> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.alternativepayments.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.alternativepayments.io/analytics/analytics-faqs.md).

# Analytics FAQs

This FAQ covers the most common questions about Analytics. 

### General

<details>

<summary>What is Analytics?</summary>

Analytics is a financial and operational intelligence product for MSPs. It connects your PSA and QuickBooks Online data to power pre-built dashboards for revenue, cash flow, AR, client profitability, and technician utilization.

It lives inside the Alternative Payments portal. There is no separate login, no extra vendor, and no manual export workflow.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Who is it for?</summary>

Analytics is built for MSP owners, operators, and finance leaders. It is most useful when you need client profitability, technician efficiency, and AR visibility in one place.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What makes it different from BrightGauge, MSP CFO, or Cognition 360?</summary>

* **BrightGauge** requires custom report building and lacks embedded payment context.
* **MSP CFO** is PSA-only. Analytics combines PSA and QBO automatically.
* **Cognition 360** is powerful, but requires Power BI and more setup.

Analytics also includes actual payment data from Alternative Payments. That makes the Payments dashboard uniquely useful for collections and DSO analysis.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Do I need separate software?</summary>

No. Analytics is included in the portal you already use.

</details>

### Integrations and requirements

<details>

<summary>What integrations are required?</summary>

Analytics requires:

* A supported PSA — ConnectWise Manage, HaloPSA, or Autotask
* QuickBooks Online

The PSA supplies operational data such as agreements, time entries, tickets, clients, and billing context. QBO supplies financial data such as invoices, payments, AR, and financial reporting.

Both integrations must be active. One integration alone is not enough to populate the dashboards correctly.

</details>

<details>

<summary>I use a different accounting system. Can I still use Analytics?</summary>

Today, Analytics supports ConnectWise Manage, HaloPSA, and Autotask when paired with QuickBooks Online.

Planned accounting support for V2 includes:

* QuickBooks Desktop
* Xero

If you use an unsupported accounting platform, tell your account manager. Demand drives prioritization.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will Analytics change my existing ConnectWise integration?</summary>

No. Analytics only needs additional read-only permissions. It does not change your AR, invoicing, or sync workflows.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What ConnectWise permissions are required?</summary>

Update the security role used by the Alternative Payments integration. Add **Inquire** access where needed.

1. Go to **System → Security Roles**.
2. Open the security role tied to the Alternative integration.
3. In **Service Desk**, set:
   * **Service Tickets**: `Inquire`
4. In **System**, set:
   * **Member Maintenance**: `None, None, None, All`
   * **Member Maintenance - Finance**: `None, None, None, All`
5. In **Time & Expense**, set:
   * **Expense Report Entry**: `None, None, None, All`

The Alternative Payments team can walk through this during onboarding.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What HaloPSA permissions are required?</summary>

Update the Application used by the Alternative Payments integration.

1. Go to **Configuration → Integrations → HaloPSA API**.
2. Open the Application tied to the Alternative integration.
3. Open **Permissions**.
4. Click **Edit**.
5. Enable:
   * `Read:timesheets`
   * `Read:tickets`
6. Save the changes.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What Autotask permissions are required?</summary>

No additional Autotask permissions are required.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How long does setup take?</summary>

After PSA permissions are confirmed and the initial data upload runs, dashboards usually begin populating within 24 hours.

Payment data becomes more useful over time as your payment history grows.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How often does data refresh?</summary>

Data refreshes automatically. QBO and ConnectWise currently sync hourly.

If something looks stale, wait 24 hours before reporting it as a data issue.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will a multi-company ConnectWise setup cause issues?</summary>

It can. Multi-company setups that rely on **Locations** or similar separation can add sync complexity.

If you operate several companies in one ConnectWise instance, contact your account manager before onboarding. That helps plan the data pull correctly.

