Connect data sources to visualization

Getting your metrics to show up in dashboards requires connecting where data lives to where you want to see it. Think of it like plumbing. You need pipes that reliably carry information from your business tools to your dashboards. Most teams struggle when this connection breaks or delivers incorrect information.

Start by identifying where your important data comes from. Common sources include your customer database, website analytics, sales software, or even simple spreadsheets. Each source needs a reliable way to send information to your visualization tool, whether through built-in integrations or third-party connectors like Zapier.

When setting up these connections, focus on getting accurate and relevant data consistently rather than having instant updates for every metric. For most metrics, daily updates are perfectly fine and much more reliable than systems that try to update every minute. Make sure to document how data flows from each source to your dashboards so anyone can understand where the numbers come from.