✔ Always use commas to make numbers easier to read. For example, instead of 2345, show 2,345.

      ✔ Use decimal places only if that level of precision is required. For instance, there’s rarely a benefit to showing the decimal places in a dollar amount, such as $123.45. In most cases, the $123 will suffice. Likewise in percentages, use only the minimum number of decimals required to represent the data effectively. For example, instead of 43.21 %, you may be able to get away with 43 %.

      ✔ Use the dollar symbol only when you need to clarify that you’re referring to monetary values. If you have a chart or table that contains all revenue values, and there’s a label clearly stating this, you can save room and pixels by leaving out the dollar symbol.

      ✔ Format very large numbers to the thousands or millions place. For instance, rather than display 16,906,714, you can format the number to read 17M.

      ✔ Always include a timestamp on your reporting mechanisms. This minimizes confusion when distributing the same dashboard or report in monthly or weekly installments.

      ✔ Always include some text indicating when the data for the measures was retrieved. In many cases, the timing of the data is a critical piece of information when analyzing a measure.

      ✔ Use descriptive titles for each component on your dashboard. This allows users to clearly identify what they’re looking at. Be sure to avoid cryptic titles with lots of acronyms and symbols.

      ✔ Although it may seem counterintuitive, it’s generally good practice to de-emphasize labels by formatting them to hues lighter than the ones used for your data. Lightly colored labels give your users the information they need without distracting them from the information displayed. Ideal colors for labels are colors commonly found in nature: soft grays, browns, blues, and greens.