How to Build KPI Scorecards, Dashboards and Forecasts in Intuit Enterprise Suite

Before you start

• The KPI Scorecard and dashboards are in QuickBooks Online Advanced and Intuit Enterprise Suite. IES adds views that combine all your companies.
• To see the KPI Scorecard, sign in as a Primary admin, Company admin or Standard all-access user.
• To view the forecast IES makes for you, sign in as an admin or Standard All user, or have forecast view permissions. To create a forecast, you need to be an admin or Standard All user.
• The automatic forecast supports accrual accounting only.
• To track CRM KPIs, have your CRM app ready to connect, such as Monday.com, HubSpot or Salesforce.
• If you've turned on multi-currency (beta), KPIs and home page widgets use historical exchange rates.

Step 1: Open the KPI Scorecard

1. 1Go to Reports, then KPIs.
2. 2Select the Consolidated tab to track KPIs across all your companies, or the Company tab for one company. These tabs are Intuit Enterprise Suite only.
3. 3Review the KPIs, such as Revenue, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), Gross Profit Margin, Net Profit Margin and Operating Margin.
4. 4Use the Period and Compare with dropdowns to compare with a historical period and see the variance.
5. 5Select any KPI row to expand it and see a chart of the data.

Step 2: Add KPIs from the library or a CRM

1. 1On the KPIs page, select Manage KPIs.
2. 2Browse the KPI category list, or use the search bar to find a KPI.
3. 3Select + Add to scorecard for each KPI you want. To take one off, select X Remove from scorecard.
4. 4For a KPI that pulls data from a CRM app, select Connect data source. On the Find integrations page, choose an integration and follow the on-screen steps, then return to the KPI library and select + Add to scorecard.
5. 5Select Done to return to the KPIs page.

Step 3: Create a custom KPI

1. 1Go to Reports, then KPIs, select Manage KPIs, then Create KPI.
2. 2Enter a KPI name and Description, and choose a KPI category.
3. 3From the Unit of measure dropdown, choose Currency, Percentage or Number.
4. 4From the Variance dropdown, choose Higher values are better or Lower values are better.
5. 5Choose a KPI calculation method. Build a formula uses KPIs, active accounts in your chart of accounts and CRM data, with a time period for each metric. Enter manually lets you type in data points, with an Alert frequency for missing ones.
6. 6From the Chart type dropdown, choose Line chart or Bar chart, then select Save and close.

Step 4: Build a dashboard

1. 1Go to Reports, then Dashboards.
2. 2Open the Company name ▼ dropdown, search for the company and select it. Or select Consolidated View to see combined data from all companies.
3. 3Select Create dashboard, select the pencil icon and enter a name.
4. 4Select Save or Save and close. The dashboard appears on the company's Dashboards page.
5. 5To add visuals, open the dashboard and select Edit. Choose a Period, select Add data, then pick a KPI under KPIs, or select Create KPI.
6. 6Hover over a visual and select the pencil icon. On the Setup tab, set the chart type, the X axis, the data values, comparisons, sort order and filters. On the Customization tab, set the header, axis labels and legend.
7. 7Select Save and close.

Visuals update every 2 hours, so refresh your browser to see the latest. Select Generate summary for an AI summary of all the KPIs on the dashboard, and use the Refine ▼ dropdown to update it. Pre-built dashboards include Profitability, Cash flow, Accounts Receivable, Accounts Payable, Revenue, Balance Sheet, Sales Performance (CRM), Payroll and Time tracking. To change one, select it, rename the copy with the pencil icon and edit its visuals the same way.

Step 5: View the forecast Intuit Enterprise Suite makes for you

1. 1On the left navigation bar, select Financial planning, then Forecasts. A forecast graph for net income appears, and you can move between KPIs from this view.
2. 2Select View detailed forecast to see the profit and loss forecast for the next two fiscal years by account category.
3. 3Select any cell to see more about the forecast.
4. 4To change it, select Edit forecast, make your changes and select Save.
5. 5To turn it into a budget, select Make this a budget.

Step 6: Create your own forecast

1. 1Check your fiscal year: go to Settings ⚙, select Account and settings, then the Advanced tab, and review First month of the fiscal year in the Accounting section.
2. 2Go to Reports, then Financial planning, then Forecasts, and select Create forecast.
3. 3Under Forecast format, choose Consolidated or Subdivided. For a subdivided forecast, choose what to subdivide by, such as a dimension. Once added, it can't be removed from the forecast.
4. 4Choose the timeframe from the Forecast for ▼ dropdown, then a method from the Forecast using ▼ dropdown: Average of actuals, Actuals from last fiscal year, or Budget. For Average of actuals, choose the period from the Use actuals from ▼ dropdown.
5. 5Optional: add increase or decrease rules by account type in the Set rules section. Select Next.
6. 6Edit the forecast name with the edit ✎ icon if needed, then select Save and close.

Intuit recommends refreshing a forecast with the latest actuals each time you view it. From the forecast list, Actions runs a Forecast Overview report or a Forecast vs. Actuals report. For consolidated profit and loss statements and balance sheets across entities, see How to eliminate intercompany balances and view consolidated financial statements.

Step 7: Control who can see and edit forecasts

1. 1Go to Settings ⚙ and select Manage users.
2. 2Select the Roles tab, then select Add role.
3. 3Enter a Role name and Role description.
4. 4In the Financial planning area, give the role access to Forecast (Intuit Enterprise Suite only) at the level you want: View, Create, Edit, Delete or Full access.
5. 5Select Save Role.

A role with Forecast access can view, create, edit or delete forecasts, depending on its level, and run the Profit and Loss report. It can't view the chart of accounts. For the rest of the role areas, see How to set up users, roles and permissions in Intuit Enterprise Suite.

If something doesn't look right

• You can't open the KPI Scorecard: you need the Primary admin, Company admin or Standard all-access role.
• Dashboard numbers look out of date: visuals update every 2 hours. Refresh your browser.
• The forecast doesn't include recent transactions: refresh it with the latest actuals each time you view it.
• You can't remove a dimension or class from a subdivided forecast: Intuit says it can't be removed once added.
• KPIs don't match your multi-currency reports: during the multi-currency beta, KPIs use historical exchange rates.
• You deleted a forecast by mistake: deleted forecasts can't be recovered.

Where Intuit Enterprise Suite leaves the work to you

• Intuit's KPI article lists financial examples such as revenue, COGS and margins, not the full library. Check whether an operational KPI you need is there before you build it with a formula.
• Manually entered KPIs need someone to enter each data point. IES can alert you when one is missing.
• The automatic forecast covers profit and loss for the next two fiscal years, and only for accrual accounting.
• Dashboard visuals update every 2 hours, even though Intuit describes the KPI Scorecard as real-time.
• During the multi-currency beta, KPIs and home page widgets use historical exchange rates.

How Logistify helps

Logistify doesn't build KPIs, dashboards or forecasts in Intuit Enterprise Suite. Its Accounts Receivable Service matches payments from your bank file to open IES invoices, and its Sales Order Service enters customer orders into IES as sales orders, with a person reviewing exceptions.