</details>

### Dashboards and metrics

<details>

<summary>What does the Overview dashboard show?</summary>

Overview is the Analytics home page. It combines:

* Profitability from QBO
* AR and collections from Alternative Payments
* MRR and operational efficiency from your PSA

</details>

<details>

<summary>What does Client Trends show?</summary>

Client Trends shows per-client profitability. It combines recurring revenue from your PSA with labor and service cost data.

Use it to:

* Find your most and least profitable clients
* Track MRR changes over time
* Spot accounts that need pricing or delivery review

Key metrics include **Avg MRR**, **MRR Change**, **Profit Margin**, and **Labor Cost Impact**.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How is MRR calculated?</summary>

MRR is calculated from recurring service agreement invoices in your PSA. It is meant to represent predictable contracted revenue.

It should not include:

* One-time projects
* Equipment sales
* T\&M invoices
* Down payment invoices

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why does MRR look too high or too low?</summary>

Common reasons:

* Non-recurring revenue was included by mistake
* Annual contract revenue was spread across the contract period
* The current month is partial, so comparisons look artificially lower

If MRR looks inflated, share one example with your account manager.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why is my client count lower than expected?</summary>

Client Trends only includes clients with active recurring agreements. A client may be missing because:

* They only have project or T\&M work
* Their name does not match between PSA and QBO
* A parent-child agreement structure is not fully captured yet

If one client looks wrong, send the client name from both systems.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What is Labor Cost Impact?</summary>

Labor Cost Impact is a relative signal of how labor affects client profitability.

* **Low** means labor is proportionate to revenue
* **Moderate** means it is worth monitoring
* **High** means labor is heavy relative to MRR

High Labor Cost Impact usually points to underpricing or inefficient delivery. This metric depends on accurate technician cost rates in the PSA.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What do the MRR Change tags mean?</summary>

* **Net-New** — the client contributed MRR for the first time
* **Expansion** — the client increased MRR
* **Contraction** — the client reduced MRR
* **Churn** — the client dropped to zero MRR

</details>

<details>

<summary>What does the Utilization dashboard measure?</summary>

Utilization shows how technical team time is used. It includes:

* Team utilization rate
* Individual technician utilization
* Overloaded agents
* Underused agents
* Labor Cost Impact

</details>

<details>

<summary>My utilization is very low. Is that a bug?</summary>

Not always. Very low utilization is usually caused by:

* Non-service staff included in the agent list
* Missing time entries
* Missing or incorrect burden rates in ConnectWise

Start by filtering to service-only roles. If the result still looks wrong, report it with one example.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why do non-service staff appear in Utilization?</summary>

Utilization pulls all active ConnectWise members. If titles or member types are not set correctly, non-technical staff can appear.

Use the **Agent Title** filter or a preset to exclude them. You can also correct the member settings in ConnectWise.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What is a healthy MSP utilization rate?</summary>

As a rule of thumb:

* Below **50%** usually needs investigation
* **65% to 80%** is a healthy range
* Above **80%** may signal overload and burnout risk

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I drill into technician work?</summary>

Yes. You can drill down from team view to agent, then client, then individual tickets.

When a ConnectWise ticket ID is available, it links directly to the ticket.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What are presets?</summary>

Presets are saved filter sets. They let you switch quickly between common views.

Examples:

* `Service Team Only`
* `Q2 Client-Facing`
* `Top 20 Accounts`

</details>

<details>

<summary>What does the Payments dashboard show?</summary>

Payments combines:

* Overdue invoice and AR data
* Payment activity from Alternative Payments

Key metrics include:

* Invoice Volume
* Overdue Invoice Volume
* Overdue Invoice Count
* AR Aging Buckets
* DSO
* Activation Rate

</details>

<details>

<summary>What is DSO?</summary>

DSO measures how long clients take to pay after invoices are issued. It only counts invoices that have already been paid.

Lower is better:

* Under **30 days** is healthy
* Over **45 days** is worth investigating
* Best in class is around **5 days**

</details>

<details>

<summary>What is Activation Rate?</summary>

Activation Rate is the percentage of paid invoices processed through Alternative Payments.

