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Rover BI: Getting Started ​

10 min read

Turn your static reports into live, role-based dashboards your team will actually use. This guide shows you how to go from “emailed spreadsheets” to real-time visibility in a few small, high-value steps—without overwhelming your team.

Who this is for: Small manufacturers and distributors using (or evaluating) Rover ERP and Rover BI.

Table of Contents ​

Why Dashboards (Not More Reports) ​

Most small manufacturers run on printed or emailed reports that arrive late and take time to compile. Dashboards flip that model:

  • Real-time visibility (today’s shipments, current backlog, cash view).
  • Unified view across departments (sales ↔ production ↔ inventory ↔ finance).
  • Actionable at a glance (KPIs and trends that drive decisions).

Outcome to aim for: Replace 1–2 high-traffic reports with a live dashboard everyone can check anytime.

Prerequisites ​

  • Access

    • Rover Business Suite account with access to Rover BI.
    • Appropriate data permissions for Sales Orders, Shipments, Inventory, Work Orders, and Financials.

  • Data Connections

    • Rover BI connected to Rover ERP (via REST/standard Rover connectors).
    • (Optional) Spreadsheets/CSV/other systems you want to blend in or do not run on Rover ERP.

  • People

    • A small “dashboard taskforce” (1 person each from Exec, Sales/CS, Production, Finance).

Quick Start (TL;DR) ​

  1. Pick one report people constantly ask for (e.g., Yesterday’s Shipments).
  2. Create one widget in Rover BI that shows the same number/chart live.
  3. Verify it matches the last manual report.
  4. Share the dashboard and use it in the next stand-up meeting.
  5. Iterate based on feedback; add a second widget only after the first sticks.

Definition of Done (Phase 1):

  • One live dashboard replaces a recurring emailed/printed report.
  • The team looks at it daily without reminders.

Step 1: Start with What You Know ​

Goal: Convert a familiar report into a live dashboard widget.

Pick a Starter Report ​

  • Yesterday’s shipments
  • Today’s order bookings
  • WIP summary
  • Top customers YTD

Map the report to a widget ​

  • Identify 1–2 key metrics (e.g., Units Shipped Yesterday, On-Time Delivery %).
  • Connect a dataset (Rover ERP source or CSV import).
  • Visualize with a KPI tile or a simple bar/line chart.
  • Match & validate against the last manual report.
  • Share with the relevant team (viewer access is fine).

Pro tip: Put this single widget on a clean dashboard and name it clearly (e.g., Shipments — Daily Pulse).

Step 2: The 5 Starter Dashboards (Build these first) ​

Focus on 3–5 dashboards tied to real roles. Start simple; expand over time.

Executive Overview ​

Audience: Owners/GM/CEO
Purpose: “How are we doing today?”
Starter widgets:

  • Bookings vs. Shipments (trend)
  • Open Sales Order Backlog (value/count)
  • Cash summary (MTD in/out)
  • Top 5 Customers (YTD sales)

Sales & Orders ​

Audience: Sales Mgmt, CSR, Exec
Purpose: Pipeline & fulfillment health
Starter widgets:

  • Weekly Bookings vs. Shipments
  • Open Orders (by age or value)
  • On-Time Delivery to Customers (%)
  • Top Pending Orders (table)

Production & Operations ​

Audience: Production/Operations Leads
Purpose: Output, flow, and stability
Starter widgets:

  • Daily Production vs. Target
  • WIP (jobs due this week / on track)
  • First-Pass Yield / Scrap Rate
  • On-Time Production (%)

Inventory & Purchasing ​

Audience: Inventory, Purchasing, Planning
Purpose: Material availability & turns
Starter widgets:

  • Top Items by Value (Qty on Hand vs. Reorder Level)
  • Shortages due in next N days
  • Inventory Turns
  • Open POs with Expected Dates

Financial & Accounting ​

Audience: Controller, Finance, Owner
Purpose: Cash, collections, margin
Starter widgets:

  • Cash on Hand + MTD In/Out
  • AR Aging / AP Aging
  • Revenue & Gross Margin (MTD vs. Budget or LY)
  • Margin by Customer (Top 5)

Build order suggestion: Production + Executive first, then Sales, Inventory, and Finance.

Step 3: Set Up Rover BI (Walkthrough) ​

  1. Log in

    • Open Rover Hub → launch Rover BI.

  2. Connect data sources

    • Use the standard Rover ERP connection (Orders, Shipments, Inventory, Work Orders, GL/AR/AP).
    • (Optional) Add spreadsheets/CSVs for supplemental data.

  3. Create your first dashboard

    • Add Dashboard → name it (e.g., Production — Daily).
    • Add Widget → choose dataset → drag fields to axes → pick a simple chart/KPI.
    • Add filters (e.g., This Month, This Week).

  4. Save & share

    • Save naming consistently: Area — Purpose — Frequency (e.g., Sales — Bookings vs Shipments — Weekly).
    • Share with relevant roles (Viewer/Editor permissions).

  5. Interact & iterate

    • Click to drill into detail (if enabled).
    • Add a second widget only after the first is validated.

TODO: Screenshots to capture (for docs/readme)

  • BI Home → Add Dashboard
  • Data Source setup screen
  • First widget config (fields + chart type)
  • Sharing/permissions panel

Step 4: Drive Adoption (Make it stick) ​

Start Small ​

  • 1–2 metrics per dashboard to begin. Avoid clutter.

Make it "Part of the meeting" ​

  • Use the live dashboard in daily production stand-ups and weekly sales reviews.
  • Stop sending the old report; send a link/screenshot of the dashboard instead.

Build Champions ​

  • 3–4 “power users” across departments; train them lightly to create/modify widgets.

