Module 8 · Lesson 1

Insights Dashboard

12 min read

Insights Dashboard

The Insights Dashboard provides powerful analytics to help you understand your spending patterns, identify trends, and make informed financial decisions.

What is the Insights Dashboard?

The Insights Dashboard shows:
- Income vs Expenses - Compare your income and expenses over time
- Spending by category - Where your money goes (Top 5 Categories by Spend)
- Period-over-period comparisons - This month vs. last month, this year vs. last year
- Trends over time - Spending patterns and changes
- Custom reports - Visualize your data in different ways

Accessing the Dashboard

  1. Go to Insights Dashboard in main navigation
  2. Or navigate directly to the Insights section
  3. View your financial insights

Try it now: If you have demo data, explore the Insights Dashboard to see spending patterns, income vs expenses, and category breakdowns with your sample data.

Key Metrics

Spending by Category

See total spending for each category:
- Category name - Tag/category
- Total amount - How much spent
- Percentage - % of total spending
- Transaction count - Number of transactions

Use this to: Identify where most of your money goes

Period Comparisons

Compare spending across time periods:
- This month vs. last month - See month-over-month changes
- This year vs. last year - See year-over-year trends
- Custom date ranges - Compare any two periods

Use this to: Identify spending increases or decreases

Income vs Expenses

The Income vs Expenses report is one of the most powerful features in the Insights Dashboard. It shows:
- Total income - All money coming in over the selected period
- Total expenses - All money going out over the selected period
- Net cash flow - The difference between income and expenses
- Monthly trends - Visual chart showing income and expenses over time
- Account balances - Initial and ending balances for your accounts

Use this to:
- Understand if you're living within your means
- Track cash flow trends over time
- Identify months with unusual spending or income
- Monitor your overall financial health

Try it now: If you have demo data, view the Income vs Expenses report to see your cash flow analysis.

Reports and Visualizations

The Insights Dashboard offers several powerful reports:

Monthly Trends

  • Bar charts showing spending trends by category
  • Filter by account, time period, and tags
  • Identify patterns (weekly, monthly, seasonal)

Tagging Trends

  • Top 5 Categories by Spend - See where most of your money goes
  • Categorization statistics - Track how well your transactions are tagged
  • Period comparisons - Compare spending by category over time

Income vs Expenses (Cash Flow)

  • Line chart showing income and expenses over time
  • Net cash flow calculations
  • Account balance tracking

Custom Report

  • Build custom reports with flexible date ranges
  • Filter by accounts and labels
  • Export data to CSV for further analysis

Using Insights for Budget Adjustments

Insights help you improve your budget:

Identify Overspending

  1. Review spending by category
  2. Compare to budget amounts
  3. Identify categories consistently over budget
  4. Adjust budget or reduce spending

Find Savings Opportunities

  1. Review Top 5 Categories by Spend in Tagging Trends
  2. Identify high-spending categories
  3. Look for ways to reduce (negotiate, switch providers, cut back)
  4. Adjust budget accordingly

Track Progress

  1. Compare periods over time
  2. See if spending is increasing or decreasing
  3. Verify budget adjustments are working
  4. Celebrate improvements

Exporting Data

Export your data for deeper analysis:

  1. Click "Export" or "Download" button
  2. Choose format: CSV or Excel
  3. Download file
  4. Analyze in spreadsheet software

Use cases:
- Custom analysis in Excel/Google Sheets
- Tax preparation
- Financial planning
- Sharing with financial advisor

Best Practices

  1. Review monthly - Check insights at end of each month
  2. Compare periods - Look at trends over time
  3. Identify patterns - Notice seasonal or recurring patterns
  4. Take action - Use insights to adjust budget or spending
  5. Track improvements - Monitor if changes are working

Common Insights to Look For

Spending Increases

What to look for: Categories with increasing spending

Action: Determine if increase is justified or if you need to cut back

Spending Decreases

What to look for: Categories with decreasing spending

Action: Verify this is intentional (budget adjustment) or investigate why

Unexpected Patterns

What to look for: Unusual spikes or drops in spending

Action: Investigate cause and determine if it's a problem

Category Distribution

What to look for: Categories taking up too much of budget

Action: Evaluate if spending aligns with priorities, adjust if needed

Advanced Analysis

Custom Date Ranges

Analyze specific time periods:
- Last 3 months - Recent trends
- This quarter - Quarterly analysis
- Year to date - Annual progress
- Custom range - Any specific period

Filtering

Filter insights by:
- Account - Specific account only
- Category - Specific category only
- Date range - Specific time period
- Amount - Transactions above/below threshold

Key Takeaway: The Insights Dashboard provides powerful analytics to understand your spending patterns. Review it monthly, compare periods, identify trends, and use insights to improve your budget and spending decisions.