As a guideline:

* **70%+** is strong
* **90%+** is best in class

Higher Activation Rate usually correlates with lower DSO.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I see which clients are furthest past due?</summary>

Yes. Use the AR Aging Buckets to drill into specific overdue periods.

From there, you can review invoice and client detail, then jump into Client Trends to understand profitability before acting on collections.

</details>

### Using the dashboard

<details>

<summary>How do I filter to one client?</summary>

In **Utilization**, use the client filter at the top of the page.

In **Client Trends**, use the search field below the MRR chart. This is especially useful for QBR prep, client reviews, and pricing discussions.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I change the date range?</summary>

Yes. Every dashboard supports date filtering.

You can use:

* Current month
* Previous quarter
* Year to date
* A custom range

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I export reports?</summary>

Yes. You can export dashboard views as PDF or CSV, depending on the page.

Exports keep the active filters and date range.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Can I give my CFO access without exposing everything?</summary>

Not yet. Analytics currently follows existing Alternative Payments permissions. Today, only **Admins** and **Sub-admins** can access Analytics.

Granular analytics-only access is planned for Q3 2026.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why does MFA keep asking me to verify again?</summary>

Sessions currently time out after about two hours of inactivity. This protects sensitive financial and operational data.

</details>

### Onboarding

<details>

<summary>What does onboarding look like?</summary>

Onboarding has three phases:

1. **PSA permissions** — for ConnectWise and HaloPSA only
2. **Initial data upload** — usually completed within 24 hours
3. **Training call** — a 30-minute walkthrough with your Alternative contact

In most cases, Analytics goes live in under 48 hours after permissions are confirmed.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why does data look incomplete right after onboarding?</summary>

This is normal during the first sync window. Current-month data and some history may look incomplete at first.

Wait 24 hours after the initial upload before reporting an issue.

</details>

<details>

<summary>We migrated from QuickBooks Desktop to QBO. Will history carry over?</summary>

Not always. Pre-migration QuickBooks Desktop history may not transfer automatically into QBO-backed Analytics.

If you migrated in late 2025 or early 2026, ask your account manager to review the available history.

</details>

### Troubleshooting

<details>

<summary>My dashboards are empty. What should I check?</summary>

Work through these steps:

1. Confirm your PSA and QBO integrations are both active.
2. Verify the required PSA permissions are set.
3. Wait up to 24 hours after initial setup.
4. If the dashboards are still empty, contact your account manager or email <customersuccess@alternativepayments.io>.

Include your account name and the date permissions were enabled.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Why do I see duplicate clients or <code>No trend data</code>?</summary>

This usually means the company name in the PSA does not match the display name in QBO.

If names differ, mapping can break. Update one system so both names match.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How should I report a data issue?</summary>

The best reports include:

* A screenshot
* The dashboard name
* The exact metric
* The date range
* What you expected to see
* One client or invoice example, if relevant

Send it to your account manager or email <customersuccess@alternativepayments.io>.

</details>

### Data sources and calculations

<details>

<summary>Where does Analytics data come from?</summary>

Analytics uses three source groups:

* **PSA** — MRR, service margin, labor cost, utilization, tickets, and client-level reporting
* **QBO** — Gross Revenue and Net Profit
* **Alternative Payments** — payment timing, collections, AR, and Activation Rate

</details>

<details>

<summary>Which charts come from QBO versus the PSA?</summary>

**Overview**

* **Gross Revenue** — QBO Profit & Loss, `Total Income`
* **Net Profit** — QBO Profit & Loss, `Net Income`
* **Current MRR**, **MRR Change**, **MRR Trend** — PSA recurring invoice lines
* **Utilization %** — PSA time entries and configured capacity
* **Ticket Load** — PSA ticket count divided by active agent count
* **Labor Efficiency Ratio** — PSA MRR divided by PSA labor cost

**Client Trends**

* **MRR**, **Service COGS**, **Most/Least Profitable Clients** — PSA invoice lines and agreements
* **Labor COGS** — PSA time entries multiplied by hourly cost
* **Profit** — `MRR - Service COGS - Labor COGS`
* **Margin** — `Profit / MRR`

**Utilization**

* All utilization metrics come from PSA time entries and agent cost data.
* **Hours Available** uses Analytics capacity settings. It is not pulled directly from the PSA.
* **Labor Cost Impact** compares PSA time cost to PSA invoice MRR.

