Charts
Scorecards for single figures, time series for trend, bar for comparison, table for lookup, pie sparingly, geo maps for location, and pivot tables for two-dimensional summaries.
Every chart has Setup (data, dimensions, metrics, sorting, rows shown) and Style (colours, labels, axes) tabs. Optional metrics let viewers add metrics themselves without cluttering the default view — an underused feature.
Controls
Date range control sets the reporting period, with comparison to previous period or previous year built in.
Filter control gives a dropdown, list, slider or search box on a dimension. Data control lets viewers switch the underlying account — useful for agency reports where one template serves many clients.
Controls apply to their group — by default the whole page. Select a control and a set of charts and use Group to scope it to just those charts.
Filter scope
Filters can be applied at three levels: report, page, and chart. They combine, so a chart sees all three.
Keep the scope as narrow as the requirement allows. A report-level filter someone forgot about is a classic cause of numbers that do not reconcile with the source.
Cross-filtering — enabled per chart in Setup — lets clicking a bar filter the rest of the page. It makes a report feel interactive with no extra configuration.
Page structure
Multiple pages with a navigation menu beat one enormous page. Set the page navigation style in Theme and Layout — left, top, or tabs.
Use report-level components (Arrange → Make report-level) for the header, logo and date control so they appear consistently on every page without copying.