Get Started with BrightGauge Essentials

This page applies to: BrightGauge Essentials

Overview

This document provides an introduction to BrightGauge Essentials.

BrightGauge Essentials, also known as Analytics Starter, is a slimmed-down version of BrightGauge™ that enables you to start your analytics journey with us with dashboards and reporting provided for up to three datasources. Currently, datasources are available for ConnectWise PSA™ Cloud, ConnectWise PSA™ On Premises, ConnectWise RMM™, ConnectWise MDR™, and ConnectWise Asio™.

If you are new to BrightGauge, you can learn more about how BrightGauge works here. For more information on Essentials, please refer to the Essentials FAQ.

Note: Currently, Essentials (aka Analytics Starter) is only available for ConnectWise PSA Cloud and ConnectWise MDR partners. However, Essentials will be rolled out to all ConnectWise products in future releases.

This article covers the following topics:

 

Where do I start?

To set up your Essentials account:

  1. Sign up for an Essentials account.
  2. Connect a datasource.
  3. Add users.
  4. Share dashboards with your users.

 

Video: Get Started with BrightGauge Essentials

 

BrightGauge Essentials Users

Before you dive in to Essentials, you should familiarize yourself with the user roles and which features they can access.

Essentials includes three user types:

  • BrightGauge Admins have full access to the Essentials account. Each Essentials account includes one Admin user. Because you only have one Admin, designate who in your company will be the Admin before you set up your account. The user who creates the account becomes the Admin for the account.
  • BrightGauge Analysts are Admin users with reduced rights and are limited to building and managing data from only the datasets they have permission to access. Each Essentials account includes one Analyst user. Analysts cannot see dashboards or report until they are shared by the Admin. Refer to the Share with an Analyst section of this article for instructions on sharing resources with Analysts.
  • BrightGauge Viewers may only view and present dashboards. Each Essentials account includes an unlimited number of viewers. A Viewer cannot see dashboards until they are shared by the Admin.

Admins and Analysts are classified as Users in BrightGauge, whereas Viewers are classified as Viewers. To view and manage Admins and Analysts, navigate to Your AccountUsers. To view and manage Viewers, navigate to Your AccountViewers.

The following table lists the features available to admin and viewer users in Essentials.

Feature Admin Analyst Viewer
View dashboards
Present dashboards
Apply dashboard filters
Create/Delete dashboard filters  
Send reports  
Add users    
Connect datasources    

 

Sign Up for Essentials

BrightGauge Essentials includes one Admin user. Before you sign up, designate who in your organization should be the Admin. The user who creates your account becomes the sole Admin for your account.

To sign up for Essentials:

  1. Navigate to the Essentials signup page.
  2. Enter your First Name, Last Name, and Company Name.
  3. Create your BrightGauge URL. This is the URL you will use to access your account.
  4. Select your company's CountryStateTimezone, and Language.
  5. Enter the Email address you will use to log in to BrightGauge.
  6. Create your Password, then enter it again to verify.
  7. Click Create Account. You are directed to a page containing getting started resources and a link to your account. Click the account link to log in to BrightGauge.

 

BrightGauge Menu Bar

The top menu bar provides quick access to all of your BrightGauge resources and settings and is available on every screen within BrightGauge. Please note that certain features, such as Goals and Gauges, are not available in Essentials.

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Dashboards

Click to view your dashboards.

Goals

[Disabled for Essentials.]

Reports

Click to view and send reports.

Gauges

[Disabled for Essentials.]

Upgrade Account

Click to upgrade your BrightGauge plan and access additional features.

Data

Click to view and connect datasources, view datasets, configure connectivity notifications, and view dataset sync history. Please note that some items are disabled in Essentials.

Help

Click to submit a support ticket and access additional support resources.

Your Account

Click to view and edit your account details, update billing information, manage users, and log out. Please note that some items are disabled in Essentials.

 

Connect a Datasource

Datasources (integrations) provide the data for your dashboards and reports. Before your dashboards and reports can display data, you must connect a datasource to your BrightGauge account. Only Admin users can add datasources. To access your datasources, select DataDatasources from the top menu bar.

Note: More datasources will be added as Essentials is made available for other ConnectWise solutions.

For instructions on adding a datasource, please refer to the following articles:

Note: ConnectWise MDR analytics may be automatically enabled to your account.

Dashboards and reports are added to your account after the datasource is saved. The initial sync usually takes 20-30 minutes to complete. Please note that dashboard and report gauges only pull data for the last 30 days. To include data beyond 30 days, apply filters to your dashboards and reports.

 

Default Resources

The following dashboards and reports are included in Essentials. Please note that data syncs once every 24 hours. Data cannot be manually synced within Essentials.

