How To Use User-defined KPIs

The fields on the My Companies page that contain links are so-called "KPIs" (Key Performance Indicators). The benefits of the KPIs are many, and they can provide answers to what and when something needs to be done and provide an overview of what has been done. They can also provide support and feedback when a task is performed.

Eagle KPIs let you create your own fields on the My Companies page, or as data cues on any role center that contains the measurements and links you define. With Eagle KPIs, you can create fields and data cues that shows exactly what you want and links to the page of your choice with the filters you have specified.

Tip

We recommend using the User-defined KPIs Export and Import actions to migrate settings from one environment/company to another.

User-defined KPIs and Expression Terms

The User-defined KPIs are of two types, Client Companies and This Company and can be used in different ways. Find the Key Performance Indicators table in the User Guide to learn its capabilities and different behaviors.

User-defined KPI can calculate expressions, the number of rows in a table, or the sum, minimum, maximum and average of a specified field.

Expression Terms is similar to the User-defined KPIs as they can be calculated in the same way, but they are not possible to display, only use as a component when calculating User-defined KPIs.

Expression Terms is used in User-defined KPIs when a more advanced calculation is desired.

By selecting Expression in the Calculate field (on User-defined KPIs and Expression Terms) it is possible to perform calculations containing one or several Expression Terms and/or constant values.

Tip

Find information regarding displaying Eagle KPIs on the role center in How To Use Eagle Role Center.

Create User-defined KPIs Using Templates

With templates for User-defined KPIs, it is possible to easily get started with configured KPIs with date filters and filters that suit most needs. The templates are grouped by usage area or installed apps.

  1. Choose the search icon (ALT+Q), enter Eagle KPIs Setup and then choose the related link.
  2. Select the User-defined KPIs (Client Companies) or User-defined KPIs (This Company) FastTab, depending on the current purpose.
  3. Choose one of the available records and select the Edit action.
  4. Select the Use Template action to launch the guide (wizard).
  5. Select a template from the list and complete the steps in the guide and then select Finish.
Note

Expand the Visibility FastTab on User-defined KPIs of the Client Companies type to change the additional default settings for this type of KPI. Hover over the fields to read a short description.

Tip

Use the templates in the guide as inspiration, and feel free to change the naming and filters in the guide or afterwards.

Note

A system filter on the Assigned To field will be automatically applied on the User-defined KPIs of the This Company type if a KPI Function is set up for the following tables: My Company, Queue Entry, Queue Batch, User Task and My Environment.

Create Expression Terms Using Templates

  1. Choose the search icon (ALT+Q), enter Expression Terms and then choose the related link.
  2. Choose one of the available records and select the Edit action.
  3. Select the Use Template action to launch the guide (wizard).
  4. Select a template from the list and complete the steps in the guide and then select Finish.

Create User-defined KPIs Manually

  1. Choose the search icon (ALT+Q), enter Eagle KPIs Setup and then choose the related link.
  2. Select the User-defined KPIs (Client Companies) or User-defined KPIs (This Company) FastTab, depending on the current purpose.
  3. Choose one of the available records and select the Edit action.
  4. Fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.
    1. Enter the field name of the KPI in the Name field.
    2. Enter a Description of the KPI.
    3. In the Table No. field, choose the number of the table that provides the data for the KPI.
    4. Specify the number of the Page to open when the KPI is clicked and used for DrillDown.
    5. In the Calculate field, select whether the value of the Eagle KPI should calculate an expression, the number of rows (within the filter in the table) or the sum, minimum, maximum, time, distinct, duplicates or average of a specific field specified in the Calculate Field No. field.
    6. In the Calculate Field No. field, if an option other than Count has been selected, the field to be calculated should be specified in the Calculate Field.
  5. Optionally Apply Filters
  6. Add expression, if Expression has been selected in Calculate field.
  7. Use the preview of the KPI in the FactBox pane to verify that the calculated value and link for the KPI are correct.
  8. Turn on the Enabled toggle to activate the KPI.
Tip

With Additional Link Settings enabled, it is possible to configure the link of the KPI to use any page and use other filters than the KPI. When disabled, the link automatically applies the same filter that the user specified for the table, and only pages that use the table specified by the user can be selected.

Tip

The Filter Related Table toggle on the User-defined KPI page can be used to apply a filter in a related table. Useful if the data you want to filter on is not in the table the KPI is based on. Select the assist edit button in the Couplings field to specify the relations between the tables.

