Use alerts

Keep track of performance targets.

Alerts are a special type of favorite. They're a handy tool for monitoring performance against set targets. When created with offset dates, alerts are dynamic, updating every time the underlying data updates. Typically, someone in your organization will share alerts with you, but you can also create your own.

View alerts

User permission: Favorites

Watch these videos:

• Phocas Demo: Self-serve reports and alerts and Track profitability of sales

• Phocas Academy: Create a 'low margin' alert

Alerts display on your homepage on the All and Alerts tabs. The alert's color-coding lets you quickly see when a number, such as a sales quantity or revenue amount, reaches or falls into a specific point in a defined range. Click an alert to open it.

If you're subscribed to an alert, you'll receive an email when the performance meets a particular status. The email will contain data in the selected format, such as PDF or XLSX.

Create an alert

User permissions: Favorites; Save Favorite

Watch this Phocas Academy video: Create a low margin alert

There are different contexts from which to create an alert. The steps are similar, but the starting points are different.

Create an alert from an analysis point

For example, suppose during your analysis, you identify the products you’ve sold in some quantity in the last year but nothing in the last two months. You want to keep a close eye on this scenario and act upon changes immediately, so you prefer to create an alert rather than a favorite.

1. Click the blue arrow next to the database name and select Create alert.

2. Enter a name for the alert (Declining Products).

3. Enter the From and To value range into the color boxes to set the conditional formatting. For example, up to 20 lost customers is acceptable (green), up to 50 lost customers is a problem (yellow), and anything more than 50 is bad (red).

   
4. Either click Create or click Create & Subscribe to subscribe to the alert and receive an email each time it reaches a particular status.

5. Go to your homepage to view the new alert.

Create an alert from a favorite

Suppose you are particularly interested in one of your favorites and want to be alerted whenever its data changes.

Open the favorite, click the blue arrow next to the database name, and select Create alert. Then, set up the alert as required (see steps above).

Create an alert from a Summary chart

A Summary chart typically has the red, yellow, and green color coding already configured, so it's a great way to quickly create an alert. If you’ve already created one, you can start from there. Alternatively, you can create a Summary chart and then create the alert. Some of the settings are prepopulated for you.

Example: Create a Summary chart alert

Suppose you carried out an advanced search and identified the lost customers, who have purchased something in the last year but nothing in the last three months.

Firstly, create the Summary chart:

1. Click the Chart button in the top right toolbar above the grid.

2. Click the KPI chart category button on the left of the chart and select the Summary option.

3. Select Summary > Count.

4. Select Summary Type > Traffic Lights. Note that you cannot save an emoji Summary chart as an alert, only as a favorite.

5. Enter the From and To value range into the color boxes to set the conditional formatting. For example, up to 20 lost customers is acceptable (green), up to 50 lost customers is a problem (yellow), and anything more than 50 is bad (red).

   

Next, save the chart as a favorite:

1. Click the blue arrow next to the database name and select Create alert.

2. Enter a name for the alert (Lost Customers) and any other details, such as a prefix or suffix.

3. If required, change the Red, Yellow, and Green ranges. They are prepopulated with the values set in the chart.

4. Click Create.

Subscribe to an alert

User permission: Favorites; Subscribe

Subscribe to alerts to receive email notifications whenever a specific target is reached.

As an alert is a type of favorite, you subscribe to an alert in a similar way to how you subscribe to a favorite. The difference is in the Subscribe window, where you have the option to select the status that triggers the email: Red alert, Yellow alert, or Green alert. These statuses relate to the color coding in the alert's settings and the icon that appears next to the alert on the homepage. If you do not select a status, the alert will be sent to your inbox at your nominated time, regardless of status. See the Subscriptions page for steps.

Delete an alert

User permissions: Favorites; Save Favorite

You can delete the alerts that you created (own).

On your homepage, locate the alert and click the menu button (three dots) at the end of its row, then click Delete > Delete.