Going Live
What happens after you complete setup — understanding your first real reports and keeping your data current going forward.
You've completed setup — now what?
Once all the setup sections are confirmed, the Start Guide disappears from the sidebar. That's your signal: Nabu has everything it needs to run full financial calculations on your data.
Here's what to do next.
Your financial dashboard
Open the Dashboard from the left sidebar. You'll see:
- Revenue summary — total revenue for the selected period
- Profit estimate — revenue minus estimated costs based on your setup
- Top services — your highest-revenue and highest-profit services
- Provider breakdown — revenue and profit by team member
- Client metrics — new vs. returning clients, retention rate
Use the date range selector at the top right to change the period. You can view by month, quarter, year, or a custom range.
Understanding the Financials view
Setup → Done. Sidebar → Financials.
The Financials page shows your full income statement — revenue, cost of goods, gross margin, overhead, and net operating profit — for any date range you select.
Key metrics to understand:
| Metric | What it means |
|---|---|
| Gross revenue | Total sales before any adjustments |
| Net revenue | After refunds and voids |
| Cost of services | Direct labor + supplies + equipment per service |
| Gross margin | Net revenue minus cost of services |
| Overhead | Fixed costs (rent, payroll, software, etc.) |
| Net operating profit | What's left after all costs |
| Contribution margin | Gross margin % — how much of each dollar covers overhead and profit |
The Profitability view
Go to Profitability in the sidebar. This is one of Nabu's most powerful pages — it shows you profitability broken down by service, provider, and client.
Service profitability answers: Which services are actually profitable? You might be surprised — a service with high revenue may have low margins if the labor is intensive or supplies are expensive.
Provider profitability answers: Which team members are generating the most value? This isn't just about revenue — a provider with slightly lower revenue but lower labor costs might actually be more profitable.
Client profitability answers: Which clients drive the most profit? Some clients spend a lot but only on heavily discounted memberships; others pay full price consistently.
Keeping your data current
If you're on the Zenoti API connection
Nabu syncs your data automatically. New appointments and invoices show up in your reports within minutes of being finalized in Zenoti. You don't need to do anything.
If you're on CSV import
You'll need to re-upload new data periodically to keep reports current. We recommend:
- Monthly — upload the previous month's sales at the start of each new month
- Quarterly — also re-upload client and provider data if anything has changed
The import system handles duplicates gracefully — re-importing the same records won't create duplicates.
Keeping setup up to date
Your setup data (costs, pay rates, services) should be updated whenever something significant changes:
| Change | What to update in Nabu |
|---|---|
| Hired a new provider | Add them in People & Payroll |
| Provider got a raise | Update their pay rate |
| Rent increased | Update in Business Costs |
| New service added to menu | Add it in Services |
| Service discontinued | Mark it as Inactive in Services |
| New membership tier | Add it in Memberships |
| Software subscription cost changed | Update in Business Costs |
You don't need to update in real time — doing a monthly review is enough for most clinics.
Common questions after going live
My profit numbers look weird — why?
A few common causes:
- Missing service pricing — if some services don't have a price in Setup, they'll show $0 revenue
- Provider not linked — if sales records have a provider email that doesn't match People & Payroll, those services won't have labor costs attributed
- Business costs incomplete — if your overhead is much lower than reality, margins look artificially high
Go back to Setup and look for any sections that say "In progress" or have obvious gaps.
Why are my margins so low (or so high)?
Nabu's calculations are only as accurate as your setup data. If margins look wrong, check:
- Are your provider hourly rates correct?
- Is the service duration accurate?
- Are your fixed costs complete?
How often should I review my numbers?
Weekly for a quick pulse check, monthly for a deeper dive. Use the monthly numbers to track trends over time — are margins improving? Is a certain service becoming less profitable as costs rise?
What does the Forecasting section show?
Forecasting uses your historical patterns to project future revenue and performance. The more history you have in Nabu, the more accurate the forecast. It shows monthly projections, service mix assumptions, and what-if scenarios.
What is the Retention section?
Retention shows which clients are due for their next visit, overdue, or at risk of churning. It uses your historical visit frequency per client to calculate when each client is typically expected back. This powers targeted outreach campaigns.
You're all set
That's the full setup and onboarding process. If you have questions that aren't answered here, submit a ticket through Help in the sidebar — our team will be notified and respond by email.
Support response times:
- Free plan — within 48 hours
- Paid plans — same day
Welcome to Nabu — we're glad you're here.