Note

Expand the Visibility FastTab on the User-defined KPIs of the Client Companies type to change the additional default settings for this type of KPI. Hover over the fields to read a short description.

Add Expression

This step only applies if Expression has been selected in the Calculate field.

  1. Expand the Expression FastTab.
  2. Optionally: Select if the term should have an Opening Parenthesis.
  3. You can select a Type manually or let it be selected automatically by entering a Constant Value or selecting an expression term in the No. field.
  4. Optionally: Select if the term should have an Closing Parenthesis.
  5. Specify the type of calculation to perform by selecting which Operator to use.
Note

A Constant value can for example be used to display a KPI in thousands (by dividing by 1000), or to enter a number not found in Business Central, such as a market share or the size of a population.

You can use the following operators when creating Expression Terms and User-defined KPIs of the Expression type:

Operator Examples of calculations
+ Show the Total of different documents, by calculating "Purchase Documents" + "Sales Documents"
- Show the Difference between two accounts by calculating "Chart of Account X" - "Chart of Account Y"
/ Show the Profit per unit sold by calculating "Sales Value" / "Number of Units Sold"
* Show the Annual run rate by calculating "Revenue in Period Y" * "Number of Periods in One Year"
Note

The ones inside " " in the example above are Expression Terms (which do the calculation). The Expression Terms are specified in User-defined KPIs of the Expression type to calculate: Total of different documents, Difference between two accounts, Profit per unit sold and Annual run rate.

Note

It is possible to use several Expression Terms and have different operators as well as opening and closing parentheses where appropriate in an Expression to enable more advanced formulas than the examples above.

Create Expression Terms Manually

  1. Choose the search icon (ALT+Q), enter Expression Terms and then choose the related link.
  2. Choose one of the available records and select the Edit action.
  3. Fill in the fields as necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.
    1. Enter the field name of the KPI in the Name field.
    2. Enter a Description of the KPI.
    3. In the Table No. field, choose the number of the table that provides the data for the KPI.
    4. In the Calculate field, select whether the value of the Expression Term should calculate an expression, the number of rows (within the filter in the table) or the sum, minimum, maximum or average of a specific field specified in the Calculate Field No. field.
    5. In the Calculate Field No. field, if an option other than Count has been selected, the field to be calculated should be specified in the Calculate Field.
  4. Optionally Apply Filters
  5. Add expression, if Expression has been selected in Calculate field.
  6. Turn on the Enabled toggle to activate the KPI.

Apply Filters on User-defined KPIs and Expression Terms

Filters and Date Filters are set up on the Eagle KPI Setup. Choose the KPI that you wish to apply filters or date filters to.

Note

The KPI needs to be disabled before filters are applied.

  1. Apply KPI filters:
    1. Choose Filters (KPI)
    2. Select the assist edit button in the Field No. field to view all available fields in the selected table.
    3. Select the fields as necessary and apply filters.
  2. Apply date filters:
    1. Choose Date Filters (KPI).
    2. Select a Code in the Date Code field for any of the available date fields in the selected table.
    3. Change any of the fields if necessary. Hover over a field to read a short description.
Tip

To find out which number a page has and which source table a page uses, it is possible to use the page inspection feature.

Note

There may be some restrictions on setting filters. For example, it is not possible to filter out option values ​​with <>. Once you have set up a filter, select the Check Filters action to open the page and check that the filters are applied as intended. The page will be opened in the current company.

Other settings on the User-defined KPIs

Configure multiple settings for User-defined KPIs to display key figures in a more specific way, with signs or in other formats. With various options for calculation and formatting, is is possible to tailor your KPIs to your preferences.

Settings Explanation
Lower Zero Threshold Specifies an lower threshold for the KPI, above value is shown as 0
Upper Zero Threshold Specifies an upper threshold for the KPI, below value is shown as 0
Rounding Type Specifies how to round the calculated value
Rounding Precision Specifies the size of the interval that you want between rounded amounts
Factor Specifies a factor to multiply the calculated value with
Show Opposite Sign Specifies whether calculated numbers should be displayed with the opposite sign
Minimum Decimal Places Specifies the minimum number of decimal places to display for the calculated value
Maximum Decimal Places Specifies the maximum number of decimal places to display for the calculated value
Prefix Specifies a prefix to add to the calculated value
Suffix Specifies a suffix to add to the calculated value

See Also

Workflow: Set up Eagle KPIs
How To Use Filters
How To Perform Operational Tasks
How To Use Date Filter
How To Overview