Skip to main content

📊 Dashboard Features

Your FinTrack Platform dashboard is mission control for your finances. It transforms raw transaction data into beautiful, actionable insights that help you understand your money at a glance.

🎯 Dashboard Overview​

The dashboard provides four main views of your financial data:

  • 📈 Cash Flow Trends - Income, expenses, and savings over time
  • 🌊 Sankey Flow Diagram - Visual money flow from income to savings
  • 🥧 Expense Breakdown - Category-wise spending analysis
  • 💰 Account Balances - Real-time balance tracking

💹 Cash Flow Trends​

What You'll See​

  • Monthly Income: Total money coming in
  • Monthly Expenses: Total money going out
  • Net Savings: How much you're saving each month
  • Savings Rate: Percentage of income saved

Key Insights​

💡 Savings Rate = (Income - Expenses) / Income × 100%

Healthy benchmarks:

  • 🎯 20%+ savings rate: Excellent financial health
  • ⚠️ 10-19% savings rate: Good, room for improvement
  • 🚨 Under 10% savings rate: Focus on expense reduction

Interactive Features​

  • Hover over data points to see exact amounts
  • Toggle between different time periods (1, 3, 6, 12 months)
  • Click chart legends to hide/show specific data series

🌊 Sankey Flow Diagram​

The Sankey diagram is FinTrack's signature feature - it shows exactly where every dollar flows in your financial life.

How to Read It​

Income Sources → Expense Categories → Savings/Investments
     ↓                    ↓                   ↓
  Salary              Groceries          Cash Savings
Freelance              Dining            Investments
Investment             Housing           Other Transfers

Flow Interpretation​

  • Wider bands = larger amounts of money
  • Color coding = different categories
  • Left side = money coming in (income)
  • Middle = money going out (expenses)
  • Right side = money saved/invested

What This Tells You​

  • Which expense categories consume the most income
  • How much goes to savings vs. spending
  • Whether your investment contributions are on track
  • Opportunities to optimize money flow
Pro Tip

Look for unexpectedly wide expense bands - these often reveal spending categories where you can save money!

🥧 Expense Breakdown (Income Allocation)​

Category Analysis​

See your spending broken down by:

  • Housing (rent, mortgage, utilities)
  • Food (groceries, dining out)
  • Transportation (gas, car payments, transit)
  • Entertainment (streaming, movies, hobbies)
  • Healthcare (insurance, medical expenses)
  • Shopping (clothes, household items)
  • And more...

Percentage Insights​

Each category shows:

  • Dollar amount spent
  • Percentage of total expenses
  • Trend vs. previous periods

Budget Benchmarks​

Popular budgeting guidelines:

  • Housing: 25-30% of income
  • Food: 10-15% of income
  • Transportation: 10-15% of income
  • Savings: 20%+ of income

💰 Account Balance Tracking​

Real-Time Balances​

  • Current balances for all linked accounts
  • Account types: Checking, Savings, Credit Cards, Investments
  • Last updated timestamps
  • Balance trends over time

Cash vs. Investments​

The dashboard distinguishes between:

  • 💵 Cash Savings: Liquid money in savings accounts
  • 📈 Investments: Money in retirement/investment accounts
  • 💳 Available Credit: Credit card limits and utilization

Balance Alerts (Coming Soon)​

  • Low balance warnings
  • Unusual spending patterns
  • Bill due date reminders

🔄 Time Period Controls​

Flexible Analysis Periods​

Switch between different time ranges:

  • 📅 Last Month: Recent spending patterns
  • 📅 Last 3 Months: Quarterly trends
  • 📅 Last 6 Months: Seasonal patterns
  • 📅 Last 12 Months: Annual view

Why Different Periods Matter​

  • 1 Month: Good for recent changes and monthly budgeting
  • 3 Months: Smooths out monthly variations
  • 6 Months: Shows seasonal trends (holidays, summer vacation)
  • 12 Months: Full annual picture including taxes, bonuses

📱 Mobile-Responsive Design​

Dashboard on Any Device​

  • 💻 Desktop: Full-featured dashboard with hover interactions
  • 📱 Mobile: Touch-optimized charts with gesture support
  • 📋 Tablet: Balanced view with both desktop and mobile features

Mobile-Specific Features​

  • Swipe between different time periods
  • Tap chart elements for detailed tooltips
  • Pinch-to-zoom on complex diagrams
  • Portrait/landscape automatic layout adjustment

🎨 Customization Options​

Chart Preferences​

  • Color themes: Choose from multiple color palettes
  • Currency format: USD, EUR, and other currencies
  • Number format: Thousands separators and decimal places

Layout Options​

  • Widget order: Drag and drop to rearrange dashboard sections
  • Show/hide widgets: Toggle visibility of different chart types
  • Compact view: Condensed layout for smaller screens

📈 Advanced Dashboard Features​

Trend Analysis​

  • Month-over-month percentage changes
  • Year-over-year comparisons
  • Moving averages to smooth out fluctuations
  • Seasonal adjustments for holiday spending

Goal Tracking (Coming Soon)​

  • Savings goals: Track progress toward financial targets
  • Budget alerts: Notifications when approaching category limits
  • Achievement badges: Celebrate financial milestones

Export and Sharing​

  • 📊 Export charts as PNG/PDF for presentations
  • 📋 Data export to CSV for further analysis
  • 🔗 Share insights with family members or financial advisors

💡 Dashboard Best Practices​

Daily Use​

  • Quick morning check: Review yesterday's transactions
  • Weekly review: Check category spending against budgets
  • Monthly analysis: Deep dive into trends and patterns

Data Quality​

  • Categorize uncategorized transactions promptly
  • Split transactions when appropriate (e.g., Target purchase with groceries + household items)
  • Update balances regularly for accurate cash flow

Actionable Insights​

  • Identify trends: Look for increasing/decreasing category spending
  • Spot anomalies: Investigate unusual spikes in spending
  • Optimize categories: Merge similar categories for cleaner analysis

🚀 Power User Tips​

Keyboard Shortcuts​

  • R: Refresh all dashboard data
  • T: Toggle between time periods
  • E: Export current view
  • H: Show/hide help tooltips

URL Parameters​

  • ?period=1month: Direct link to specific time period
  • ?category=food: Focus on specific expense category
  • ?view=compact: Load dashboard in compact mode

Browser Features​

  • Bookmark specific dashboard views
  • Print-friendly CSS for clean paper reports
  • Offline mode: Limited functionality when internet is unavailable

❓ Troubleshooting Common Issues​

Charts Not Loading​

  1. Refresh the page (Ctrl+R or Cmd+R)
  2. Check your internet connection
  3. Clear browser cache and cookies
  4. Try a different browser or incognito mode

Missing Data​

  1. Verify transactions are imported and categorized
  2. Check date range settings
  3. Ensure accounts are properly linked
  4. Review category assignments

Performance Issues​

  1. Reduce time period for faster loading
  2. Close other browser tabs to free memory
  3. Use latest version of Chrome, Firefox, or Safari
  4. Consider desktop app for heavy usage

🎯 What's Next?​

Now that you understand the dashboard, explore:

The dashboard gets more powerful as you add more data and create better automation rules!

Happy analyzing! 📊