Unlocking the Power of Salesforce Reports: An Ultimate Guide

Data – it’s a small word, but it holds immense power in our digital era. The trick, however, lies not just in collecting data, but in understanding and transforming it into actionable insights. This is precisely where Salesforce Reports come to the forefront.

Salesforce, a leading name in the customer relationship management (CRM) space, equips you with an arsenal of tools to maximize your data’s potential. Among these, the Reports feature shines brightly, enabling you to dissect and understand data efficiently, converting it into useful information that can inform your decisions.

But, if you’re just dipping your toes into the Salesforce pool, it might seem a little complex initially. Worry not – we’re here to simplify things. This comprehensive guide will take you on a smooth journey through creating, editing, deleting, and subscribing to reports in Salesforce. 

Before delving into the process of creating a report in Salesforce, it is essential to understand the fundamentals of Salesforce reports.

What Are Salesforce Reports?

Salesforce Reports is a dynamic tool within the Salesforce platform that allows you to view, analyze, and present your data in various formats. They offer you an effective way to handle the wealth of information within your Salesforce system. With Salesforce Reports, you can retrieve data, organize it in a logical way, and then use it to gain insights about different aspects of your Salesforce usage. 

Whether you need to assess your sales performance, monitor customer trends, or track the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, Salesforce Reports equip you with the necessary tools to accomplish this. Simply put, Salesforce Reports are your key to unlocking meaningful data-driven insights.

Types of Reports in Salesforce 

Salesforce offers a range of reports designed to cater to diverse business needs. Understanding the differences between each type of report can help you choose the most suitable one for your specific requirements. Let’s delve into the four types of Salesforce reports.

1. Tabular Reports

Tabular reports are like an Excel spreadsheet. They offer a flat, simple display, showcasing your data in rows and columns, without any sort of grouping. These reports are ideal for creating lists of records, like all the contacts in a particular region or a list of leads.

It’s best for situations where data analysis isn’t required. If you’ve ever wanted to answer questions like “How many leads do we have?” or “What are all our open opportunities?”, a tabular report can do the trick.

One point to note: tabular reports don’t support generating charts or graphs as there’s no grouping or summarization of data.

2. Summary Reports

Summary reports, as the name suggests, provide summarized information. They offer more than your basic tabular reports as they grant you the ability to group data rows, examine subtotals, and generate charts. They can answer more complex questions like, “How many opportunities are in each stage?”, or “What’s the total value of opportunities by close date?”.

This report type shines when you need to categorize your data by certain criteria. For instance, sales data can be grouped according to the salesperson, geographical region, or type of product.

3. Matrix Reports

Matrix reports taking things a notch higher, offering a two-dimensional view of your data. Essentially, they’re summary reports with an extra dimension. These reports enable you to organize and summarize data across both rows and columns.

For instance, you want to analyze your sales by product and by region over time. A matrix report would let you do just that. You could have products on one axis and regions on the other, with each cell showing the total sales for a particular product in a specific region. 

4. Joined Reports

Joined reports are the most complex, but also the most flexible of all Salesforce report types. They enable you to combine and consolidate data from up to five different report types into a single comprehensive report. Each report type becomes a separate “block”, allowing you to view different types of data side-by-side.

For instance, if you want to compare the sales performance of your team with customer satisfaction ratings, you can create a report that combines data from the “Sales” and “Customer Satisfaction” report types into a single view. A joined report could show you sales data in one block and customer survey results in another, giving you the insights you need to identify any correlations between the two.

However, they do require a little more skill to create and interpret, and it’s important to ensure that the different blocks of data are related in a meaningful way.

How to Create Reports in Salesforce

Creating reports in Salesforce is an essential skill for effectively managing your data and gaining valuable insights. Let’s walk you through the process of building your own Salesforce report from scratch.

Step 1: Initiating a New Salesforce Report

To begin, click on the app launcher and look for the “Reports” object in your horizontal navigation bar. If you can’t find it there:

• Check the “More” tab for additional objects.
• Click “New Report” to open a new window for report creation.

Step 2: Picking Your Salesforce Report Type

Next, choose your desired report type by clicking the “Continue” button. There’s a wide array of report types available, from “Accounts” and “Opportunities” to “Deals” and “Cases”. To make your search easier, type in a keyword, like “Deals”, and you’ll be presented with suitable options.

Step 3: Refining with Data Filters

Filters are the best part when dealing with extensive data lists. To start defining the scope of your report using Salesforce’s standard filter logic, click on the “Filters” panel.

