Custom Dashboard Builder – Scaler

Purpose of this article

This guide shows you how to build custom dashboards in Scaler's Analytics Portal using pre-made charts from Scaler or by creating your own custom visualizations. You'll learn how to configure layouts, add metrics, apply filters, and download dashboard data.

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This feature is available to Scale licence clients only. If you are interested in access, please contact your Account Operations representative to discuss upgrading your package.

When to use this tool

You want to create focused views of specific metrics for your team or executives

You need to combine multiple charts into a single reporting view

You want to visualize data by property type, country, or portfolio groupings

You need to compare assets side-by-side or track trends over time

You're building recurring reports that need consistent chart configurations

Accessing the Dashboard Builder

Navigate to Analytics Portal → Company or Portfolio level → Dashboard (left navigation).

Dashboards created at either level are available company-wide. The data aggregation adjusts automatically based on whether you're viewing at the company or portfolio level.

Creating a new dashboard

Click Manage dashboards (top right)

Click Create new dashboard

Enter a Dashboard name and Description

Click Save

Each dashboard appears as a separate tab at the top of the Dashboard view. You can also start a new dashboard directly from the Create new dashboard button next to the dashboard tabs, or duplicate an existing dashboard from Manage dashboards to reuse its layout as a starting point.

Managing existing dashboards:

Reorder: Drag the six-dot icon on the left

Edit or delete: Click the three-dot menu on the right

Configuring dashboard layout

When editing a dashboard, you'll configure the layout using horizontal sections.

Adding sections:

Click Add section

Choose how many charts to display in that section (1–4 charts)

Repeat to create multiple horizontal rows

Managing sections:

Reorder sections: Drag the six-dot icon on the left

Delete sections: Click the trash icon on the right

Adding pre-made charts

Pre-made charts are existing Scaler charts from the Performance Dashboards.

In the Edit view, browse the Existing Charts panel on the left

Search for specific metrics using the search bar

Drag a chart from the panel into your layout section

To remove a chart: Click the X in the top-right corner of the chart

Each chart shows:

Chart name (top)

Description (below in lighter text) — explains what the chart displays

Adding text widgets

In addition to charts, dashboards support free-text widgets. Use these for:

Narrative answers in LP DDQ or investor dashboards (a written response paired with the chart that supports it)

Section headers that organize the dashboard into logical groups

Methodology notes that explain how a chart was constructed or what data is included

To add one, open the Widgets tab in the Elements panel (next to Charts) and drag in a Text block for free text or a Q&A widget for a question with a written answer. Widgets live alongside charts in the same section. They work well for paired narrative-and-visual layouts that are common in LP-facing dashboards. Text widgets can be styled for cleaner headers and narrative.

Creating custom charts

Custom charts let you choose exactly how to visualize your data, with proper aggregation logic for accurate cross-asset analysis.

Step 1: Choose your data view

Click Custom Charts → Create new custom chart, then select:

Trend over time: Metrics aggregated across all assets, shown annually (line graph format)

Asset comparison: Individual asset values side-by-side (bar graph format)

Property type distribution: Metrics grouped by property type

Country distribution: Metrics grouped by country

Click Continue.

Step 2: Configure chart type and name

Enter a Custom name (optional — defaults to the view type from Step 1)

Choose a Chart type:

Bar: Comparisons and distributions

Line: Time series or trends

Area: Cumulative data or filled trends

Pie: Proportions and percentages

Doughnut: Proportions and percentages

Click Continue.

Step 3: Select metrics and customize

Choose your metric: Select from the dropdown. Available metrics include standard ESG metrics (e.g., Energy use intensity, Energy scope 1 GHG location-based) and Number-type custom fields defined in your company settings.

Normalise or weight the metric: there are two separate settings, in two different places, and they do different things.

The per denominator builds an intensity from a consumption metric (Data Source tab). For consumption metrics (e.g. Energy Consumption), a per field appears directly below the metric. Pick a denominator to divide by, turning the total into an intensity, for example consumption per GIA, per Gross asset value, or per occupied bed. Leave it as None for the raw total. Denominators are grouped into Floor area (GFA, GIA, GUA, plus their common-area and tenant-area variants), Occupancy (Beds - Total, Beds - Occupied), Financial (Gross asset value), and any Number-type custom field defined in your company settings. For reference, Scaler's standard use intensity divides consumption by active floor area; the per field lets you build an intensity on any other basis.

