How Do I Create a Custom Report?

This article walks you through our custom report tool and gives you tips on where to start for a few 'frequently asked for' reports!

Our Custom Reporting tool gives you the flexibility to create, customize, and share reports that matter most to you and your team. Whether you're tracking event budgets, monitoring task progress, or analyzing client data, you can pull exactly the information you need, when you need it. With easy-to-use filters, column controls, and export options, our reporting tools are designed to help you stay organized, informed, and in control! 

At first glance, our robust reporting tool can feel a bit overwhelming! But don't worry, this article is here to help walk you through the tool so you can make the most of it. And, at the end of this article, we will give you some helpful tips with starting specific types of reports! 

Understanding the Custom Reporting Tool:

Check out this quick video to walk you through the Reporting tool so you can feel comfortable and confident as you dive in!

Important things to note:

  - Reports will not pull if you have narrowed your search too much or you are trying to pull too much data at once. If you try to pull a report and nothing shows in the results, go back and look at your data points. You might need to add or subtract data points based on what you see.

- Be mindful of the Reporting Period "When" field. If your report comes up empty, I recommend reviewing the "When" field in the reporting period panel! Often times, this needs to be adjusted and then the report will bring up the information (Example: I might be wanting to look at events that started in a certain range, but the 'when' field is looking for events that were booked in that time line!)

- Once you created your report, you can go back and edit everything except the very first data point you added. If need to change that data point, you'll have to create a new report.

- Depending on the information you need, you might need to make multiple reports. Some items, like wanting to view tax rates and revenue will need separate reports. One for the tax rates and one for the revenue. But you can view both reports at the same time when adding them to a dashboard.

- Our customized reporting system pulls from data points based on the tools, meaning reports might look a little different depending on how information has been entered. We understand that every account is unique and how someone collects their information within their account can be different than the original intended use. (Like if you use the BEO tools to build out packages that aren't related to food and beverage). This might not pull all your information in the way you want to see it and you might have to make some adjustments to the report.

- If a user has access to pull reports, they will be able to see all information, even if they aren't given access for certain tools. Like, if a user can't see invoices and budget tools, they could still pull a report for invoicing/budgets and see all information. Please keep this in mind as this does affect any privacy settings you have set within your account.

Reporting data point tips to help you get started (Based on the report needed):

• I'm looking to gather information on clients and the events they are associated with:
  • I recommend using the Leads/Events as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like Event name). Then in the AVAILABLE DATA be sure to pull in the assigned contacts.
• I'm looking to gather information on client information in general:
  • I recommend using the Contacts/Vendors as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like Contact full name). Then in the AVAILABLE DATA be sure to pull in the information you need, like addresses, emails, or tags.
• I'm looking to gather information on payments made in the system (Great for tracking online transactions)
  • I recommend using the Invoice/Proposal payments (invoice Only) as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like invoice payment date). Be sure to review the "When" in the Date Range panel to select Invoice Payment Date. I also recommend adding the Invoice number and event name as additional data points so you know where to find the payment
• I'm looking to gather information on Line Item taxes
  • I recommend using the Proposal/Invoice Line Items as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like Line item name or date). I recommend also adding the invoice number so you know where to find it if you need to review the item in the invoice.
• I'm looking to gather information on to-dos only assigned to me
  • I recommend using the To-dos as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like to-do name). I recommend using the filter panel to filter out the to-dos only assigned to you!
• I'm looking to gather information on lead types and when they closed
  • I recommend using the Leads/Events as your REPORT STARTING POINT and then select the first data point you'd like to include (Like Event name). I recommend using the filter panel to filter in only your open and on hold and closed leads (Not booked or archived events) and add in your additional data points you need!
• Looking for a quick report to download? Look at the legacy reports (listed on the right side of the screen in the reporting tool). We have a wide range of prebuilt reports you can utilize at any time

Need further assistance? Please reach out to Support@planningpod.com or your assigned CSM if you have one and let us know what kind of report you are looking to build! We can help offer additional tips and guidance as you craft your report!