Quickstart

This page takes you from your invite to a dashboard your team checks every Monday. Each step builds on the one before, and each links to a page with the details.

Before you start

• An invite to an organization. An organization is your company’s space in Orcabase. When your company joins, we set it up and send you an invite link. Joining a team that already uses Orcabase? Ask one of its admins to invite you.
• A Google account with the email address the invite was sent to. Orcabase signs you in with Google, so there’s no password to create.
• Somewhere your data lives: your app’s Postgres database, a BigQuery project, a Google Sheet or a file. No database at all? Orcabase can host one for you.

1. Sign in

1. Open your invite link

   It looks like https://app.orcabase.co/invite/…. Continue with Google, using the account the invite was sent to.

2. Pick your organization

   You land on the Organizations page. Pick yours to open its Home page, where a Get started checklist ticks itself off as you work through this page.

2. Connect your data

1. Add a data source

   On Home, click Connect a data source, or go to Data Sources→ then New data source. Pick what you’re connecting to and fill in the details: see PostgreSQL or BigQuery for exactly what goes in each field.

2. Test it

   Open the new data source and click Test connection. Connected means Orcabase can read your data.

Data in Google Sheets, MySQL or an app like Stripe? Use Sync data instead: it copies the data into your warehouse and keeps it up to date.

3. Look around

Open Explore in the sidebar and pick your data source. You’ll see its schemas (groups of tables), then its tables, then each table’s columns. Preview Data shows real rows, so you can see what’s in there.

Click Query this table to start a query from any table, then press ⌘ ↵ (Ctrl Enter on Windows) to run it. See Explore.

4. Ask the agent

The Data Agent answers questions about your data in plain words. An admin turns it on once, in Settings→ then Agent (see Set up the agent). Then open Chat in the header and try:

• “What data do we have, and what does each table hold?”
• “How much revenue did we make last month?”
• “Why did revenue drop last week?”

Every answer leads with what it found, then a chart you can change, then “How I got this”: each step it took, so you can check it. See Data Agent.

5. Define your first metric

“Revenue” can mean three different things to three people. A metric pins it down once, and every chart, teammate and agent uses the same definition.

1. Draft it

   Ask the agent: “Model our orders table and draft a revenue metric.” It describes the table as a data model, drafts the metric, and tests it. Prefer to click? In Explore, open the table and click Create data model, then go to Metrics→ then New metric.

2. Check it and certify it

   Open the metric on the Metrics page. Its Explore tab charts it over time: if the numbers match what you expect, click Certify. Certified metrics get a check mark, and the agent reaches for them first.

6. Build a dashboard

1. Make the charts

   Ask the agent: “Put revenue by week and new customers by week on a dashboard called Monday.” It saves each chart as a query and pins them for you. Or build it yourself: Dashboards→ then New dashboard, then Widgets to add any saved chart or a text note.

2. Arrange it

   Drag a widget by its handle to move it, and drag its corner to resize it. Changes save as you go. See Dashboards.

3. Share it (optional)

   Click Share and switch on Public for a read-only link anyone can open, no account needed. Good for advisors, partners and clients. See Share a dashboard.

7. Invite your team

Go to Settings→ then Members→ then Invite member, enter a teammate’s email and pick a role. Orcabase gives you an invite link to send them: it doesn’t email anyone for you. See Members and roles.

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