Setting Financial Targets

Financial targets let you set monthly goals and track your progress directly on your dashboard. When configured, chart widgets display target lines alongside your actual figures, and a progress bar shows how close you are to hitting your total target.

Getting There

There are two ways to set targets:

Centralised targets — Settings > Other > Centralised Widget Targets (requires the Edit settings permission)
Per-widget targets — Edit an individual chart widget and set targets in its configuration

Key Concepts

Centralised vs. Per-Widget Targets

EventWorks supports two approaches to setting targets:

Centralised targets are set once in Settings and apply across any widget that opts into them. This is the simplest approach — update the targets in one place and every widget using centralised targets reflects the change.

Per-widget targets are set individually on each widget. This gives you flexibility to have different targets on different widgets (e.g., one widget tracking revenue targets and another tracking profit targets with different figures).

A widget can use one approach or the other, but not both at the same time.

Setting Up Centralised Targets

Centralised targets are managed in Settings and provide a single set of monthly target values that any compatible widget can reference.

Note: You need the Edit settings permission to manage centralised targets. If you don't see this option, contact your administrator.

Adding Targets

Go to Settings > Other > Centralised Widget Targets.
Click Add Targets.
Select the starting month (e.g., January 2026).
Twelve months of target fields appear, starting from your chosen month.
Enter the target amount for each month.
Click Save.

Editing Existing Targets

Go to Settings > Other > Centralised Widget Targets.
You'll see a list of all months that have targets set, with their current amounts.
Update any amounts directly in the fields.
Click Save.

How Widgets Use Centralised Targets

Once you've set centralised targets, any Event Values per Month widget can be configured to use them:

Edit the widget.
Tick the Use centralised targets option.
Save the widget.

The widget's chart will now show a target line based on the centralised monthly amounts. A progress bar at the bottom shows your total progress towards the combined target.

Setting Per-Widget Targets

If you prefer to set different targets for individual widgets, you can configure them directly in the widget settings.

Event Values per Month Widget

Edit the Event Values per Month widget.
Make sure Use centralised targets is unticked.
You'll see twelve numbered fields: Month 1 target through Month 12 target.
Enter the target amount for each month.
Click Save.

The months correspond to the widget's date range — Month 1 is the first month shown on the chart, Month 2 is the second, and so on.

Reporting Periods Chart Widget

The Reporting Periods Chart widget uses a slightly different target system based on your defined reporting periods rather than calendar months:

Edit the Reporting Periods Chart widget.
For each reporting period, you can set:

- A target value — The goal for that period - A comparison period — An earlier period to compare against (for year-over-year or period-over-period analysis)

Click Save.

How Targets Appear on Widgets

When targets are configured, compatible chart widgets display additional data:

Target line — A line (or bar series) on the chart showing the target value for each month or period, drawn alongside your actual values
Last year comparison — If a comparison period is configured, a third line shows the previous period's figures
Progress bar — Below the chart, a progress bar shows your total progress: "Progress towards total target of £X" with how far ahead or behind you are

This gives you an at-a-glance view of whether you're on track to hit your goals.

Tips & Best Practices

Tip: Centralised targets are the simplest option if everyone in your organisation is working towards the same monthly figures. Set them once and any widget can reference them.

Tip: Use per-widget targets when different dashboards need different target figures — for example, if your sales dashboard tracks revenue targets and your management dashboard tracks profit targets.

Tip: When adding centralised targets, you can add multiple sets of 12 months to cover future periods. This means you can set next year's targets in advance without overwriting this year's.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I set targets for anything other than financial values?

Targets are currently available on the Event Values per Month and Reporting Periods Chart widgets, which display monetary values. Other widget types (like Event Count or Conversion Rate) do not support target lines.

Q: What happens if I switch a widget from per-widget targets to centralised targets?

The widget will start using the centralised target values from Settings instead of its individually configured targets. Your per-widget target values are not deleted — if you switch back, they'll still be there.

Q: Can different widgets use different centralised target values?

No. Centralised targets are a single set of monthly values. If you need different targets on different widgets, use per-widget targets instead.

Q: Who can edit centralised targets?

Only users with the Edit settings permission can manage centralised targets. All users can see the effect of targets on their dashboard widgets.

Q: Do targets carry over year to year?

Each month's target is independent. You need to add new targets for each year (or any future months you want to cover). You can add them in advance at any time.