**Tickets**

All ticket data comes from PSA ticket records joined to time entries.

**Payments**

Payment timing and collection behavior come from Alternative Payments billing and reporting services.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How is MRR calculated for reporting?</summary>

MRR is built from PSA invoice line items marked as MRR-eligible. These are recurring lines tied to managed-services agreements or contracts.

Projects, equipment, and T\&M work are excluded.

</details>

<details>

<summary>How is Utilization calculated?</summary>

Use this formula:

```
Utilization % = Hours Worked / Hours Available
```

Hours Worked comes from PSA time entries. Hours Available comes from each agent's configured daily capacity multiplied by working days in the selected period.

The top-level Utilization KPI reflects the whole company, not a filtered subset.

</details>

<details>

<summary>A number looks wrong. How do I debug it?</summary>

First, identify the source system for that chart. Then compare the same period in that source.

* **Gross Revenue** or **Net Profit** — compare against the QBO Profit & Loss report
* **MRR** or **client profitability** — check recurring PSA invoice lines
* **Utilization** or **hours** — review PSA time entries and agent capacity settings

If source data matches, the chart is likely correct. If not, the issue is usually in sync timing, source configuration, or mapping.

</details>

### Roadmap

<details>

<summary>What is not in V1?</summary>

Current V1 limitations:

* No custom dashboards
* No peer benchmarking
* QBO is required as the accounting system

Supported combinations today are:

* ConnectWise + QBO
* HaloPSA + QBO
* Autotask + QBO

</details>

<details>

<summary>Is benchmarking coming?</summary>

Yes. Benchmarking is the main V2 feature and is targeted for July or August 2026.

It will compare your KPIs against anonymized peers and is expected to launch with about 100 pre-defined KPIs.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will there be an AI assistant?</summary>

Yes. Natural-language analysis is on the roadmap.

An internal test version already exists, but there is no committed launch date yet.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Which PSAs are supported?</summary>

Analytics currently supports:

* ConnectWise Manage
* HaloPSA
* Autotask

All three require QuickBooks Online.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Will there be role-based Analytics access?</summary>

Yes. Granular analytics-only permissions are targeted for Q3 2026.

This should also include the ability to share and lock presets for specific users.

</details>

### Pricing

<details>

<summary>How is Analytics priced?</summary>

Pricing is based on the number of PSA users in your PSA instance:

* Up to 10 PSA users — **$299/month**
* Up to 20 PSA users — **$399/month**
* Unlimited PSA users — **$699/month**

There is no per-seat viewer pricing.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Is there a beta discount?</summary>

Yes. Beta participants receive **$100/month** off the standard price.

Beta pricing is:

* Up to 10 PSA users — **$199/month**
* Up to 20 PSA users — **$299/month**
* Unlimited PSA users — **$599/month**

</details>

### Beta notes

<details>

<summary>Why is some data still inaccurate during beta?</summary>

Analytics is being rebuilt for the Alternative Payments environment using the Delmar Insights foundation.

Some data gaps are expected during beta while edge cases are resolved across different PSA and QBO configurations.

</details>

<details>

<summary>What should I do when I find a beta issue?</summary>

Please send:

* A screenshot
* The dashboard and metric
* What you expected
* One specific client, invoice, or amount

Specific examples are much easier to debug than general reports.

</details>

Questions not covered here? Contact your Success Manager or email <support@alternativepayments.io>.

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