[How-to] Visualize Data in EZOfficeInventory

Interpretation of a large volume of data from reports and documents can get complicated. To streamline this process, EZOfficeInventory has introduced Graphs for Custom Reports to provide insightful visualizations for different forms of data.

Reports with graphical representation are a great way to display data for in house and board meetings as well. Let’s learn how you can create graphs for custom reports in EZOfficeInventory:

Step 1: Create a custom report

To start off, go to the Navigation menu, More → Reports → Create Custom Report. Fill in the Steps 1- 6. To learn how to create a custom report, click here.

The final report for Items, Locations and Groups would look like this:

It is mandatory to run the report before creating the graphs. The Create Graph button is only activated when the report is run.

Step 2: Create a graph

After you run the report, you will be able to create a graph. A graph with the Primary Metric: Asset-Name and Measure: Records Count looks like this

Each portion of the pie chart represents the asset count in your EZOfficeInventory account. You can choose from 6 different types of graphs available. For each graph, you will be required to choose labels for the horizontal and vertical axis. The axis dropdown options will depend on the modules you have selected in your report:

Pie/Donut/Bar/Line graph

The x-axis depends on the grouping applied in Step 4 of your report whereas the Y axis depends on the functions applied on Step 5. Here in Step 4 we have chosen Group Rows by Asset Name and Count function in Step 5.

Based on these modules, your graph will display the following dropdown options for vertical and horizontal axis:

For the horizontal bar graph you have the option to select vertical and horizontal axis from the dropdown. Whereas for the pie chart and the donut graph have to enter the Primary Metric and Measure to create a graph. In order to run the desired graph, be sure to choose the correct modules in your report.

Scatter plot

For the scatter plot, the axis dropdown options will depend on the selected numeric columns in Step 2 of the report. In this case both the x and y axis on the graph will have the same options. We have the following options numerical options chosen in Step 2 for the scatter plot:

Based on these values, you will see that the horizontal and vertical axis both have the same dropdown options to choose from:

Note: Graph limit is 200 points.

Step 3: Save your graph

After you have finalized your graph, you can also save it. Select the suitable graph type and click Preview. Once the graph is displayed, you will have an option to Save Graph and Export.

Use cases for different types of graph

EZOfficeInventory offers users to run 6 different types of graphs

Vertical bar graphs
Horizontal bar graphs
Pie chart graph
Donut graph
Line graph
Scatter plot

Here are are few examples of how different types of graphs can be used within custom reports:

Comparison across different groups and locations

To display data in smaller groups or across locations, horizontal and vertical bar graphs can be used. You can compare any two groups of values across the axis like the number of items available in a certain group or location.

Proportion of items across categories

When you have a large number of items within a few categories, you can use pie charts or donut graphs to display data in a visual manner. For example, you want to check the number of items in different states, you can create a donut chart with Item State as the primary metric

Trends across items/locations

For item comparisons over time, the best option is to run a line graph. You can use this visual representation to see how items have evolved over time. A line graph can be drawn to represent the total amount payable for purchase orders at different locations.

Distribution of data

With a large volume of data in your account, you can also run a report to check how individual items are distributed. An inventory report can be depicted through a scatter plot showing reorder quantities for different items.