Managing Metrics
Configure which metrics appear on your dashboard, rename them for your church's terminology, and set up custom metrics for unique data points.
Default Metrics
Vitals ships with a set of standard metrics that cover the most common data points tracked by churches. These use fixed internal slugs so integrations and reports always know exactly what data they're working with, regardless of what you rename them to.
adult_attendancekids_attendancetotal_attendancetotal_givingonline_givingtotal_volunteerssalvationsbaptismsgroup_attendanceonline_viewersfirst_time_guestsstudent_attendanceThe internal slug is used by integrations (like Planning Center) to match imported data to the right metric on your dashboard. Renaming a metric does not change its slug.
Showing / Hiding Metrics
If your church doesn't track a particular metric — for example, if you don't currently track baptisms — you can hide it so it doesn't clutter your dashboard. Hidden metrics still record data; they're just not shown.
- 1Go to Settings → Metrics.
- 2Find the metric you want to hide.
- 3Click the eye icon on the right side of the row to toggle visibility.
- 4The metric disappears from the dashboard and reports immediately.
Re-enable a hidden metric at any time — all historical data will be visible again immediately.
If an integration imports data for a hidden metric, the data is still stored — it just won't show on the dashboard until you re-enable the metric.
Renaming Metrics
Every church has its own language. Rename any metric to match the terminology your team already uses — the internal slug stays the same, so integrations and imports are never affected.
- 1Go to Settings → Metrics.
- 2Click the pencil icon next to the metric you want to rename.
- 3Type your preferred display name (e.g., "In-Person Adults" instead of "Adult Attendance").
- 4Press Enter or click Save.
The new name appears everywhere: dashboard cards, reports, exported PDFs, and scheduled emails.
To restore the original name, click the pencil icon and delete your custom name — Vitals will revert to the default.
Custom Metrics
Track anything your church measures that isn't in the default list. Custom metrics work just like standard metrics — they appear on the dashboard, roll into reports, and support historical charting.
- 1Go to Settings → Metrics → Add Custom Metric.
- 2Enter a name for the metric (e.g., "Prayer Requests" or "Food Pantry Visits").
- 3Choose the data type: Number, Currency, or Percentage.
- 4Click Save. The metric appears on your dashboard immediately.
Data type options
- Number
- For counts — prayer requests, food bags distributed, decisions for Christ.
- Currency
- For dollar amounts — benevolence fund disbursements, missions giving.
- Percentage
- For rates — volunteer fill rate, small group retention percentage.
Metric Order
The order of metrics in Settings → Metrics controls the order they appear on the dashboard and in reports. Drag any metric row to a new position — your changes are saved automatically.
Put your most important metrics at the top — most leadership teams want Total Attendance and Total Giving visible without scrolling.
Metric order is organization-wide, not per-user. Admins should set an order that works for the whole team.