We're excited to announce we’ve added the ability to customize the reporting dashboards for those in the Reports 5.0 Closed Beta! With this new feature, you now have the ability to make a copy of a base report and customize the copy to your preferences by editing existing data tiles or creating new data tiles from scratch. 


In this article, we will cover the basics of the new features that allow you to customize a copy of a report. Please note, some of the new features are still being evaluated for long-term use during this beta period. For those features still being evaluated, we will not be covering them in this article at this time.


To learn more about the Reports 5.0 Beta, check out our Reports 5.0 Limited Beta article in the Coming Soon! section of our knowledge base.


TABLE OF CONTENTS


Did you know? - You can click on the images in our articles to make them bigger!

How to make a copy of a report


Making a copy of a base report will grant you the ability to customize it to your preferences. Working on a copy ensures the base report remains untouched so you can always come back to it or make other customized reports using it as the base. To make a copy of the report, find the report in question and click the Copy Report button. This will open the Copy Report window.



Give the copy a unique name that will help you identify it from other copies. It could be helpful to include the year or the report's purpose like 2023 Book of Business Weekly Check.



Once you save the name, the system will refresh, and you will be on the copy of the report you created. Also, you can always find your copied reports under the Saved Reports section of the Reporting Menu for easy access.


How to access edit mode


Now that we've made a copy of the report we want to customize, let's get into Edit Mode! To access Edit Mode, select the three-dot menu in the top right. Then, choose Edit Dashboard.



To confirm you are in Edit Mode, you will see a blue banner at the top of the report which has the options Add, Filters, Settings, Cancel and Save. We'll cover all of these options in this article so keep reading! 


Edit Mode > Add


While in Edit Mode, you will have access to the Add option. This option allows you to add the following to the report:


  • Visualization: This option allows you to add a data tile such as a table, graph or a number.
  • Text: This option allows you to add a tile that holds text and has a Word-styled editor.
  • Markdown: This option also allows you to add a tile that holds text, however this one is capable of handling HTML.
  • Button: This option allows you to add a button that will hold a URL of your choice.


Now that you've got a high level of each option, let's take a look at each one individually.




Visualization: Creating & Editing Data Tiles


Adding data tiles to your report is the main way to customize a dashboard for your agency's preferences. Tiles can be moved and resized, and they can have notes added to them. As a gentle reminder, this is an advanced step and this is a beta product. We are still actively working on the UI and customer experience, so we appreciate your patience and your feedback as we continue to work on this new feature. There is a lot to cover, so let's get started!


Adding a data tile from scratch

To add a data tile to your dashboard, click the Add option and then click Visualization. This will take you to the Explore page.




The Explore page is where you decide what data you want to look at. Each section in the list on the left is one of our Report Categories. Under each of those are the individual reports that can be found in those categories. 


For example, under the Ezl DimPolicy section, you can find the Dim Policy report which is our Book of Business report. We will be using this data type in our example as we are hoping to create a tile that shows us the annualized premiums for each of the lines of businesses our customers have policies for.


To find the type of data you are looking for browse the list on the left or use the search bar at the top. Once you find the data type you are looking for, click on the name and it will open up the Edit Tile page.



Attention! - This is a beta product so the UI is actively being worked on (e.g. Dim = Dimension which is report coding term). We apologize for any confusion this may cause and appreciate your patience as we continue to clean-up the experience. 



The Edit Tile page is where we will be pulling the data and configuring the look of the tile. There is a lot here and as the feature is still under evaluation during this beta period, we will only be covering the basics at this time. First let's name this tile and find some fields of data.


  1. Title: Click where it says untitled and type in the name for the tile you are creating. Our example will be called Annual Premium by LOB.
  2. Find a Field: Using the search bar you can type in a field of data you are looking for to get the data needed for this visual.
  3. Expand Arrows: Alternatively, you can use the list on the left to expand each field category to see what fields are available.



Once you find the fields of data you are interested in, simply click them and they will be added to the Data section on the right of the screen. In our example, we will be adding the Annualized Premium and Line of Business fields.



If you add a field to the Data section on accident, you can remove it by clicking on the gear icon next to the field and then clicking Remove. 



Now we need to determine what the data will look like on the tile. In the Visualization section, you will see a lot of options, plus more if you click on the three-dot icon which will display a drop-down menu with more options. For our example, we will be using the Column option.


