The Golden Rule
Always click the widgets action button before questioning it.
The click-through or download shows you exactly what the widget is counting.
Every widget has an action button in the top-right.
There are two behaviours:
Operational widgets → open a filtered list inside WorkPal
Summary widgets → download a report
This is how you validate the number.
Step-by-Step: “This Looks Wrong” Checklist
Follow this in order to figure out what's going on.
Step 1: Read the Widget Title
Confirm what the widget claims to measure.
Example:
“Jobs with an SLA/RCD of today” means due date, not scheduled start date.
Step 2: Read the Widget Description
Confirm:
What records are included
What date field is used
What date window applies
Descriptions are there to prevent misunderstanding.
Step 3: Check Refresh Timing
Dashboards do not update instantly.
Refresh timings are:
Jobs widgets → update approximately every 15 minutes
Quotes, Revenue, Invoicing → update approximately every hour
Vehicles and Equipment → update daily
If something was updated five minutes ago, it may not yet be reflected.
Step 4: Validate Using One Sample Record
Pick one item from the filtered list or report.
Check:
Is the job Open or Completed?
Is the relevant date field actually within the widget’s date range?
If scheduled: are you checking scheduled start date, not RCD?
If “Jobs needing invoiced”: does an invoice actually exist?
Nine times out of ten, this identifies the cause.
Common Root Causes
The job is overdue but not showing
Check:
Is it actually marked Open?
Does it have an RCD set?
The job is showing as due but we finished it
Check:
Is the job status set to Completed?
Revenue is low but we invoiced loads
Revenue widgets measure Completed jobs, not invoices.
Something was updated but dashboard hasn’t changed
Check refresh timing.
Important Reminder
Dashboards do not invent data.
They reflect stored data exactly.
If a number looks wrong, the underlying record is almost always the reason.