Start from the CSV
This guide uses a handful of the sample's columns: order_date, region, product, segment, sales_rep, revenue, margin, deal_stage, status.
Template examples
How to design your SaaS Sales Overview dashboard, widget by widget.
Every widget reads a few of your CSV’s columns and turns them into one number, chart, or table. Here’s how the pieces fit - built using the real SaaS Sales Overview template as the example.
The building blocks
Five widget types cover almost every dashboard. Each one needs a specific shape of column.
KPIOne numeric column, summed, averaged, or counted
revenue → Total RevenueChartA date or category column, plus a measure
order_date + revenue → trendMatrixTwo category columns and one measure
region + segment + revenueRankingA category column and a measure, ranked
sales_rep + revenue → top repsDetail tableWhichever columns people need to inspect
all 18 columns, sortable and filterableTwo ways to build every widget
Point and click
Add widget → pick a type → fill in Title, Value column, Calculation, and Format → Review → Add widget. Three steps, and every field has a default to start from.
Describe it
Type what you want in plain English. This is the faster path for anything the point-and-click form doesn't have a field for yet - like a second, smaller comparison number on a KPI.
Worked example: SaaS Sales Overview
Build the headline number: Total Revenue
Add widget → KPI. Value column: revenue. Calculation: sum. Format: currency. Caption (optional): "Across 54 deals this year." Add widget - the card now reads "sum of revenue, shown as currency."
Want a comparison stat too? Describe the whole card
The wizard’s KPI form doesn’t have a field for a second, smaller number - and there’s no way to add one to an existing card afterward either. If you want a comparison stat, describe the whole card, headline and secondary together, in the Ask bar instead of building it in the wizard:
Try:"Add a KPI for Total Revenue - sum of revenue, shown as currency - with average deal size as a secondary stat underneath, formatted as currency."
One instruction, one new card: Total Revenue as the big number, "Avg deal size" underneath as a smaller comparison line - exactly the card the SaaS Sales Overview template ships with.
Rank your top performers
Add widget → Ranking. Rank by: sales_rep. Value: revenue. Calculation: sum. Format: currency. Show top: 10. That’s "Top Sales Reps by Revenue" - this dataset only has 8 reps, so all 8 show.
Compare two categories at once
Add widget → Matrix. Rows: region. Columns: segment. Value: revenue. Calculation: sum. Format: currency. That’s "Revenue: Region × Segment" - one grid, every combination.
All Records: click View for the complete record
Every row in the All Records table has a View button that opens the complete record - every column, right away, no setup required.
A richer version - a proper title and subtitle instead of "Record 1", a few summary numbers, and a section listing every other row sharing the same value in one column - happens automatically. While your dashboard is being designed, csv.design looks for a stable identifier column and wires the connection up on its own.
Here it matches on sales_rep.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Only numbers add up.Sum and average work on numeric columns only - a text or date column can be counted or grouped, not summed.
- Format doesn’t follow automatically.Choosing "sum" doesn’t switch the card to currency by itself. Set Format too, or a revenue total shows as a bare number.
- Count adds up rows, not a column."Deals Won" isn’t a count of the status column - it’s a count of matching rows. Add a filter (status is Won) or count just shows how many rows exist, full stop.
See it built