To apply a visualization, click on the option and then click the Run button in the top-right. 




Once the system has finished running the data, the window will refresh, and you should see your data visualized in the Visualization section. 


Something to note for our Column example, the field that is on the left will be the vertical or Y column on the graph. The field on the right will be the horizontal or X column on the graph. 




If we were to add a third field to the data section while still using the Column option, the third field will not display because the Column option can only support two fields of data.




However, if we chose the Table option the third field will display. The total number of fields of data you have is something to keep in mind when you are choosing which visual to use to display the data.




Now that we have our data visualized, let's finish adding the tile. Click the Save button to add the finalized tile to the bottom of your dashboard. Check out the rest of the article to learn how to add a note, move, and resize the data tile you've created along with learning about text tiles!



Attention! - The tile might need some time to finish loading depending on how much data you have to display. You can tell it's still loading by checking the refresh button at the top-right of the entire report. If you see a spinning blue circle around an X button, then the system is still actively trying to load your tile. If you want it to stop trying to load the tile, click the X button.



Editing an existing data tile

Editing an existing data tile grants you all the same features we discussed above. To edit an existing data tile, hover over the respective tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon. Click on the three-dot icon to bring up the Tile Actions menu and then click on Edit. This will bring you to the same Edit Tile window we discussed in the Adding a data tile from scratch section and works the same way.




Adding a note to a data tile

Sometimes a quick note is useful to explain a sudden spike or dip in data or maybe you write down the goal so you can compare the goal to the data point. Whatever reason, adding a note to a data tile is quite simple. On the data tile in question, hover over the tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon, and then click Add Note. This will open the Add Note window. 



In the Add Note window, type the note you want to add in the Note Text field. 



The Display Location drop-down lets you choose where you want the note to appear on the tile - above, below, or as an icon that has to be hovered over. 



Attention! - If the tile has been sized small, the display location of the note will default to the 'on icon hover' option regardless of what you choose.



The Collapse Note is for when you have a long note - more than 100 characters. By default, Collapse Note is checked so that if you have a long note, it will display a section of the note with an Expand Note arrow on the left which when clicked expands so the entire note is displayed. If Collapse Note is unchecked, then a long note will already be expanded and have a Collapse Note arrow on the left.



When you are ready to add the note, click the Add button. 



If you need to edit or delete a note that was added, hover over the tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon and click on it. Then, click on Edit Note. This will bring up the Add Note window again where you can make the necessary changes.



To delete the note, click on the Delete button. Then, confirm you want to delete the note by clicking the second Delete button. Please note, once you delete a note you cannot undo that action, so be extra sure you want to delete the note. If you delete a note by accident, you will need to recreate the note from scratch to replace it.





Moving and sizing a tile

Each of the data tiles can be moved using the Drag-and-Drop option which can be found in the top-left when you hover over the respective tile. Simply click, hold your click, and drag the tile where you want it to be on the dashboard. 



You can also make the tiles bigger or smaller using the Expand option which can be found in the bottom-right when you hover over the respective tile. Simply click and drag the tile to the size you want and let go of your click when you are done.



If a tile you want needs to be moved from top to bottom or bottom to top, you can also use the Move tile option in the Tile Actions menu. Hover over the respective tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon and then hover over the Move tile option. Here you will see the Move to top or Move to bottom options. Click on the one that works best for you.




Duplicating an existing tile

Duplicating an existing tile is a great way to cut down on time if there is a tile that already has all the filters and data points you are looking for and only needs small tweaks. To duplicate an existing tile, hover over the respective tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon. Click on the Tile Actions icon to bring up the Tile Actions menu and then click on Duplicate tile. This will create a duplicated tile at the bottom of the report with the word Copy added into the title. Now, you can edit, add notes, move, and resize the tile however you would like! 



Did you know? - The Move to Top option we learned about earlier is a great combo for duplicating since the duplicated tile is always created at the bottom of the Dashboard.



Deleting a tile

What if you add a tile that you didn't mean to, or perhaps your copy of the base report came with a data tile you don't need? You can always delete tiles if they are not of use to you. Just keep in mind that once you delete them, the delete action cannot be undone. If you delete something by accident, you will have to build the tile from scratch again. 


