Understanding Your Dashboard
Learn the layout and navigation of the Plotwise dashboard, including the sidebar menu, organization switcher, and main sections.
Understanding Your Dashboard
Your Plotwise dashboard is the central hub for tracking permits, discovering opportunities, and managing your organization. This guide explains the layout and helps you navigate efficiently.
Dashboard Layout
The dashboard uses a standard three-column layout:
- Left sidebar - Main navigation menu with all app sections
- Center content area - The active page content
- Right panel (on some pages) - Filters, details, or contextual actions
Top navigation bar includes:
- Organization switcher - Switch between organizations (if you manage multiple)
- Search - Quick search across permits and features (Cmd+K or Ctrl+K)
- User menu - Account settings, notifications, and logout
Main Sections
Watchlist
Your central permit tracking hub. Shows all permits you're actively monitoring with notifications enabled.
Key features:
- Table view with permit number, address, status, priority, and activity
- Status badges: Needs attention (orange), government processing (blue), completed (muted)
- Current Stage column showing current blocking status
- Activity column displaying notes and tasks counts
- Sortable and filterable
When to use: Daily monitoring of permits you care about most. This is your primary workflow for staying on top of permit changes.
Portfolio
Auto-discovery of permits from contractors and companies you work with regularly.
Key features:
- Condition-based search (up to 5 conditions per organization)
- Two view modes: Table and Map
- Summary widgets showing total permits, new permits, and status breakdown
- Add discovered permits to watchlist with one click
When to use: Track work from known business partners without manually searching. Great for monitoring regular contractors or suppliers.
Market Radar
Discover new permits nearby or from potential clients.
Key features:
- Location-based permit discovery
- Same condition system as Portfolio (company, license, person, location)
- Map view showing permit clusters and density
- Filter by jurisdiction, permit type, and date range
When to use: Business development, competitive analysis, finding new clients, or monitoring nearby construction activity.
Contact Directory
Manage relationships with contractors, architects, inspectors, and other parties.
Key features:
- Auto-populated from permit parties data
- Manual contact creation and editing
- Contact cards with company, license, phone, email
- Related permits view per contact
- Activity logging (calls, meetings, emails)
When to use: Keep track of people you work with frequently, log interactions, and see their permit history.
Settings
Configure your account, organization, team, and billing.
Account settings:
- Profile (name, timezone, contact info)
- Security (password, multi-factor authentication)
- Notifications (email/SMS preferences, event scopes)
Organization settings:
- General (name, logo, business hours)
- Team (invite members, manage seats)
- Billing (subscription, payment methods, invoices)
- Developers (API keys, webhooks)
When to use: Initial setup, adding team members, changing notification preferences, or managing billing.
Sidebar Navigation
The left sidebar contains all main sections:
- Dashboard (home icon) - Overview with quick stats
- Watchlist (list icon) - Your tracked permits
- Portfolio (folder icon) - Known entity discoveries
- Radar (radar icon) - New opportunity discoveries
- Contacts (people icon) - Contact directory
- Settings (gear icon) - Account and organization configuration
The active page is highlighted in the sidebar with a background color.
Organization Switcher
If you manage multiple organizations (common for permit expediters or property managers), use the organization switcher in the top navigation.
To switch organizations:
- Click your organization name in the top bar
- Select the organization you want to view
- The entire dashboard switches context to that organization's data
Important: Each organization has completely isolated data. Permits, contacts, notes, and billing are separate for each organization.
Quick Stats Widgets
The dashboard home page shows summary widgets:
- Active permits - Total permits on your watchlist
- Recent changes - Permits with status updates in the last 7 days
- Notifications - Unread notification count
- Active slots used - How many of your plan's permit slots are in use
These widgets provide at-a-glance insights into your permit tracking activity.
Search (Cmd+K)
Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) anywhere in the dashboard to open quick search.
Search capabilities:
- Find permits by number, address, or status
- Navigate to any page or setting
- Access help documentation
- Quick actions (add permit, create condition, invite team member)
Search results show the most relevant matches first, with keyboard navigation support.
Mobile vs Desktop Experience
Desktop (recommended for power users):
- Full sidebar navigation visible at all times
- Multi-column layouts with filters and details panels
- Keyboard shortcuts for common actions
- Optimized for bulk operations and multi-tasking
Mobile (optimized for on-the-go access):
- Collapsible sidebar menu (hamburger icon)
- Single-column layouts for easier scrolling
- Touch-optimized buttons and controls
- Focus on viewing permit details and notifications
Most features are available on both desktop and mobile, but bulk operations and advanced filtering work best on desktop.
Understanding Visual Indicators
Status Badges
- Orange (Needs attention) - Client action required: Awaiting reply, fee payment, corrections, hold
- Blue (Government processing) - In review: Pending, plans submitted, inspection scheduled
- Muted (Completed) - Final states: Approved, issued, closed, withdrawn, expired
Priority Status
- Overdue Hot (red) - Likely to change very soon, high priority
- Approaching (yellow) - Expected to change soon
- Expect Update (blue) - Change anticipated in near future
- Overdue Warm/Cold (orange/gray) - Lower priority, change less certain
- Checked (green) - Recently verified, no expected change
- Stale/Dead (muted) - Unlikely to change, low activity
Activity Icons
- Note icon - Has notes attached
- Task icon - Has open tasks
- Number badge - Count of notes or tasks
Navigation Performance
Plotwise is optimized for fast navigation:
- Instant row clicks - Clicking a table row navigates immediately (no loading delay)
- Progressive loading - Heavy sections stream in progressively via Suspense
- Debounced search - Search inputs are debounced to prevent excessive queries
You should experience sub-200ms navigation times throughout the dashboard.
Next Steps
Now that you understand the dashboard layout, explore:
- Quick start guide for your role - Role-specific first steps
- Adding permits to your watchlist - Start tracking permits
- Setting up Portfolio conditions - Auto-discover permits
- Configuring notifications - Customize your alerts
Need help with navigation? Visit our troubleshooting guide or contact support.