Plan requirement
| Subscription | Suite Professional or higher, Explore Professional or higher |
| Access | Agent |
Four chart types cover almost everything. Choosing well is the difference between a point made and a point explained.
The four worth reaching for
- Line: change over time. Volume by week, times by month.
- Column or bar: comparison between categories. Tickets per agent, per channel.
- Table: exact values people will read individually.
- KPI: one figure that matters, large. It can carry a second metric as a reference number beside it.
Explore offers more than twenty chart types. These four answer almost every question a support dashboard asks, and the rest are worth reaching for only when you know why.
The KPI is underused
A dashboard opening with "1,240 tickets this month, up 8%" communicates more in one glance than a chart of the same data. That is one KPI with a reference metric beside it. Lead with it, then show the detail.
Avoid pie charts
People compare angles badly, and a pie with more than four slices is unreadable. A bar chart shows the same thing and can be read exactly.
Tables are fine
Where somebody wants the number for their own team, a table beats a chart. Not everything needs to be a picture, and a well-ordered table is often the most respectful option.
Start the axis at zero
For anything showing quantity. An axis starting at 900 turns a 2% change into a dramatic cliff, and somebody will make a decision on that shape.
Sort by size, not alphabetically
A bar chart ordered by value shows the answer immediately. Ordered by name it shows a list you have to read.
One idea per chart
Two metrics with different scales on one chart makes both harder to read. Two charts side by side is nearly always clearer.
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