The Costly Mistake That Leads to Report Rework
Have you ever spent time building a Salesforce report only to discover it can't show you the data you actually need? If so, you're in good company. One of the most common troubleshooting requests I receive from clients is help with reports that don't display essential information—like a donor's most recent gift amount or an attendee's program participation history.
The culprit is almost always the same: choosing the wrong report type at the very beginning of the process. This seemingly simple decision locks in what objects and relationships your report can access, and it cannot be changed later without starting over from scratch.
Before jumping into your first report within Salesforce, it's important to step back and think very clearly about what you need to see. It sounds simple enough, but when the prompt asks you to pick a report type, that's essentially what Salesforce is asking: What records and which fields do you want visible?
Let me walk you through a strategic approach to planning your Salesforce reports that will save you countless hours of rework and frustration.
The Four Essential Questions to Ask Before Creating Any Report
1. What Do I Need to See?
This first question is the most fundamental, yet it's often given the least thought. You need to clearly identify:
- Which objects contain your data? If you want to see both contact information and donation details, you need a report type that includes both the Contact and Opportunity (donation) objects.
- Which relationships matter? Do you need to see how Contacts relate to Households? How Donations relate to Campaigns? The connections between objects are just as important as the objects themselves.
- Which specific fields will tell your story? Make a list of exactly which fields you'll need from each object.
Real-World Example: A client wanted to create a report showing each contact's most recent donation date and amount. They chose a standard Contact report type, but couldn't figure out why donation fields weren't available. The solution? We needed to create a new report using the "Contacts with Donations" report type instead, which includes both Contact and Opportunity objects.
2. How Do I Need to See It?
The format of your report significantly impacts which report type is appropriate:
- Simple list reports work well for operational tasks like call lists
- Summary reports group data for subtotals and counts
- Matrix reports show data in a grid format with rows and columns
- Joined reports combine multiple report blocks side by side
Think about whether you'll need:
- Groupings by date, category, or location
- Summary calculations like averages, counts, or totals
- Charts or graphs for visual representation
- Chronological or alphabetical sorting
3. How Is This Being Used?
The intended use of your report should guide its structure:
- For a dashboard component: Consider what metrics need to be highlighted and what filters might be applied by dashboard viewers
- For export to Excel: Include all raw data fields that might be needed for further analysis
- For regular monitoring: Set up conditional highlighting for exceptions or thresholds
- For stakeholder presentations: Focus on clarity and storytelling elements
Understanding the audience and purpose helps determine the level of detail required and how to organize the information most effectively.
4. What Records Should This Be Limited To?
Filtering is a powerful capability that keeps your reports focused and relevant:
- Standard filters limit records based on fields in your primary object
- Field filters allow for specific criteria like date ranges or amount thresholds
- Cross filters (which we'll cover in detail in future posts) let you filter based on related records
For example, you might want to:
- Show only contacts created in the last month
- Display only donations above a certain amount
- Include only participants who attended a specific event
- Exclude inactive records or closed opportunities
One important note: With cross filters, you can filter based on related records even if those records aren't included in your report type. So if you want to see all contacts who attended a specific event, you can use a cross filter even if your report type doesn't include the Event object.
Putting It All Together: A Strategic Approach
Let's look at how this planning process might work in practice.
Scenario: Your executive director asks for a report showing major donors ($1,000+) who haven't given this fiscal year but have attended at least one event.
Planning Process:
- What do I need to see?
- Contact information (name, email, phone)
- Previous donation history (last gift date, last gift amount)
- Event attendance (most recent event attended)
- → This requires a report type that includes Contacts, Opportunities, and Campaign Members
- How do I need to see it?
- A simple list format sorted by last gift amount (descending)
- → A basic tabular report will work
- How is this being used?
- For donor stewardship outreach
- → Include contact information and relevant relationship manager
- What records should this be limited to?
- Donors with at least one gift of $1,000+
- No gifts in the current fiscal year
- At least one event attendance
- → Requires both standard filters and cross filters
With these questions answered, you can confidently select the appropriate report type and build a report that delivers exactly what you need.
A Time Investment That Pays Dividends
As you become more familiar with Salesforce reporting, this planning process might take just a few moments. For beginners, however, I encourage you to take as much time as needed to think through these questions thoroughly. The few minutes you spend planning upfront can save hours of reworking reports later.
You may find yourself recreating reports more often if you overlook the prework. The time you invest in planning is returned many times over in reporting accuracy and efficiency.
Next Steps: Your Report Planning Worksheet
Before creating your next Salesforce report, jot down answers to these four questions:
- What objects and fields do I need to see? (List them all)
- What format will best present this information? (List, summary, matrix, or joined)
- Who will use this report and for what purpose? (Be specific)
- What criteria should limit which records appear? (Consider all relevant filters)
With this planning worksheet complete, you'll be ready to select the appropriate report type and build a report that truly meets your needs—the first time. And if you are working with a dedicated admin or consultant, they will be thrilled that you have clearly laid out the requirements for them.
In future posts, I'll dive deeper into specific report features like cross filters, bucketing, and custom summary formulas. But mastering this foundation of proper report planning is the critical first step to becoming a Salesforce reporting expert.