Default Dashboards

To access your dashboards, click Dashboards in the top menu bar. To change dashboards, click on the dashboard name in the upper-left corner and select the desired dashboard.

scn_bge_dashboards_selectdashboard.png

ConnectWise PSA Cloud

  • Owner: Displays trending data (e.g., hours by work type, tickets opened vs. tickets closed) for the last 30 days
  • Service Manager: Displays overall metrics (e.g., tickets opened and closed, total hours worked) for the current week.
  • Service Technician: Displays reactive metrics (e.g., tickets opened and closed, new tickets) for the current day.

ConnectWise PSA On-prem

  • Essentials Dashboard | Service & Revenue
  • Essentials Dashboard | Operations
  • Essentials Dashboard | Financials
  • Owner: Displays trending data (e.g., hours by work type, tickets opened vs. tickets closed) for the last 30 days
  • Service Manager: Displays overall metrics (e.g., tickets opened and closed, total hours worked) for the current week.
  • Service Technician: Displays reactive metrics (e.g., tickets opened and closed, new tickets) for the current day.

ConnectWise MDR

  • MDR Executive Report

Default Reports

To access your reports, click Reports in the top menu bar. Refer to the Send a Report section of this article to see how to send reports.

ConnectWise PSA Cloud

  • Owner
  • Service Manager
  • Service Technician

ConnectWise PSA On-prem

  • Owner
  • Service Manager
  • Service Technician

ConnectWise MDR

  • MDR Executive Report

Share Resources with Users

Analysts and Viewers cannot see dashboards until they are shared by the Admin. Only Admins can share dashboards. Admins can grant dashboard access either directly from a dashboard or from the Your Account menu.

Share a Dashboard from a Dashboard

To share from a dashboard:

  1. Click Dashboards in the top menu bar.
  2. Select the dashboard you would like to share.

    scn_bge_dashboards_selectdashboard.png

  3. Select More > Dashboard Users.

    bg_dashboard_more_dashboardusers.png

  4. Select the checkbox for each Analyst or Viewer who should have access to the dashboard.
  5. Click Apply.

Share with a Viewer from the Your Account Menu

Alternatively, Admins can share dashboards from the Your Account menu.

To share with a Viewer:

  1. Navigate to Your AccountViewers.

    bg_menu_youraccount_viewers.png

  2. Click on the Edit icon_viewer_edit.png icon for the desired Viewer.
  3. Select the checkbox for each dashboard you would like the Viewer to access.
    bg_youraccount_viewers_sharedashboards.png
  4. Click Save.

Share with an Analyst from the Your Account Menu

The Your Account menu enables Admins to share dashboards, reports, and datasets with Analyst users. When sharing resources with Analysts, be sure to include datasets. Dashboards and reports do not display data for Analysts until the appropriate datasets are shared.

To share with an Analyst:

  1. Navigate to Your AccountUsers.
  2. Click on the Edit icon_viewer_edit.png icon for the desired user.
  3. Select the checkbox for each dataset, dashboard, and report you would like to share with the Analyst. Be sure to allow access to all necessary datasets. If an Analyst has access to a dashboard but they do not have access to the dataset supplying data to that dashboard, they will not be able to see data on that dashboard.
  4. Click Save.

 

Present a Dashboard

Presentation mode optimizes dashboards for display on TVs and monitors. For example, you can display a ticketing dashboard on a TV mounted on a wall in the technician area of your office or display a sales dashboard in your sales bullpen. Admins, Analysts, and Viewers can present dashboards. If you'd like to present a dashboard on a large monitor or TV, we recommend using a Viewer account to do so. Viewer user sessions expire after two years, whereas Admin and Analyst sessions expire after two weeks.

Two options are available when presenting a dashboard:

The multiple dashboard option enables you to create a rotating playlist of up to 10 dashboards. 

Present a Single Dashboard

To present a single dashboard:

  1. Locate the dashboard you would like to present.

    scn_bge_dashboards_selectdashboard.png

  2. Click Present and select Single Dashboard. The dashboard switches to presentation mode.

    bg_dashboard_present_single.png

  3. To exit presentation mode, click the TV icon_present_exit.png icon in the upper-right corner of the dashboard. You are returned to the Dashboards screen.

Present Multiple Dashboards

To present multiple dashboards:

  1. Click Dashboards in the top navigation bar.
  2. Select a dashboard you would like to present.

    scn_bge_dashboards_selectdashboard.png

  3. Click Present and select Rotate Dashboards.

    bg_dashboard_present_rotate.png

  4. Click and drag dashboards from the Your Dashboards column into the Playlist column.
  5. Click Save & Present.

Change a Dashboard Color Theme

Dashboards can be presented with either a light or a dark color theme. To change a dashboard's color theme, click the paintbrush icon_present_changetheme.png icon in the upper-right corner of the dashboard. Then, select a color theme.