To delete a tile, hover over the respective tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon and click on the Tile Actions icon to bring up the Tile actions menu. Please note, there is no confirm delete when deleting a tile, so be extra sure you want to remove a tile before you click Delete. If you delete a tile on accident, you will have to recreate the tile from scratch to replace it. If you are extra sure you want to remove the tile, click Delete. 



Attention! - There is no confirm to delete when deleting a tile and the delete action cannot be undone, so be very sure you want to delete a tile before you click Delete!



Viewing tiles

Sometimes you just need a different perspective to see better. Maybe you are in a presentation and you want to super impose on a particular tile. You can do this using the View options under the Tile Actions menu. There are two options available:


  • Expanded: This view makes the tiles bigger and allows you to switch between the tiles using the left/right arrows. This is great for presentations.
  • Full Screen: This view takes up the entire screen you are on with the tile in question. This is great if you want to super impose on a particular tile.


Now that you know what the different options are at a high-level, let's take a look at how to access them. Hover over the respective tile to bring up the Tile Action icon. Click on the Tile Action icon and then hover over View. This will show you the two different options. Simply click on the option you'd like to use. 


       


Text & Markdown: Adding Text Tiles

We've talked about how you can get data tiles onto the report, now let's talk about the different text tiles you can add. There are two options:


  • Text: This option allows you to add a tile that holds text and has a Word-styled editor. 
  • Markdown: This option also allows you to add a tile that holds text, however this one is capable of handling HTML. 


Text tiles have the following Tile Actions which work the same as with data tiles:

  • Duplicate Tile
  • Move Tile
  • Delete
  • View



Now that you know what the options are at a high level, let's take a look at them individually.


Text

Text is great for a quick text tile and super easy to use at all levels. To add a text tile, click on the Add option, then click on Text. This will add a text tile at the bottom of the report. 




To edit the tile, simply click into the main grey section that says "Type..." and type what you need to say. You can use the editor tools at the top of the tile to customize the message. Once you save the report as a whole using the blue Save button at the top-right, the editor section will be hidden and only your message will be displayed. Please note, there is no border for text tiles like with the data tiles so the only thing that will be displayed is the message. 




Markdown

Markdown is for more advanced users since it needs a knowledge of HTML to customize the message. To add a Markdown tile, click the Add option, then click on Markdown. This will open a window called Add Text.



To build the message you want to type, input the Title, Subtitle, and Body of the message in their respective fields. The Body field is where you would type in the HTML code to make it look fancy! Once you are done, click Save to add the tile to dashboard. By default, the tile will always be added to the bottom of the dashboard. 



Did you know? - None of the fields are technically required so you don't have to input a title or subtitle if you don't want to.



To edit the message, hover over the tile to bring up the Tile Actions icon and click on it. Then, click on Edit. This will reopen the Text window and you can make any changes you need.





Button: Quick Access to URLs

Buttons are great if you need to have quick access to URLs to other browser pages like a carrier's website or another saved report. To add a button, click on the Add option and then click on Button. This will add a button at the top of the report. However, you can move it around and size it just like any other tile if the top of the dashboard is not where you want it.





Under the Content tab of the button preferences, you'll want to copy and paste the URL into the Link field. This is a required field and you cannot save the button without a link. Once you input a link, the Save option becomes available. 


Under the Design section you can change how the button looks from color, size, and alignment. Once you are done creating your button, click the Save button. Don't forget, you can move or size the button tile however you would like using the same movement and sizing options we have discussed for other tiles earlier in this article.




That's everything to do under the Add option. Now, let's take a look at the Filters option!

Edit Mode > Filters


While in Edit Mode, you will have access to the Filters option. This option allows you to do the following to the report:

  • Add Filter: This adds a report wide filter that can affect all of the tiles on the dashboard.
  • Cross-filtering: This feature is still being evaluated during this beta period, so we will not be covering it at this time.
  • Apply Filter Edits to Alerts: This option is still being evaluated during this beta period, so we will not be covering it at this time.


Now that you've got a high level of each option, let's take a look at each one individually.



Add Filter

The Add Filter option allows you to add a filter to the available filters for the dashboard itself which will affect all tiles or just select tiles. Dashboard filters let you narrow a dashboard's results to only the data you are interested in. 