The Weight by option controls how an existing intensity aggregates across assets (Options tab). For metrics that are already intensities (e.g. Energy use intensity), Weight by determines how much each asset contributes to the portfolio-level figure. Default weights by gross floor area. The alternatives, gross floor area's tenant-area and common-area variants, Gross asset value, Beds - Total, Beds - Occupied, and Number-type custom fields, serve specific reporting cases, such as hospitality portfolios weighting use intensity by beds. This list is narrower than the per field: GIA and GUA are available as per denominators but not as Weight by options.

The Beds fields can also stand in for rooms, for example in hospitality reporting. This lets you build intensity views that match how your portfolio actually reports, for example kWh per bed for residential assets or emissions per million GAV for investor reporting, and keeps intensity metrics rolling up correctly across buildings of different sizes.

Add additional metrics (optional): Click Add metric to layer multiple datasets

Overlay a target or benchmark (optional): Add a custom single-year or pathway target to the chart. Targets and benchmarks appear as reference lines, so you can compare actual performance against the goal directly in the dashboard. Custom targets and benchmarks can also be applied portfolio-wide on Trend over time and Asset comparison charts.

Customize colors: Click the color icon to change metric colors. Both the fixed Scaler palette (Certifications / Tenant Engagement / Risk / Other) and full custom hex values are supported.

Toggle legend: Show or hide the legend

Click Save

Why custom charts handle aggregation correctly:

When you aggregate metrics across multiple assets, Scaler applies the appropriate calculation method:

Intensity metrics are normalised by the denominator you choose in Step 3 — the per field for consumption metrics, or Weight by in the Options tab for intensity metrics (any floor area type, Gross asset value, Beds - Total or Occupied, or a Number-type custom field)

Scores use GFA-weighted averages by default

Percentages use simple averages

This ensures your grouped views and trend charts show accurate, meaningful data, not misleading sums.

Example: Creating a property type energy comparison

You want to compare Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions across property types.

Select Property type distribution

Choose Bar chart type

Select Energy scope 1 GHG location-based as your first metric

Add Energy scope 2 GHG location-based as your second metric

Customize colors so Scope 1 and Scope 2 are visually distinct

Save and drag into your dashboard layout

Roadmap and CRREM pathway charts

You can add roadmap energy and emissions charts to a dashboard, including CRREM decarbonisation pathways shown for comparison against your roadmap. Add them the same way as other charts while editing a dashboard.

Applying filters

Click the Filter button (top right) to apply filters to your dashboard.

Available filters match those in Scaler's Performance Dashboards (e.g., country, property type, asset characteristics).

When you apply a filter, all charts on the dashboard adjust to show only the filtered data. Filters are sticky — they remain applied as you move around the dashboard, and can be reset using the Clear option.

Downloading dashboard data

Download entire dashboard:

Click Download (top right) to export the full dashboard as a PDF or PNG image.

Download individual charts:

Hover over a chart and click the cloud-with-arrow icon (top right of the chart) to:

Download as CSV: Export the underlying data points

Download as image: Export the chart visualization

Managing dashboards

Access Manage dashboards (top right) to:

View all company dashboards

Create new dashboards

Reorder dashboards (affects tab order)

Edit or delete existing dashboards

Note: Dashboards are shared company-wide. Any dashboard you create is visible to others in your organization.

Sharing dashboards

Custom dashboards can be shared with specific users you select. Recipients access a read-only view of the dashboard through their Scaler login, behind two-factor authentication. This keeps your data inside the platform.

To share a dashboard, open Manage dashboards and use the share option for the dashboard you want to send. Specify the user or users who should have access.

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Recipients need a Scaler user account to access a shared dashboard. If you want to share with someone outside your organization (e.g. an investor or auditor), contact your Account Operations representative to set them up with the right access level first.

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Restricted to super admins. To safeguard your data, only Admins in your organization can generate dashboard share links.

Troubleshooting & common mistakes

Chart doesn't appear after dragging → Make sure you've dropped it into a configured section (sections must have 1–4 chart slots defined)

Filters not applying → Ensure you've clicked Apply after selecting filter options

Custom chart shows unexpected values → Check that you've selected the correct aggregation view (trend/comparison/distribution) in Step 1

Can't find a pre-made chart → Use the search bar in the Existing Charts panel — chart names may differ slightly from Performance Dashboard labels

Additional resources

Using custom fields in Scaler — Define custom fields at company level for use as chart metrics

Custom Metrics dashboard — Build tailored KPI tables for analysis and reporting

Energy analytic views — Understand the standard Analytics Portal chart views