 

Filter a Dashboard

Dashboard filters enable you to quickly sort and view specific information on a dashboard. For example, you have a technician dashboard that displays ticket information for all your technicians. You can create a filter for each technician so you can quickly view individual data for each technician from the same dashboard.

To apply a dashboard filter:

  1. Locate the dashboard you would like to filter.
  2. Click Add A Filter. The Add Filter window appears.

    bg_dashboards_addafilter.png

  3. Enter a name for the filter.
  4. Select which field(s) to include in the filter. The Add Filter window allows you to search for fields and displays a list of available fields sorted by dataset. To search for a field, type the field name into the Which fields do you want to filter? box. A list of fields matching the search is displayed. Select the checkbox for each field you want to include. Be sure to select the relevant field from each dataset.

    bg_scn_dashboard_addafilter_addfilter.png

  5. After you select your field(s), select an operator and enter your criteria. Please note that the available operators are dependent on the field type (text, number, date, etc.) you select.
  6. Click Save Changes to apply the filter.

To disable a dashboard filter, click Active Filter, then click the toggle next to the filter name.

bg_dashboard_filter_toggle.png

Quick Tips for Dashboard Filters

  • Only Admin and Analyst users have access to create, edit, and delete filters. Viewer users may only toggle filters on and off.
  • Any dashboard filters left toggled on or off are preserved the next time you view that dashboard. Viewer filters are not preserved and revert back to how the Admin has them set.
  • When multiple dashboard filters are applied at once, only the overlapping data is displayed. For example, if you have two separate technician filters toggled on, you may only see the tickets they have both submitted work for.

 

Gauge Drilldown

Drilldowns provide additional data when you click on a dashboard gauge. For example, click on the New Tickets gauge to view the company, ticket number, summary, and more associated with each new ticket. Click on the ticket number to open the ticket in ConnectWise PSA. To download the data to a CSV file, click on the CSV button in the upper-right corner of the drilldown modal.

scn_bg_drilldown.png

 

Send a Report

Reports allow you to share snapshots of important metrics with internal team members. Please note that reports can only be sent to other users within the account. Reports cannot be sent externally and cannot be scheduled in advance. Admins and Analysts may send reports; however, Analysts cannot view and send reports until they are shared by the Admin.

To send a report:

  1. Select Reports from the top menu bar.

    bg_menubar_reports.png

  2. Click the three dots icon for the report you would like to send and select Create Report.

    bg_essentials_reports_create.png

  3. The For My Company option is selected by default. Click Next Step.
  4. The report template is automatically selected. Click Next Step.
  5. Edit the report title and subtitle as desired. Please note that report gauges cannot be added to, removed from, or modified within the report.
  6. Click Next Step.
  7. Click into the To field to select the desired report recipient(s). The report can only be sent internally to users within your Essentials account.
  8. Modify the email subject and message as needed.
  9. Click Send Report. The report is sent as a weblink to the selected recipients.

 

Upgrade Your Account

You can upgrade your account at any time from within BrightGauge. For more information on what's included in each plan, please refer to the BrightGauge Plan Feature Comparison.

To upgrade your account:

  1. Click Upgrade Account in the top menu bar.
  2. Click Upgrade.
    bg_scn_billing_upgrade.png
  3. Click Change Plan
  4. Select a plan from the list. The numbers default admins and datasources are displayed. Click the plus and minus signs to add or remove users and datasources as needed. Note how changes are reflected in the monthly price.
  5. Edit your location settings, timezone, and language, if needed.
  6. Click Next Step.
  7. Enter your name and payment information, then click Add Card.
  8. Click Complete Upgrade.

 

BrightGauge Plan Feature Comparison

The following table lists the features available to each BrightGauge plan. Please note that default resources (dashboards, reports, datasets) are only added to an account after a datasource is connected.

Feature Essentials Standard Enterprise Enterprise+
View default dashboards
Send default reports
Filter dashboards and reports
Unlimited viewer users
Create dashboards, gauges, reports  
Edit dashboards, gauges, reports  
Delete dashboards, gauges, reports  
Schedule reports  
Add a logo  
Edit accent color and gauge theme colors  
Goals  
Custom client mappings  
Peer group benchmarking    
Snapshots    
Calculated metrics    
Public Dashboards    
Free data-driven workshop      
Included paid datasources 1 (currently ConnectWise PSA™) 2 2 4
Available paid datasources 1 (currently ConnectWise PSA™) 72 72 72
Free datasources 2 (ConnectWise MDR™ and ConnectWise Asio™) 2 (ConnectWise MDR™ and ConnectWise Asio™) 2 (ConnectWise MDR™ and ConnectWise Asio™) 2 (ConnectWise MDR™ and ConnectWise Asio™)
Included admin users 2 2 3 3
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