// VICTRON VRM CUSTOMISATION
How to customise the Victron VRM dashboard
Frustrated that the stock VRM dashboard won’t let you move the tiles around? You’re not imagining it — the main layout is fixed. Here’s an honest, installer-grade map of exactly what you can and can’t customise in VRM, plus the two real routes to the dashboard you actually want. Rated 4.9 on Google.
- ● Live demo on this site
- ● Built & hosted for you
- ● Worldwide
/01 — THE SHORT ANSWER
Can you re-arrange the VRM dashboard?
The short answer: you cannot re-arrange the main VRM dashboard — the top-level summary layout is fixed by Victron, with no drag-and-drop to move, reorder or remove the tiles. Everything you can customise lives on the Advanced tab (your own graph widgets), alongside device naming and alarm rules; anything past that — a bespoke layout, your own branding, or a single live multi-site screen — means going outside stock VRM via the official VRM API.
That is not a knock on VRM. For remote monitoring and diagnostics it is genuinely excellent, and most installers never need more than the stock views. But the exact frustration that brings people to this page — “why can’t I move these tiles around?” — has a clear, honest answer, and it hasn’t changed for years. Below we map precisely what stock VRM lets you change, what it flatly won’t, and the two real routes to a dashboard that looks and behaves the way you want — whether you build it yourself or have it done for you.
/02 — WHAT STOCK VRM LETS YOU CHANGE
What you can customise in stock VRM
Give VRM its due — there is more customisation than people realise, it just isn’t where you expect it. On the Advanced tab you can:
- Choose and arrange graph widgets — show, hide and stack the standard widgets for the metrics you actually care about, then set the date range and export the underlying data.
- Build a Custom Widget — the most powerful and least-known feature. You can plot up to 6 parameters on one colour-coded chart (ideal for comparing the voltage and current of each phase of a three-phase system), reach many undocumented datapoints that have no standard widget, and now include calculated parameters drawn from the standard widgets.
- Rename the installation and devices — friendly names instead of serial numbers, which quietly makes every other screen easier to read.
- Set alarm rules and notifications — thresholds and alerts tuned to each site.
For a single installation watched by someone who knows the system, that is a lot of genuine control, and the Custom Widget in particular is worth mastering before you look further. Our service builds on top of VRM through its official API — it never replaces it, and none of the above stops working. The limits below are simply the points where stock VRM was never designed to go.
/03 — WHERE STOCK VRM STOPS
What stock VRM won’t do
Here is the honest ceiling — the things stock VRM genuinely will not do, verified against the VRM manual and Victron staff statements on the Community forum, so you don’t waste an afternoon hunting for a setting that isn’t there:
- The main dashboard layout is fixed. You cannot drag, reorder or remove the summary tiles on the primary dashboard. Only the Advanced tab is composable.
- No branding or white-label. The long-promised “Dealer ID” white-label feature was announced but never shipped — confirmed by Victron staff on the Community forum. You cannot put your own logo on a client’s VRM. If branding matters, see white-label Victron monitoring.
- No single live multi-site screen. The installer/fleet list is a table, some features need 10+ sites before they appear, and it is not brandable — there is no one-screen live overview of every system at once.
- Share links and embeds are not real-time. VRM share links and iframe embeds are read-only and refresh at the logging interval (default 15 minutes), so they are unsuitable for a live wall display — more in embed VRM on a website.
- Money KPIs and outside data are constrained. Cost and earnings KPIs only exist via Dynamic ESS, and non-Victron data can only reach VRM through the GX device.
None of this is a flaw — it is simply the edge of what the stock portal was built for.
/04 — ROUTE ONE: DO IT YOURSELF
Route one: build it yourself with Node-RED or the API
If you have the time and the appetite, you can absolutely build a custom view yourself — and for a lot of capable installers this is the right call. There are two honest DIY routes, both using Victron’s own tooling:
- On the GX device (Node-RED). Venus OS Large ships Node-RED and Signal K pre-installed, with the Victron nodes ready to go. You can build fully custom dashboards — gauges, graphs, indicators, even switches and sliders — and view them locally or remotely through the VRM menu. It reads live data straight off the GX via MQTT/dbus, so it is properly real-time.
- Off the device (the official API). The official VRM API lets you pull your installation data into a front end you control, or into Grafana for polished time-series dashboards.
Credit where it is due: these are powerful, well-documented and effectively free if your time is free. The honest caveats are the boring ones — you own the hosting, the API token handling and security, keeping the thing running, and fixing it when Venus OS or your data model changes. For a single site that is a fun weekend; across a fleet, or as something a client relies on, it becomes real, ongoing work. That trade-off — not capability — is what usually decides between doing it yourself and having it done.
/05 — ROUTE TWO: DONE FOR YOU
Route two: a done-for-you custom dashboard
The alternative is to have it built, hosted and supported for you. That is what we do: a bespoke dashboard sitting on top of the official VRM API, laid out the way you want, in your branding, refreshing far more responsively than a share link, and spanning multiple sites where you need it — without you owning any of the plumbing.
We are an independent service and are listed in Victron Energy’s Recommended Software Integrator Program — though not a Victron dealer, distributor or reseller — Victron and VRM are their trademarks. We don’t replace your VRM or your hardware; we build a presentation layer on top of the data VRM already collects, via the API Victron publishes for exactly this purpose.
We are a family-run UK firm (Bournemouth) that has been trading since 1995, and we deliver this worldwide as a remote service. Where response times matter, we’re honest about them: our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9–5 UK time. You keep full control of your own VRM installation and access; we simply build and look after the dashboard. If you have outgrown the stock views but don’t want another system to maintain, this is the route — and you can see exactly what it produces before you commit.
