Custom Dashboard Widget Types in BoldDesk
Custom dashboards in BoldDesk allow teams to visualize helpdesk performance, service trends, ticket behavior, and customer experience insights using flexible and powerful widgets. Each widget type serves a different analytical purpose, helping you choose the format that best represents your data.
This article explains the available custom dashboard widget types in BoldDesk, what each widget is best used for, the supported aggregations and capabilities, and how to choose the right widget for your reporting needs.
1. Numeric Widget
A Numeric Widget displays a single aggregated value. It is designed for highlighting key figures such as totals, counts, and other high-level metrics. This widget type is best for
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Quick KPI snapshots
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High-level reporting
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Dashboards that require at-a-glance metrics
The following are the Supported Aggregations in numeric widgets.
- Count
- Sum
- Minimum
- Maximum
These are the Common Use Cases for numeric widget.
- Total tickets created today
- Number of unresolved tickets
- Average resolution time
- Total refunds or expenses processed
Using numeric widget has the following advantages.
- Clean and highly readable
- Useful for top-of-dashboard summaries
- Suitable for executive and performance dashboards
2. Chart Widget
A Chart Widget represents data visually so you can identify trends, compare categories, or understand distributions more easily. It supports several chart types that help you interpret data from different perspectives.
Chart widget includes a list of Chart Types. The following table describes the available chart types in BoldDesk Custom Dashboards:
| Chart Type | Description | Best used for |
|---|---|---|
| Pie | Displays data as portions of a whole using circular slices. Each slice represents the percentage contribution of a category. | Showing proportional breakdowns such as ticket categories or priority distribution |
| Doughnut | Similar to a pie chart but with a hollow center, which improves readability and can provide space for totals or labels. | Visualizing category proportions with better readability |
| Bar | Displays data using horizontal bars where bar length represents the value for each category. | Comparing values across categories, especially when labels are long |
| Column | Displays data using vertical bars to compare values across groups or over time. | Monthly ticket counts, time-based comparisons, and trend analysis |
| Pyramid | Uses tiered horizontal sections that decrease in size to represent staged or hierarchical data. | Visualizing progressive stages such as ticket lifecycle drop-off |
| Funnel | Displays data in a narrowing shape to represent stage-by-stage reduction. | Highlighting bottlenecks, conversions, or process flow stages |
| Stacked Bar | Shows horizontal bars divided into segments for subcategories within a total. | Comparing category totals while showing subcategory contribution |
| Stacked Column | Shows vertical bars stacked by segment to represent composition within each total. | Comparing totals across groups while showing distribution |
| 100% Stacked Bar | Normalizes stacked horizontal bars to 100% to show percentage contribution. | Understanding relative distribution when totals vary |
| 100% Stacked Column | Normalizes stacked vertical bars to 100% to emphasize proportional contribution. | Comparing relative distribution across groups or periods |
| Line | Connects data points with lines to display patterns and changes over time. | SLA trends, daily or weekly ticket volume, and time-based tracking |
Show Comparison Over Time
This feature is available only when either Bar or Column chart type is selected. Enabling Show comparison over time allows you to easily compare current performance with a previous period within the same chart. Explore How to Compare Data Over Time in Chart Widgets Using Group By Fields.
Chart widget type is best for;
- Identifying patterns and trends
- Comparing agents, categories, or priorities
- Visualizing performance changes over time
The following are the Supported Aggregations for Chart widget.
- Count
- Sum
The following are the Common Use Cases for Chart Widget
- Tickets created per day, week, or month
- Distribution of tickets by category
- SLA compliance trends
- CSAT trends across months
Using Chart Widget has the following advantages.
- Highly visual and intuitive
- Suitable for presentations and reports
- Supports easier comparison across categories and time periods
Data Format
For Chart and Pivot Table widget types, the Data Format option controls how data is displayed. It allows you to view data as the actual metric, the percentage contribution, or both together.
The following are the available Data Format Options
| Data Format Option | Description | Visual Illustration |
|---|---|---|
| Value | Displays the actual aggregated value produced by the widget. Use this option when you want to view the exact metric, such as the total number of tickets. | |
| Percentage | Displays each result as a percentage of the total. Use this option when you want to understand how much each category contributes relative to the whole. | |
| Percentage with Value | Displays the actual value in the chart, while the percentage contribution becomes visible when you hover over a data point, such as a bar, line point, or chart segment. Use this option when you want to view the original value in the chart and check the percentage contribution interactively for each category. |
The Data Format option makes dashboard data easier to interpret based on your reporting needs. You can use it to;
- view exact performance metrics with Value
- compare category distribution with Percentage
- display both quantity and relative share with Percentage with Value
This helps you analyze trends, compare distributions, and present data more effectively.
