move. If you want a widget that reflects the selected period, build it on a report type that supports it — a reservations, payments, orders or general ledger report rather than a catalog or roster report.
Occupancy report types work differently again: they take the date range through their own calculation rather than by filtering a column, so an occupancy widget respects the range even though it does not use a dashboard date column.
Other Reasons a Widget Shows Nothing
A permission error inside the widget. Running a widget still requires access to the underlying report type. Someone who can see the dashboard but lacks point of sale report access will get a permission error on a POS widget while every other widget loads. Your administrator can grant the report-type access under System Settings → Roles.
The report's own filters are too narrow. A widget inherits every filter saved on the report, on top of the dashboard's date range. Run the report itself in the Reports module — if it returns nothing there, the widget cannot show anything either.
All Outlets is off and the data belongs to another outlet.
The chosen range genuinely has no activity. Widen it to confirm.
Editing, Duplicating and Deleting
Edit — select the pencil icon on the widget, change the fields, and save.
Duplicate — use the Duplicate Widget button at the top of the dashboard.
Delete — select the X icon on the widget and confirm.
Move or resize — drag the widget, or drag its bottom-right corner. Layout saves automatically.
Deleting a widget is permanent, but it only removes the panel — the report behind it is untouched and any other widget using that report keeps working.
Note: None of these controls appear when the dashboard is being shown in a module slot — the home, Accounting and POS screens are read-only. Open the dashboard from Analytics → Dashboards to change it.