To add dashboard filters, you must have at least one data tiles. If you only have text tiles, there would be nothing for the filter to apply to. Once you have at least one data tile, click the Filters button and then click Add Filter. This will bring up the Add Filter window.




The Add Filter window will display the options available on this dashboard based on the category of data the current data tiles are looking at. (e.g. The Total Premium data tile is looking at the premium of policies so it's looking at data in the policy category whereas Customers by States would be looking at the rating state of the customer account so that data tile would be looking at data in the account category.)


To find a filter you would like to apply, simply use the expanding arrows next to the categories or type in the search bar above. Once you have found a filter you want to apply, click on the filter and then click the Add button in the bottom-right. This will bring up the Filter Configuration window.



Attention! - This is a beta product so the UI is actively being worked on (e.g. Dim = Dimension which is report coding term). We apologize for any confusion this may cause and appreciate your patience as we continue to clean-up the experience. 

Also, the Advanced toggle is a feature that is still being evaluated during this beta period. Therefore, we will not be going into detail on what it is right now. We appreciate your patience and understanding as Reports 5.0 is in beta and actively being worked on. 



There is a lot displayed on the Filter Configuration page and since this feature is still being evaluated, we will only cover the basics. 


  1. Title: This is what the Filter will be called. By default, it prepopulates the name of the filter you chose in the previous step.
  2. Values: These are the options that will be available on the filter. In our example, we chose Account Type. That means there are two options: Personal or Commercial. If we only want a filter option for Personal Accounts, then we would click the drop-down and choose Personal. Personal would then be the only option available to us on the filter once it is added to the dashboard. However, if we leave Values blank, then all available options for the filter will be available to us when we add it to the dashboard. 
  3. Configure Default Value: This is the default value the filter will be set to once added to the dashboard. For example, if we set the Default Value to Commercial, that means when I load this report only Commercial Account data will appear. If we want Personal Account data to be included while the Default Value is set to Commercial, we will need to turn off the Commercial filter so that all data would be included. If we leave Configure Default Value set to blank, then all data will be included when we load this report without needing to turn off a filter.


In the example below, we've chosen the filter Account Type so we can see how our Personal accounts differ from our Commercial accounts and vice versa. Since we want to be able to look at both Personal and Commercial, we're going to leave the Values blank, so we have both options available on the filter. Plus, we're not going to set a default because we want all data considered until we want to compare and contrast. 


Once you've finished configuring the filter, if you'd like to configure which data tiles will be affected by this filter, select the Tiles To Update option. By default, all tiles will be affected by a filter unless you configure the Tiles To Update section.



The Tiles to Update section allows you to choose which tiles will be affected by the filter. 


  1. In the Field to Filter section, for each tile, choose which field will be affected by the filter.
  2. If you do not want the filter to affect a tile, choose the Do Not Filter option. 
  3. Alternatively, you can use the All or None options to have the filter apply to all or none of the tiles.
  4. Once you are done, click the Add button to finalize the filter.





Once you've added your Filter, you'll see it has been added to the available filters on the dashboard. Now you can click on one of the options and then click the refresh button in the top-right. This will then apply the filter to the tiles you told the filter to affect. To un-apply a filter, simply click the filter and the refresh button again and the data will go back to unfiltered state. 



To edit the filter you created or a filter that already exists on the report, click the three dots menu and then click on Edit. This will take you back into the Filter Configuration page. To delete the filter you created or a filter that already exists on the report, click the three dots menu, and then click on Delete. Please note, there is no confirm delete when deleting a filter, so make sure you want to remove the filter before you click Delete because this action is unreversible. If you delete a filter by accident, you will have to recreate it to replace it. If you are extra sure, you want to delete a filter, click the Delete option.




Cross-filtering

This feature is still being evaluated during this beta period. Therefore, we will not be going into detail on what it is right now. We appreciate your patience and understanding as Reports 5.0 is in beta and actively being worked on. 


Apply Filter Edits to Alerts

This option is still being evaluated during this beta period. Therefore, we will not be going into detail on what it is right now. We appreciate your patience and understanding as Reports 5.0 is in beta and actively being worked on.

Edit Mode > Settings


While in Edit Mode, you will have access to the Settings option. This option allows you to change some of the overall settings for this report. There are two categories of settings: General & Filters. Let's take a look at each one individually.


