Skip to main content

Understanding Insights (non-manufacturers/ecommerce selling)

Get the most out of the Insights screen

Dayvid Lorbiecke avatar
Written by Dayvid Lorbiecke
Updated this week

Katana's Insights screen gives you real-time visibility into how your business is performing, without digging through spreadsheets.

See your sales trends, identify your best (and worst) performing products, understand your customers, and track supplier performance.


Track your sales performance

Overall performance

  • How does the current month compare to the previous?

  • What are your profit margins? Are they trending up or down?

  • Which sales channels perform best?

  • What are the total sales and profits for a certain period?

  • How does the current quarter compare to the last?

  • What's your average order value?

Product performance

  • Which products are your best sellers?

  • Which products have the lowest margins and may need repricing?

  • How do profits compare across product categories?

  • Which products are underperforming and dragging down margins?

  • What's your profit margin by product category?

  • Which products generate the most revenue vs. the most profit?

  • Are there any products that are selling well but have poor margins?

Customer insights

  • Who are your top customers by revenue and profit?

  • How much revenue comes from repeat customers vs. new customers?

  • Which customers have the best profit margins?

  • How many customers ordered this month?

  • Which customers haven't ordered in a while?

  • Where are my orders coming from geographically?

  • What's the average profit margin per customer?

  • Who are your most loyal customers?

Order insights

  • How many orders did you ship this month vs. last?

  • Which orders had unusually low margins?

  • How is profitability trending at the order level?

  • Are there any orders that look unusual or inconsistent?

  • What's your order volume by sales channel?


Track your purchasing and suppliers

Spending overview

  • How much are you spending on inventory each month?

  • Are my purchasing costs trending up or down?

  • Which items have the longest lead times?

  • How many purchase orders are open vs. received?

  • What's the total spend for the year so far?

  • How does the current month's purchasing compare to last month's?

  • Which products are being ordered the most?

Supplier performance

  • Which suppliers are you spending the most with?

  • Which suppliers deliver fastest?

  • How do suppliers compare on lead time and order accuracy?

  • Are you too dependent on one supplier?

  • Which suppliers have the most reliable lead times?

  • How many suppliers are you actively ordering from?

  • Which supplier should you prioritize for reorders?

  • Are any suppliers consistently late?

How to access Insights

Click Insights in the top navigation bar, then choose Sales or Purchasing to explore the dashboards.

Want to learn how to filter data, interact with charts, or customize your view? Check out: Using the Insights screen.


Your feedback is invaluable. Let us know your thoughts on this article or anything in Katana you'd like to see improved: [email protected]

Did this answer your question?