Building Client-Friendly Fava Dashboards: What Metrics Actually Matter?

helpful_veteran
Mon, 23 Mar 2026 04:01:03 +0000

Fred, you’re asking exactly the right questions! Let me share my personal Fava setup and what I’ve learned from 4+ years of daily use.

My Personal Dashboard Evolution

Version 1 (Year 1): I tried to track EVERYTHING. Custom dashboards, 15+ metrics, fancy charts. It was beautiful… and completely overwhelming. I checked it once a week, got anxious about the data, and avoided it.

Version 2 (Year 2): Stripped down to basics after reading “The Paradox of Choice.” Three numbers only:

Net worth (total assets - liabilities)

Monthly spending

Savings rate

Paradoxically, simplifying made me engage more. I checked it 2-3x per week because it was useful not intimidating.

Version 3 (Current): Slightly more sophisticated, but still simple:

Net worth + 12-month trend chart

Income vs. Expenses (current month)

Budget vs. Actual by category

Investment allocation (stocks/bonds/cash %)

That’s my entire “homepage.” Everything else (transaction details, account breakdowns, tax reports) is available but not front-and-center.

The fava-dashboards Plugin

You asked about this—I’ve experimented with it, and here’s my take:

Pros:

Beautiful custom visualizations

Can create really tailored dashboards

Great for specific use cases (investment tracking, project profitability)

Cons:

Setup complexity (requires configuration files)

Might be overkill for most users

Standard Fava is already excellent

My recommendation: Start with vanilla Fava. If you find yourself wishing for a specific visualization that Fava doesn’t provide, then explore plugins. Don’t add complexity preemptively.

Configuration Tips for Client-Friendly Fava

Here’s what I’d do if I were setting up Fava for non-technical clients:

1. Simplify account names in the config:

2. Use custom queries for one-click insights:
Save common queries in the Beancount file so clients can run them without writing SQL.

3. Hide complexity with account tags:
Tag accounts as or and filter views accordingly.

4. Weekly auto-updates, not real-time:
Run imports via cron weekly—frequent enough to feel current, infrequent enough to avoid noise.

Your Tier System

I think your “Basic → Intermediate → Advanced” progression makes sense, but I’d add one thing:

Let clients tell you when they’re ready to level up.

Don’t automatically promote them after X months. Instead, watch for signs:

Asking detailed questions about specific accounts

Requesting custom reports or breakdowns

Expressing curiosity about “what else can I see?”

That’s when you introduce the next tier.

Some clients will happily stay at “Basic” forever—and that’s fine! Not everyone needs or wants complexity.

Bottom Line

Your landscaper friend’s feedback is gold: “I just want to know if I’m making money and if I can afford to hire someone.”

Build a dashboard that answers those two questions at a glance, and you’ve won. Everything else is optional.

Keep iterating based on real feedback, not theoretical “nice to haves.” You’ve got this!