Suppose you want a report that only includes open deals. Here’s how to do it:

• Find the “Status” field.
• Click the “Status” filter type and choose the statuses you want to include (e.g., only open deals status, won, lost, or all).
• Hit “Apply”.

Remember, you can add more filters to your report based on your specific requirements.

Step 4: Customizing Columns/Fields via the Outline Pane

The “Outline” pane lets you add or remove columns effortlessly via a drag-and-drop feature.

Say you want to add an estimated closing date to your report. Simply type “Est. Close Date” in the Columns section and filter your results. Then, with a simple double-click or drag, you can move the field directly into your report on the right, placing it precisely where it’s required.

Step 5: Grouping Your Data

You might want to group your data based on specific fields. For instance, if you’re grouping “Deals” by “Est. Close Date”, you can do so by typing “Est. Close Date” into the “Groups” section. Your data can then be grouped by Day, Calendar Week, Calendar Month, and so forth.

Step 6: Saving Your Salesforce Report

Finally, to save your Salesforce report:

• Click on “Save & Run”.
• Fill out the “Save Report” details with a “Report Name”, “Report Unique Name”, and a “Report Description”.
• Choose a Folder in which to save your report. If you want the report to be private, opt for the “Private Reports Folder”. If it’s for your entire organization, select the “Public Reports Folder”.
• Click “Save” to finalize.

With this guide, creating reports in Salesforce is a breeze.

How to Edit and Delete a Report in Salesforce

Salesforce not only empowers you to create diverse reports, but also provides you the flexibility to edit and delete them as needed. Below, we’ll walk you through two key processes: modifying an existing Salesforce report and removing one that’s no longer needed.

1. Editing Your Salesforce Report

• First, make your way to the “Reports” tab on the Navigation Bar.
• Look for the report you’d like to modify and click the downward-facing arrow right next to it.
• In the dropdown menu that appears, opt for “Edit”.

You’re now in the report’s edit mode, and can make any necessary changes.

2. Deleting Unneeded Reports

Over time, some reports might lose their relevance. Here’s how you can clear the clutter:

Method 1: Deleting from the Reports Tab

• Head over to the “Reports” section, accessible from the Navigation Bar.
• Once there, locate the report you wish to discard.
• Click the downward-pointing arrow next to the report, which opens up a dropdown menu.
• Select “Delete” from the options presented.

Method 2: Deleting from the Report’s Run Page

• Begin by opening the report you aim to remove.
• Upon accessing the report, look for the downward arrow, and give it a click.
• From the ensuing dropdown list, choose “Delete”.

Just like that, you’ve successfully removed a report from your Salesforce. It’s all about maintaining a streamlined reporting environment!

How to Subscribe to a Salesforce Report

Salesforce makes it easy to stay on top of the latest data trends with its handy report subscription feature. By subscribing to a report, you’ll receive timely notifications that keep you abreast of your data. Let’s delve into the step-by-step process to subscribe to a Salesforce report.

1. Navigate to the Reports Section

Head over to the “Reports” tab, conveniently located on the Navigation Bar.

2. Opt for ‘Subscribe’

Spot the report you are interested in and click the downward arrow next to it. From the dropdown menu that emerges, choose “Subscribe”.

3. Tailor Your Subscription

Now it’s time to customize your subscription to suit your needs. Decide on the frequency (weekly, daily, or every weekday) and the specific time for evaluating your subscription. For instance, you might want the report to run every Friday at 7 p.m.

Additionally, you have the option to add conditions at this juncture. Each condition is defined in three parts:

• The Aggregate: This is the basis of the condition (e.g., sum of amount, largest amount).
• The Operator: This serves as the basis of comparison (e.g., equal, greater than, etc.).
• The Value: This is the number that you want compared to the aggregate (e.g., 2000).

4. Activate Your Subscription

With everything set, click on “Save”. If you’re ready to start receiving updates, make sure your subscription is active. However, there may be occasions when you want to unsubscribe from a report. Here’s how you can do it:

For Salesforce Lightning:

• Click on “Subscribe” and then select “Unsubscribe” on the subsequent page.

For Salesforce Classic:

• Click on “Edit Subscription” and then select “Delete” on the following page.

If you’re curious about which reports you’re subscribed to, you can check the “Items I am Subscribed to” list view from the dropdown menu.

By subscribing to reports, you’re effectively creating a bridge between your Salesforce data and your daily workflow. 

Summing Up

And there it is – your all-inclusive guide to creating, editing, deleting, and subscribing to reports in Salesforce. These insights will help you leverage Salesforce to the fullest, ensuring the business stays data-driven and forward-thinking.

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