The dashboard is the first thing you see when you log in. It surfaces the metrics that matter day-to-day for an experiential venue, with definitions chosen for accrual-basis accounting (not cash basis).
Here's what each tile means.
Covers
Definition: Total number of guests in confirmed bookings for the period you're viewing (today, this week, this month).
A "cover" is one guest. A party of 4 books a class = 4 covers. Useful because revenue-per-cover is the cleanest comparison across class types.
Reservations
Definition: Number of bookings, regardless of party size, for the period.
A party of 4 = 1 reservation. A solo guest = 1 reservation. Useful because reservations track demand, while covers track utilization.
Revenue recognized
Definition: Revenue from experiences that have already happened in the period.
This is the accrual-basis number. A guest who paid in January for a March booking is recognized in March, when the experience actually happens. Not when the cash hit your account.
Most accountants want this number for your P&L. If you've ever been confused why your prepaid deposits look like a January revenue spike on Square's cash-basis report, this is the fix. It's the number to give your bookkeeper.
Deposits due
Definition: Total of all unpaid deposits on bookings with a deposit due date inside the window.
If a private event has a 30% deposit due on July 15, and today is July 10, that deposit shows up here as "due this week." If the deposit isn't paid by its due date, ArtistryHost sends a reminder automatically.
Backlog
Definition: Total revenue on the books for future-dated experiences.
This is the metric most operators in this category aren't tracking, and it's the most predictive of how the next 30 days are going to feel. Backlog up week-over-week = pipeline is healthy. Backlog flat or down = time to look at marketing.
There's a whole blog post on why this metric matters: Backlog as a KPI.
Replenishment
Definition: New bookings added minus bookings hosted minus cancellations, over the period.
If replenishment is positive, your backlog is growing. If negative, you're consuming pipeline faster than refilling it. Look at this number alongside backlog. Both pointing up is the healthy story.
Needs attention
A list of bookings that need a decision from you. Common entries:
- Invoice deposit overdue. Past the due date and still unpaid. Decide: send reminder, cancel, or extend.
- Card on file declined. At the end-of-experience charge attempt. Decide: collect another way, comp, or pursue.
- Webhook error on a booking. Rare, but if Square's webhook didn't reach us cleanly, the booking might be marked unpaid even though Square shows it paid. Decide: resync (we have a button) or investigate.
- No-show without action. A guest who didn't show and hasn't been marked. Decide: mark no-show (and charge the fee per your policy) or write it off.
This list shouldn't be longer than 1–2 items most days. If it's growing, that's a signal to dedicate a half-hour to clearing it.
Comparison to last period
Each metric shows a small percentage change compared to the previous period (today vs. yesterday, this week vs. last week, this month vs. last month). Use the comparison, not the raw number. A $5,000 day isn't meaningful unless you know what a typical day is.
You can also flip the comparison to year-over-year (week vs. same week last year), which is the right comparison for seasonal businesses where week-over-week is noisy.
What's not on the dashboard
The dashboard is for what you need to act on today and this week. Deeper analysis lives elsewhere:
- Reports → Funnel. Booking funnel conversion (covered in the funnel metrics blog post).
- Reports → Cohorts, repeat-customer behavior.
- Reports → Class performance. Per-experience utilization, revenue, and cancellation rate.
The dashboard tells you what to do today. The reports tell you what to do next quarter.