General

Under the General tab, there are a few options that let you customize the dashboard's settings. Let's take a look at those options and see what they affect. 


Time Zone 

Select the time zone in which your dashboard will be run. "Run" means when you would like the dashboard to pull the data for the tiles. You can choose one of the following options: 


  • Each tile's time zone: to run all the tiles in the time zone in which they were saved
  • Viewer time zone: to run all the tiles in each viewer's time zone
  • Select a specific time zone: from the drop-down list to run all the tiles in that time zone.


Run on load

If Run on load is enabled, dashboard data automatically loads when the dashboard is first loaded. If Run on load is disabled, the dashboard does not display any data until the reload data icon is clicked.



Allow full-screen mode for visualizations

This option is enabled by default and allows the View option to be available under the Tile Actions menu. If this is disabled, the View option will not be available for the individual tiles under the Tile Actions menu. Check out the Viewing Tiles section of this article to learn more about the View option.




Autorefresh

It might make sense to automatically refresh the data on a regular schedule to ensure that it is up-to-date. You can set autorefresh frequencies for an entire dashboard or for individual tiles. 


To set autorefresh for a dashboard and all its tiles:


  1. Enable the Automatically refresh dashboard toggle.
  2. Select a refresh frequency to automatically update the dashboard and all its tiles.
  3. To adjust the frequency for any individual tiles, do so in the Tile section, where each tile in the dashboard is listed. Click the drop-down for that tile in the Refresh frequency column, select Refresh every, and then set your frequency. 
  4. Click Save to save your changes. 




To set autorefresh for individual tiles but not for the dashboard as a whole:


  1. Disable the Automatically refresh dashboard toggle if enabled.
  2. In the Refresh frequency column of the Tile section, click the drop-down for a tile to autorefresh.
  3. Select Refresh every.
  4. Set your frequency. 
  5. For any tiles you do not want to autorefresh, leave the settings as Does not refresh.
  6. Click Save to save your changes.




Filters

Under the Filters tab, there are two options that let you customize your preferences for where the dashboard's filters are located.


  • Default Filters View: This option allows you to decide if you want the filter bar to appear when you open this report or if you do not want it to open when you open this report. The expanded option is the default which has the filter bar load when you open this report.





  • Filters location: This option allows you to decide where on the screen the filters are located. They can either be at the top which is the default option, or they can be on the right side of the screen. 




Cancel and Save


After you have finished configuring the copy of the report to your preferences, make sure to click the Save button in the top-right. If you do not, save your changes all your hard work will be lost so make sure to always click Save before stepping away from your computer.




If you would like to discard all the changes you have made, you can click the Cancel option which will put the copy of the report back to its previous state. 


Why is this important?  


Every agency has unique data needs, and with this update, you’re in the driver’s seat of your reports. With these new advanced features, you can tailor-make your reports to showcase exactly what matters to you. By focusing on what’s crucial for your business, you can derive clearer and more actionable insights. 


For an insurance agency, customized reporting and dashboard edits can be indispensable for understanding policyholder behaviors, claim patterns, market trends, and more. Some examples of what you could create and how they could help you are: 


  • Policy Renewal Analysis: Create a dashboard that displays all the policies up for renewal in each month. This helps agents proactively reach out and ensures high retention rates. 


  • Claims Overview: Customize visuals to show the number of claims made per month, their status (pending, approved, rejected), and average processing time. This helps identify bottlenecks and streamline the claims process. 


  • Segmentation of Policyholders: By creating filters, agencies can segment policyholders based on various criteria like policy type or claim history. This can assist in targeted marketing campaigns. 


  • Geographical Insights: Add a visual that maps out where most of the agency’s clients are located. This could help in pinpointing regions with higher claims and might be beneficial for risk assessment and premium pricing. 


  • Performance Metrics: For agencies with multiple agents, edit a dashboard to visualize each agent’s performance like policies sold and quotes made. This aids in recognizing top performers and areas for training. 


  • Market Trend Analysis: Customize a report to display changing market trends, like the rising popularity of certain insurance products or dips in certain policy types. This helps in inventory management and product promotion strategies.


We hope you enjoy this new update to the Reports 5.0 Beta! Since this is a Beta, we are actively working on it so be on the lookout for future releases! Check out our Reports 5.0 Limited Beta article to learn more about the Reports 5.0 Beta.