The Lightspeed Analytics Smart view dashboard features period-over-period (PoP) analysis in multi-view visualizations.
Accessing the Smart view dashboard
To access the Smart View dashboard:
- Log into Lightspeed Analytics.
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In the side navigation menu, click the Dashboard icon.
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Once the Smart view dashboard is enabled in your account, a dropdown will appear in the top-right corner of the page. To navigate between the views, click the dropdown and select an option.
The Smart view dashboard will load automatically.
Navigating the Smart view dashboard
The default layout of the Smart view dashboard looks at the current Month-to-Date (MTD) timeframe compared to the same period last year.
If you have multiple store locations, you will also have access to the Locations dropdown.
Period-over-period comparisons
Four key measures are evaluated for period-over-period (PoP) comparisons:
- Sales: Sale totals after discounts are removed and before taxes are added.
- Number of transactions: Count of completed sales.
- Average basket: Average basket total value.
- Items sold: Quantity of items sold in each period.
Each measure will also show a percentage change value from the previous period to the current period. Positive changes are reflected in green, negative changes are reflected in red.
Top and bottom stores
If you do not have multiple stores, your next view will be top and bottom categories.
Below the quadrant of PoP measures, you’ll find the distribution of the three Top Performers stores and the three Bottom Performers (as a function of change).
To change the sorting, click on the title of the measure, for example Sales This Period.
You can also change the view of the distribution from a table to a scatterplot by clicking the dropdown in the top-right corner of the visualization.
This will change the layout of the top and bottom stores to a scatterplot view.
In this view, the Sales volume is the left-right axis, and the change is the up-down axis.
Top and bottom categories
The next section of the dashboard will show the five Top Performers top level categories and the five Bottom Performers top level categories (as a function of change).
To change the sorting, click on the title of the measure, for example Sales This Period.
Changing the period-over-period output
Changing the time range
To change the timeframe you’re analyzing, navigate to the top-left corner of the page and click the Time Range dropdown.
Select from the basic timeframe options to run comparisons.
Period-over-period timeframes example
There are seven available period-over-period comparisons. If you were running the table on Friday, February 27, 2026, the options would be:
| Period | Description | Example Current | Example Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month to Date: Same Period Last Year | Current Month to Date, looking at Same Month Last Year | Sun Feb 1 - Thu Feb 26, 2026 | Sat Feb 1 - Wed Feb 26, 2025 |
| Month to Date: Previous Period | Current Month to Date, looking at Prior Month | Sun Feb 1 - Thu Feb 26, 2026 | Thu Jan 1 - Mon Jan 26, 2026 |
| Last Month: Same Period Last Year | Previous Complete Month, looking at Same month prior year | Thu Jan 1 - Sat Jan 31, 2026 | Wed Jan 1 - Fri Jan 31, 2025 |
| Last Month: Previous Period | Previous Complete Month, looking at Prior Month | Thu Jan 1 - Sat Jan 31, 2026 | Mon Dec 1 - Wed Dec 31, 2025 |
| YTD: Same Period Last Year | Current Year to Date, looking at same position last Year | Thu Jan 1 - Thu Feb 26, 2026 | Wed Jan 1 - Wed Feb 26, 2025 |
| Last 12 Months (TTM): Previous Period | Previous 12 Complete Months, Compared to Prior 12 Complete Months | Sun Feb 1, 2025 - Sat Jan 31, 2026 | Thu Feb 1, 2024 - Fri Jan 31 2025 |
| Full Year: Previous Period | Previous Complete year compared to full year prior | Wed Jan 1 - Wed Dec 31, 2025 | Thu Jan 1 - Tue Dec 31, 2024 |
Changing the comparison
From the Comparison dropdown, you can select the Previous period (preceding period) or the Same Period Last Year (relative time in the previous year) to base your comparison.
Changing the included store locations
By default, all store locations are included for multi-location merchants. To limit the stores listed, click the Locations dropdown and uncheck the stores you don’t want to include in the comparison.
Applying updates to the view
Once you’ve applied the changes for the analysis you want to run, navigate to the top-right corner of the page and click the Search button.
This will run the Smart view dashboard with the new period comparisons applied.