Teach the Metrics ​

  • Include short tooltips/notes for OTD, Turns, Margin, etc.
  • Publish a simple Glossary (see Appendix).

Celebrate Quick Wins ​

  • Call out saved time, avoided stockouts, or faster collections driven by the dashboard.

Protect Trust ​

  • Reconcile early. If numbers differ, fix fast and explain definitions (e.g., Booked vs. Shipped).

Step 5: Expand from “Starter” to “Mature” ​

Iterate existing dashboards ​

  • Add YoY lines, 12-month trends, or drill-downs after 2–4 weeks of usage.

Introduce advanced metrics ​

  • OEE (Availability × Performance × Quality)
  • Predictive views (simple trend projections for sales or stockouts)

Integrate more data ​

  • CRM/e-commerce, vendor OTIF, MES/IoT machine data—only when there’s a clear use-case.

Department-specific deep dives ​

  • Quality, Maintenance, Financial Statements, Purchasing.

UX polish & Alerts ​

  • Consistent colors (e.g., Sales=green, Shipments=blue, Backlog=red).
  • Threshold alerts (e.g., low stock, AR over N days).

Tell stories with data ​

  • Tie dashboards to goals (e.g., “OTD 98%”, “Turns from 4 → 6”).
  • Review progress in monthly ops meetings.

Templates You Can Clone ​

Use these as starting points inside your repo or BI template library:

  • Executive — Daily Health

    • Bookings vs. Shipments (line)
    • Backlog (KPI)
    • Cash Summary (KPI)
    • Top 5 Customers (table)

  • Sales — Orders & Fulfillment

    • Weekly Bookings vs. Shipments (combo)
    • Open Orders by Age (bar)
    • OTD % (gauge)
    • Top Pending Orders (table)

  • Production — Output & Quality

    • Daily Output vs. Target (bar + target line)
    • WIP Due This Week (KPI/table)
    • First-Pass Yield % (KPI)
    • Scrap Rate (trend)

  • Inventory — Risk & Turns

    • Qty on Hand vs. Reorder Level (bar)
    • Shortages Next 7–14 Days (table)
    • Inventory Turns (trend)
    • Open POs & Due Dates (table)

  • Finance — Cash & Margin

    • Cash on Hand + MTD In/Out (combo)
    • AR/AP Aging (bars)
    • MTD Revenue vs. Budget (bar)
    • Margin by Customer (table)

KPI Reference (define these once and reuse) ​

KPIWhat it meansBasic formula / definitionWhere to show
On-Time Delivery (OTD)% of customer orders delivered on/before promiseOn-time Shipments ÷ Total ShipmentsSales, Executive
Inventory TurnsHow fast you cycle stockCOGS ÷ Avg Inventory (period)Inventory, Executive
Work-in-Progress (WIP)Jobs/items currently in productionCount/value of open WOsProduction
ThroughputUnits produced per timeSum units per day/weekProduction
First-Pass Yield (FPY)% good units without reworkGood Units ÷ Total UnitsProduction/Quality
Scrap Rate% defective/scrappedScrap Units ÷ Total UnitsProduction/Finance
Labor Utilization% of available hours productiveProd Hours ÷ Available HoursProduction
OEEOverall machine effectivenessAvailability × Performance × QualityProduction
Avg Order Lead TimeOrder to shipAvg days from order date to ship dateSales/Exec
Gross Margin %Profit before overhead(Revenue − COGS) ÷ RevenueFinance
AR AgingReceivables by age bucketStandard AR aging bucketsFinance
Cash on HandLiquid cash positionBalance of cash accountsFinance

Consistency matters: Decide definitions (e.g., OTD by order count vs. revenue) and stick with them.

Glossary ​

  • Dashboard — A single screen with multiple widgets/charts that summarize performance.
  • Widget — A tile on a dashboard (chart, KPI, table, gauge).
  • KPI — A metric tied to a business goal; monitored over time.
  • Data Source — Where the data lives (Rover ERP, CSV, external system).
  • Dataset — A query/view used by widgets (e.g., “Daily Shipments” with Date, Qty).
  • Drill-Down — Clicking a summary to see its detailed components.
  • Filter — A control that narrows the view (date range, product line, customer).
  • Real-Time — Updates reflect current transactions (subject to source update cadence).
  • MultiValue (PICK) — The database model used by Rover ERP; accessed via standard Rover connections.
  • API — The interface Rover BI uses to fetch ERP data programmatically.
  • ETL — Extract/Transform/Load; data prep (often minimized with Rover’s direct connections).
  • SaaS — Cloud-delivered software; access Rover BI via browser.

Rollout Checklist ​

  • [ ] Pick 1 high-value report and create 1 live widget.
  • [ ] Validate numbers match the latest manual report.
  • [ ] Share the dashboard; use it in the next team meeting.
  • [ ] Stop distributing the old report; link to the dashboard instead.
  • [ ] Capture feedback; add exactly one improvement.
  • [ ] Repeat for the second dashboard (different department).
  • [ ] Publish KPI definitions & glossary in your wiki.
  • [ ] Nominate 3–4 power users and train them.

Troubleshooting ​

  • “The numbers don’t match.”
    Check dataset filters, date boundaries, and definition differences (e.g., booked vs. shipped). Align on a written definition.

  • “It’s too busy.”
    Remove or hide non-actionable widgets. Keep 3–6 widgets max per dashboard page.

  • “People still ask for the old report.”
    Make the dashboard part of recurring meetings. Stop sending the old report; send a link/screenshot instead. Alternatively, consider setting up a job to send them the new report via email automatically.

  • “We need detail.”
    Enable drill-downs or link to a detail report page from the KPI.