This article explains how Insights compares your selected date range with the period before it, and how to read the change badge on each card. You don't need to set anything up: most cards show the change as a small badge next to the main number. Point to the badge to see vs. previous period.
Which period is compared
The previous period is the same number of days as your range, ending the day before your range starts. For example:
Sep 5 – Oct 5, 2026 (31 days) is compared with Aug 5 – Sep 4, 2026 (31 days).
Sep 1 – Sep 30, 2026 (30 days) is compared with Aug 2 – Aug 31, 2026 (30 days).
Jul 1 – Sep 30, 2026 (92 days) is compared with Mar 31 – Jun 30, 2026 (92 days).
The match is by number of days, not by calendar month, so the previous period can start a day or two off a month boundary. In the second example, Aug 1 is left out because September has one day fewer than August.
Insights has no one-click year-over-year comparison yet. To compare with the same period last year, select each period in turn and note the numbers.
How to read the badge
The arrow shows direction. ▲ means the number went up and ▼ means it went down.
The color shows whether the change is good. Green is an improvement, red is a decline, and grey means no change. For metrics where lower is better, such as No-Show Rate and Cancellation Rate, a ▲ shows in red.
Counts and dollars change in percent. For example, 200 appointments up from 160 shows ▲ 25.0%.
Rates change in percentage points (pp). For example, a show rate going from 80% to 85% shows ▲ 5.0pp, not 6.3%.
Why a card has no badge
A card shows no badge in any of these cases:
The previous period has no data.
The previous value was zero, so a percent change can't be calculated.
The previous period would start more than 3 years ago.
Tips for fair comparisons
Presets end today, and the newest data can lag by a few hours. A range ending today can look slightly low next to a full previous period.
Seasonality matters. A December range compared with November will often dip, even in a good year.
Other ways to compare
Over time: in Metrics over time, chart one or two metrics by day or week across your range.
Between locations: the Location Leaderboard puts your selected locations side by side and shows the average for each column.
Between segments: in breakout tables such as Appointment Outcomes, a badge like ▲ 3.1pp vs all compares a segment, such as one provider, with the overall row. It does not compare the segment with an earlier period.