/06 — SEE IT RUNNING LIVE
Watch a real dashboard streaming live
Don’t take our word for it — watch a real one. Our own off-grid support van, the 365 Crafter, runs a Cerbo GX on Venus OS with MPPT solar and a lithium battery bank, and it streams live through the official VRM API onto our site.
On our custom VRM dashboards page you can see the same live feed rendered in two completely different dashboard styles — proof that the layout, not the data, is what we change. There is also a fleet-style demo where, in the interest of honesty, only the van is real and the other vehicles are clearly labelled as placeholders. It is genuine hardware sending genuine data, not a mock-up or a screenshot — the most honest way we can show you what a done-for-you dashboard actually looks and behaves like before you spend anything.
/07 — WHAT IT COSTS
What a custom VRM dashboard costs
Pricing is quote-based, because a one-site read-only display and a branded multi-site fleet dashboard with live controls are very different jobs. We won’t publish a number that turns out to be wrong for you. The things that move the price are straightforward:
- Scale — how many sites and devices, and how many screens or views you need.
- Depth of each view — how many parameters, and whether you need calculated values, historical charts or live controls.
- Branding — a light touch versus a fully white-labelled, client-facing portal.
- Data sources — VRM-only, or non-Victron inputs that have to reach VRM through the GX device.
- Build only or build-and-run — a one-off handover versus ongoing hosting, monitoring and support.
Tell us what you’re trying to see and we’ll give you a clear, honest quote — not a menu of tiers you have to reverse-engineer. Start by looking at the live demo, then get a quote or call 01202 775566.
FAMILY-RUN SINCE 1995 · ★ 4.9 ON GOOGLE · 200+ COMPUTERS UNDER OUR CARE · NO FIX, NO FEE · SAME-DAY REMOTE SUPPORT
// GOOD QUESTIONS
Frequently asked
Can I re-arrange or move the tiles on the main VRM dashboard?
No. The main VRM dashboard layout is fixed — there’s no drag-and-drop to move, reorder or remove the summary tiles, and that hasn’t changed for years. The only place you can compose your own view inside stock VRM is the Advanced tab, where you choose graph widgets and build custom ones. For a genuinely re-arrangeable layout you need a dashboard built on the VRM API.
How many parameters can a VRM Custom Widget display?
Up to 6 parameters on a single colour-coded chart. It’s the most capable customisation in stock VRM: ideal for comparing the voltage and current of each phase of a three-phase system, it reaches many undocumented datapoints that have no standard widget, and it now supports calculated parameters drawn from the standard widgets. It’s well worth mastering before you consider anything custom-built.
Can I add my own logo or white-label a client’s VRM?
Not in stock VRM. The “Dealer ID” white-label feature was announced years ago but never shipped — Victron staff have confirmed this on the Community forum — so you can’t put your branding on a client’s VRM portal. The only route to a branded, client-facing view is a custom dashboard built on the official API. See white-label Victron monitoring.
Is a VRM share link or embed real-time?
No. VRM share links and iframe embeds are read-only and refresh at the logging interval — 15 minutes by default — so they’re fine for a casual view but unsuitable for a live wall display or reception screen. A responsive, near-live embed needs a dashboard built on the API; see embed VRM on a website.
Can I see all my installations on one live screen in VRM?
Not as a single live overview. VRM’s installer/fleet view is a table, some features only appear once you have 10 or more sites, and it can’t be branded. There is no one-screen, real-time view of every system at once in stock VRM — a custom multi-site dashboard built on the official API is the way to get one.
Should I build the dashboard myself or have it done for you?
Honestly, it depends on your time. DIY with Node-RED or the VRM API is powerful and effectively free if your hours are free — you just own the hosting, security and upkeep. Done-for-you makes sense when you want it hosted, supported and off your plate, especially across a fleet or for a client who relies on it.
What do you need from me to build a custom dashboard?
Three things. Appropriate VRM access (for example installation access or an API token you control); confirmation that your Victron/GX kit is already logging to VRM — that’s a prerequisite, as we build on top of VRM rather than replace your hardware; and a short brief of the parameters, screens and branding you want. You keep ownership of your VRM throughout.
Do you build these dashboards worldwide?
Yes. We’re a family-run UK firm in Bournemouth, trading since 1995, and we deliver custom VRM dashboards worldwide as a remote, done-for-you service — built, hosted and supported. Where response times matter we’re upfront: our office hours are Monday to Friday, 9–5 UK time. Pricing is quote-based. Start with the live demo, then get a quote.
Are you affiliated with or certified by Victron Energy?
No. We’re an independent service and are listed in Victron Energy’s Recommended Software Integrator Program — though not a Victron dealer, distributor or reseller — Victron and VRM are their trademarks. We think VRM is excellent and our work builds on it through the official VRM API; it does not replace VRM or your Victron hardware. We’re simply an independent firm that designs and hosts the dashboard layer on top.
Does the custom dashboard have to live on your servers?
No. We can host it for you, or — if you’d rather keep everything under your own roof — we build it on a subdomain of your existing website, with your VRM token kept in one server-side file so it is never visible to anyone viewing the page. You only hand over an FTP login scoped to that subdomain’s folder, nothing wider, and because the dashboard sits on your own hosting we can keep adding pages and features there as your setup grows.
See a custom VRM dashboard before you decide
Watch our own off-grid van stream live through the official VRM API in two completely different dashboard styles — then tell us what you want to see. Built, hosted and supported worldwide, quote-based.
01202 775566 · help@365techies.co.uk · MON–FRI 9AM–5PM