The Data Format option is supported for all chart types except the following:
- Stacked Bar
- Stacked Column
- 100% Stacked Bar
- 100% Stacked Column
3. Table Widget
A Table Widget displays raw or structured records in a tabular layout. It is useful when you need to inspect detailed records instead of summarized visual data. The table widget is best for;
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Displaying detailed ticket or customer lists
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Auditing, validation, or data extraction
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Showing multiple attributes at the same time
These are the capabilities of table widget.
- Column selection and ordering
- Sorting and filtering
- Pagination for large datasets
- Export options such as CSV or Excel, depending on configuration
These are the Common Use Cases of table widget.
- List of active or overdue tickets
- Tickets filtered by agent, priority, or category
- SLA violation logs
- Customer activity logs
The following are the advantages of using table widget.
- Provides visibility into granular data
- Useful for analysts and operations teams
- Works well as supporting detail for charts and KPI widgets
4. Pivot Table Widget
A Pivot Table Widget supports multidimensional grouping, summarization, and comparison of data. It is useful when you want to analyze the same dataset from multiple angles. Pivot table widget is best for:
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Advanced reporting
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Multi-level comparisons
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Flexible data exploration
The following are the Supported Aggregations in Pivot table widget
- Count
- Sum
Pivot table widget has the following capabilities
- Drag-and-drop fields into Rows, Columns, Values, and Filters
- Summarization using Count and Sum
- Expandable and collapsible hierarchies
- Flexible cross-comparison of grouped data
Common Use Cases for Pivot table widget include;
- Tickets by Agent × Priority
- SLA breaches by Category × Month
- CSAT scores by Customer × Product
- Productivity by Team × Status
To learn about data format in the Pivot Table, explore more on Data Formatting.
These are the advantages of using Pivot Table widget.
- Highly flexible and interactive
- Useful for decision-makers who need deeper analysis
- Converts complex datasets into easier-to-read summaries
5. KPI Widget
A KPI Widget highlights performance indicators together with directional context. Unlike Numeric Widgets, KPI Widgets provide additional visual cues that help show change over time or performance against a target. KPI widget is best for the following;
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Performance tracking
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Goal measurement
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Trend comparison
The KPI Types include the following.
- Card – Displays a single high-impact metric
- Bullet – Compares a primary value against target and performance ranges
- Gauge – Displays a KPI using a dial-style or arc-based indicator
These are the supported aggregations in KPI widget.
- Count
- Sum
- Minimum
- Maximum
The capabilities of KPI widget include;
- Main value display
- Trend indicators such as up/down arrows or percentage changes
- Goal or target comparison
- Color coding for status visibility
The following are the common Use Cases of KPI Widget type.
- SLA achievement percentage
- CSAT improvement rate
- Ticket backlog trend
- First response time changes compared to the previous period
These are the advantages of using KPI widget over other widget types.
- Provides context-rich insight
- Useful for leadership dashboards
- Helps identify improvement areas or risks quickly
Choosing the Right Widget
| Reporting purpose | Recommended widget |
|---|---|
| Show a single summary value | Numeric |
| Visualize trends or comparisons | Chart |
| Display detailed records | Table |
| Analyze multidimensional grouped data | Pivot Table |
| Track performance with goals or trends | KPI |
Data Labels are not Appearing on Charts
By default, data labels are not enabled on report dashboard charts, and there is currently no global option to enable them automatically.
How to View Chart Values
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Hover over the chart to view the tooltip and see the data values.
For Widget Data or Reporting Needs
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Use View Underlying Data to display the widget data.
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Export the widget data if you need to use it outside the dashboard.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Can I combine multiple widget types in the same dashboard?
Yes. BoldDesk allows you to use multiple widget types in the same dashboard, so you can combine summaries, charts, tables, and deeper analytical views. -
Are all widgets real-time?
Custom dashboard widget data refreshes based on the configured update interval. Some dashboards may also support manual refresh. -
Can I apply filters that affect all widgets at once?
Yes. Global filters, if enabled, can apply shared conditions such as date range, category, or agent across multiple widgets. -
Which widget should I use for SLA analysis?
You can choose the widget type based on the type of insight you need:- Numeric – total SLA breaches
- Chart – SLA trends over time
- Pivot Table – SLA breaches by team, category, or priority
- KPI – SLA compliance rate
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Can I display dashboard data as a percentage?
Yes. Supported Chart and Pivot Table widgets let you choose the Data Format as Percentage. -
What is the difference between Value and Percentage in the Data Format option?
- Value shows the actual aggregated result.
- Percentage shows the relative contribution of each result to the total.
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Is the Data Format option available for all chart types?
No. This enhancement is not supported for:- Stacked Bar
- Stacked Column
- 100% Stacked Bar
- 100% Stacked Column
