Reporting is a way of extracting data from your Spektrix system.
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of Reporting and link out to other articles where you can start learning about the different concepts involved.
What is a Report?
A Report is an export from data that is stored in your Spektrix system. Data can be filtered based on Criteria and output into a document or spreadsheet.
Reports are always a live representation of what is on your system at the time the Report is run.
You might have a question, or a piece of information in mind that you are looking to find by running a Report.
An example of a question you might answer using a Report would be: What are the total ticket sales for Little Shop of Horrors?
Knowing the question you are trying to answer, or the piece of information you want to find, will help you determine what to do next.
What is the difference between a Customer List and a Report?
Depending on what information you need to export from your system, it’s possible you might need either a Customer List or a Report.
A Customer List puts customers into groups based on shared characteristics or behaviours - this is also known as segmentation.
Customer Lists only return data related to Customers.
An example of a question you might answer using a Customer List would be: Which people bought tickets to In the Heights this year?
The difference between Customer Lists and Reports:
- Customer Lists will always return a list of customers with information and count the total number of results. Customer Lists will only output information contained within the Customer record.
- Reports can return information that is not related to individual Customers and provide calculations for analysis. Reports can include things such as daily financial takings, seat capacities and analysis of specific actions such as donations made or use of Offers.
TIP: You can automate the running of Reports and Customer Lists with Report Schedules and Customer List Schedules.
Where to find Reports
You’ll find the Reports on your system in the Insights & Mailings Interface.
- To access and run Reports, you’ll need the Insights & Mailings User role.
- To edit, create and move reports, you’ll need the Insights & Mailings Administrator role.
The Insights and Mailings Interface has four main sections, Reports, Mailings, Customer Lists, Report Schedules and Customer List Schedules.
Take a look at our article on the Report Explorer for more information on how to search for and organise the Reports on your system.
How to Run a Report
To run a Report, you’ll first need to find the Report you want to run in the Report Explorer. Then, choose the Criteria Set and the file type you want to export to.
You can find out more about running Reports in the Support Centre article How to Run a Report.
Next, we’ll learn more about Standard and Custom Reports on your system.
Standard and Custom Reports
Reports in Spektrix are either Standard or Custom Reports.
Standard Reports
There are a variety of Standard Reports in Spektrix which are designed to suit a wide range of purposes and use cases.
Standard Reports…
- Are indicated by the blue toolbox icon.
- Have PDF or Excel templates attached, these are also referred to as formatted Reports.
- Can include calculations and visualisations in their templates.
- Come with one or more Standard Criteria Sets. You can also create and add your own Criteria Sets.
- Can be copied, but cannot be edited or deleted. If you create a copy of a Standard Report, that can be edited or deleted.
- Standard Reports can be run as a PDF, Excel (formatted or unformatted) or CSV.
TIP: Want to know if there’s a Standard Report that meets your needs? Visit A Guide to Standard Reports to find a full list of what’s available.
Custom Reports
If you have a specific Reporting need that is not met by any of the Standard Reports, you can also build or request your own Custom Reports.
Custom Reports…
- Appear with a paper icon.
- May or may not have a template depending on who has created them. Custom Reports with a template are sometimes referred to as formatted Reports. Custom Reports without a template, sometimes referred to as unformatted Reports, will have no styling and won't include calculations.
- Reports that we have built might have PDF or Excel templates attached if it is needed.
- You can create Custom Reports yourself, or request them from our team. Custom Reports that you build for yourself will not include a template.
- Custom Reports can be run as an unformatted Excel or CSV, but can only be run as a PDF or formatted Excel if they have a template attached.
TIP: If you can’t find a Standard Report that will meet your needs, you might want to consider learning how to build your own Custom Reports. You can also request a formatted or unformatted custom report from our Support Team by filling in the Report Request Form.
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Here’s an example of a formatted Standard Report opened in PDF.
In this example, the Average Price Tracker Report shows a calculation for Average Price.
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Here’s an example of an unformatted CSV Report opened in Excel.
In this example the same report, Average Price Tracker, contains the same data but without calculations or styling.
Troubleshooting Reports
Sometimes you might see discrepancies or something you weren’t expecting in your Reports.
The article Troubleshooting Reports aims to provide you with the steps to be able to investigate any common problems you might encounter when Reporting.
Building your own Custom Report
Building your own Custom Report in Spektrix does require some prior knowledge. You can find everything you need to know before you start in the Introduction to Building Custom Reports. Once you have read this, you can move on to the next article, How to Build a Custom Report.
Any Custom Reports that you build on your own will only export as unformatted CSV files.
You can open CSV files in Excel or Google Sheets but they do not come with any formatting or visuals, the Report just returns the data you request.
WARNING: Custom Reports are also not automatically updated with system updates which means that occasionally some may need to be recreated.
Requesting a Custom Report
You might want to consider requesting a Custom Report from us if:
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Your need is not met by a Standard Report.
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You are unable to build your own Custom Report.
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You need to have calculations in the Report which aren’t available through building your own Custom Report.
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You need a Custom Report to have a template or be formatted in a certain way.
If this is the case then our team will be happy to create a Custom Report for you. Take a look at our article on The Report Request Form to find out all the information that is required for requesting a report from us.
Further Reading
For step by step guidance on how to find, edit and run Reports, take a look at the following articles: