Custom Reports are being renamed to "Tables/Charts" to reflect the fact they are one of several type of block you can add to a Dashboard.
Overview
Polar Analytics provides powerful visualization tools to analyze your data efficiently. Whether you need raw data tables for detailed analysis or charts for quick insights, you can customize your reports to fit your business needs.
Choosing the Right Visualization Type
Polar offers multiple visualization options to help you interpret your data effectively:
Tables (Default): Provide a detailed view of raw data, great for operational or granular analysis.
Line Charts: Best for tracking trends over time, such as revenue growth or website traffic.
Bar Charts: Ideal for comparing metrics across categories, like top-performing products or sales by channel.
Pie Charts: Useful for understanding distributions, such as customer segments or regional performance.
Pro Tip: Choose a visualization type based on the question you're answering. For example, use a line chart to track growth trends and a bar chart to compare performance across marketing channels.
Building Custom Reports
Custom Tables/Charts allow you to build personalized reports, custom metrics, and dashboards based on your data needs. Access raw data from any connected channel and structure it for specific analysis.
Setup
Watch our video guide for step-by-step instructions on setting up your first Custom Table. In this example, we create a Total Sales report, filtered by sales channel.
Manual Creation
Follow these steps to build a Custom Table:
Access the Builder – Open the Custom Table builder from the left-side menu.
Select a Template or Start Fresh – Choose a pre-built template or manually pick metrics and breakdowns.
Choose Metrics – Select from a comprehensive list of metrics available in the right sidebar.
Apply Breakdowns and Filters – Organize and filter data for deeper insights.
Save & Organize – Add the table to a dashboard for quick access.
Ask Polar (AI-Powered)
Use Ask Polar, our AI assistant, to auto-generate reports based on natural language queries.
Example: “Show total revenue by product category for the last quarter.”
For more information, visit our guide here.
Templates
Prebuilt report templates provide a quick way to analyze key business areas.
Use cases: Sales Overview, Marketing Performance, Retention Analysis
For more information, visit our guide here.
Metrics and Dimensions
Metrics
Easily manage your data by selecting and organizing metrics from your connected data sources.
Create Custom Metrics for advanced control over filtering and calculations.
Add up to 20 metrics per table.
Drag & drop columns to rearrange their order.
Dimensions
Break down your data for deeper insights by adding dimensions to your table.
Create Custom Dimensions to categorize and analyze your data in a way that standard dimensions don’t cover.
Click Breakdowns to add up to five Dimensions (e.g., Sales Channel, Product Title, or Order ID).
See data broken down by day, week, month or year using the granularity selector in the top right corner.
Customization Options
Charts
Once you've added metrics, you can select the Table drop down to change to a bar, line or pie chart of your metrics. For more information, visit our guide here.
Filters
Refine your data by applying metric or dimension-based filters.
Example: Filter by specific products or sales channels.
Apply saved Views at any time from the header menu.
Select a date range using the date picker in the top right corner
In the example below, we break down the data by sales channel and filter it to show only web channel data.
Comparisons
Track performance trends over time by comparing data across different periods.
Choose from one of the available time comparisons:
Custom date range
Previous period
Previous year
Shifted period
BFCM2024/23/22/21
For more information, visit our guide here.
Lock Date Range & Granularity
Locking the date range or granularity of your report ensures consistent tracking and comparison of data over time. By using this feature, you prevent accidental changes, allowing for more reliable insights and analysis.
Select the lock date range or lock granularity icon in the top left
Choose your date range or granularity from the options provided
Select Apply
When the lock is enabled on the report:
In the dashboards section the report's date / granularity will not follow the global date picker's change
In edit mode the global date picker will show as disabled
Schedules will adhere to the locked ranges
Show Top/Bottom Rows
Gain quick insights into your best and worst performers by displaying only a set number of rows.
Use Show Top Rows to display your highest-performing data points
Use Show Bottom Rows to identify underperforming areas
Customize the number of rows displayed for a clearer view of key insights
For more information, visit our guide here.
Color Scale
Apply color scales to highlight trends and anomalies.
Example: Red for declining sales, Green for growth.
For more information, visit our guide here.
Switch Rows & Columns
Easily flip rows and columns to change how data is displayed.
Additional Features
Schedules
If you want to receive your Custom Tables automatically via Slack or email, you can add them to Schedules. For more information on setting up Schedules, check out this article.
Export
Download reports as .csv files for offline analysis.
Download your report as a .csv file directly in the editor:
Or, from the Custom Dashboards section:
Organize
Save and organize reports into dashboards for an at-a-glance view:
Create dashboards for different teams, regions, or products.
Rearrange reports by dragging and dropping in the sidebar.
Duplicate or rename reports as needed.
Troubleshooting
Common Issues & Solutions
Dimensions Not Available in Breakdown Dropdown
Ensure the selected metrics support the breakdowns.
Check if the data source includes the required dimension.
If you are using metrics from different data sources a Custom Dimension may allow you to see the breakdown you need.
Missing Data in Reports
Verify connected data sources are syncing properly.
Wait 24 hours after connecting a new data source before attempting to pull in metrics and dimensions.
Adjust filters to ensure relevant data is displayed.
De-select enabled Views from the main header.
Reports Not Updating
Refresh the dashboard or check for data refresh delays.
Confirm scheduled reports are running correctly.
For further assistance, contact support@polaranalytics.co or use the in-app chat.