Report Parameters

A formatted Standard Report outputs data using templated calculations and visualizations. Report Parameters determine how the data is displayed, giving users the option to make customizations to formatted Standard Reports. Report Parameters can provide greater flexibility and control over Reporting.

This article will cover what Report Parameters are and how you can use them.

Before reading this article, make sure you’re familiar with:

• Introduction to Reporting

Report Parameters are currently available for the formatted versions of the following Standard Reports:

• Event Sales Report (detailed) 
• Event Sales Report (instances summary)
• Event sales report (summary)

For details on the Parameters available for these Reports, view each Report’s entry in A Guide to Standard Reports in Spektrix.

More Standard Reports will be updated to include Report Parameters in the future.

TIP: Report Parameters do not affect the unformatted versions of Standard Reports. Report Parameters are not available for Custom Reports.

What are Report Parameters?

Report Parameters determine how data is displayed in a Standard Report (not Custom Reports) that is output as a PDF or formatted Excel sheet.

While Standard Reports have default Parameter values, users have the option to set custom values to allow for customization.

This can include:

• Showing or hiding financial information.
• Configuring financial values. For example, including or excluding tax in Prices.
• Displaying or hiding sections, tables, columns, gauges or other visual elements. For example, including or excluding a Ticket Type column.
• Configuring display options. For example, sorting Instances by name or start date.

While setting custom Parameter values can change how data is displayed in formatted Reports, the raw data will remain the same. Custom Parameter values will not affect or change the output of unformatted Reports.

When setting Parameters to hide sections, tables or columns, the data that is not displayed will not be missing but rather hidden or calculated differently using existing figures from a Report’s raw output.

• The Event Sales Report (summary):

  

  The same Report run with the same Criteria but different Parameters that removes the Percentage of Financial Target (excluding Reservations) gauge, the Percentage of Capacity Sold column, the Percentage of Capacity Sold and Reserved column, the Capacity column, the Seats Target column and the Percentage Seats Target Sold column:

  

What is the difference between Criteria and Parameters ?

Criteria is used to filter the data that will be run through the Report. When setting Criteria, you’ll decide which data will be included in the Report. For example, you may want to include data about performances in the 2025-2026 Season but not the 2024-2025 season.

Parameters determine how that data is displayed in a formatted Standard Report. You have the option to change how a Standard Report can look by changing the default Parameter values. For example, a Standard Report by default can display a column that calculates percentage of sales against a financial target. You can decide if you want to show or hide that column.

How do Report Parameters work?

Report Parameters are part of a Report’s Criteria Set. Criteria and Parameters are set together before running or scheduling Reports.

Parameters have default values which are automatically set. You only need to change the values if you’d like the Report to display differently.

If you change the Parameter values before running a Report, they will revert back to their default values when you run the Report again at a later time. However, you can save specific Parameter values so that you can easily run them again. For example, if you’d like a Report to always exclude tax.

Parameters and their values may differ across Reports depending on what is displayed in each formatted version. For example, the Event Sales Report (detailed) may have options to hide full tables while the Event Sales Report (instances summary) may only have options to hide columns.

How do I select custom Parameter Values?

After you’ve selected a Criteria Set, go to the tab labeled Parameters. Here you can change selecting values using checkboxes or dropdowns. For example:

Here are types of Parameters you may see and how to set them:

• Display Parameters
• Financial Value Parameters
• Visibility Parameters

Tooltips appear next to each parameter and give a description.

Display Parameters

Display Parameters are set using a checkbox or dropdown.

You can choose from the available options in a dropdown menu. For checkboxes, you can check the box to set the statement as TRUE.

Here is an example of how Display Parameters appear:

Examples you may find include:

• Display Financial Values
• Sort by Event Name
• Sort by First Instance

• An Event Sales Report (Summary) may output a table, sorting the Instances by date:

  

  The same Report may output the following Report when sorted by Event Name:

  

Financial Value Parameters

Configure different financial values by selecting a definition from the dropdown. For checkboxes, check the box to set the statement as TRUE.

Here is an example of how Configuration of Financial Value Parameters appear:

Examples you may find include:

• Including Tax
• Excluding Tax
• Exclude Ticket Commission
• Include Agent Commission
• Display Value Definition in Report Header

Each Parameter listed (for example, Price, Levy or Ticket Commission) can have tax included or excluded, depending on the selection of the individual dropdown.

For example, if the Ticket Commission dropdown includes a value for “Including Tax,” this refers to the tax only on the Ticket Commission. Where Parameters exclude the value, for example, “Exclude Ticket Commission,” this will exclude both the Ticket Commission and the tax applied to it.

• An Event Sales Report (detailed) may output the following financial information:

  

  The same Report may output the following when custom Report Parameters are configured to exclude tax, levy, ticket commissions and agent commissions:

  

  Changes in the financial values:

  Value	With default Parameter values	With custom Parameter values
  Gross Yield	1,420.00	1,183.09
  As %age of FInancial Capacity	5.3%	6.3%
  Average Yield per Ticket	7.76	6.46
  As %age of Full Price	69.3%	83.1%

  REMINDER: While changing the configuration of the financial values changes what is displayed in the formatted Report, the raw data remains the same.

Display Value Definitions

Reports may have the Parameter to display value definitions in the Report header:

Here as an example of how value definitions may appear:

In this example, the definition reads “Value Configuration: Price Including Tax, Levy Including Tax, Excluding Ticket Commission, Including Agency Commission.”

Visibility Parameters

You can use Visibility Parameters to display or hide elements such as tables, columns, sections or gauges. Check the box to display or uncheck the box to hide the selected element.

Visibility Parameters appear like this example:

Examples you may find include:

• Sales by Sales Channel
• Sales by Subscription
• Ticket Type
• Lock Type

• The Event Sales Report (detailed) can output as the following:

  

  With Report Parameters, you can hide certain tables. In the example above, you can see tables for Sales by Price Band, Sales by Seating Area and Sales by Price Band and Ticket Type. The same Report above may appear with Report Parameters configured to hide the three tables:

  

How do I save custom Parameter values?

If there are custom Parameter values you’d like to use often with a Report, you can save them by doing the following:

• Copy and edit Standard Criteria Sets:. Do this if you’d like to use Standard Criteria Sets but want to modify and save custom Parameter values
• Create Custom Criteria Sets: Do this if you’d like to create new Criteria Sets with custom Criteria and Parameter values

Modifying and saving Criteria Sets take place in the Insights & Mailings Interface and requires the Administrator Role.

TIP: To access the Insights & Mailings Interface, you’ll need both the Insights & Mailings User Role and the Insights & Mailings Administrator Role. If you don’t have this Role, ask the Settings Administrator in your organization to add these Roles to your User Account.

How do I copy Criteria Sets?

While Standard Criteria Sets can’t be modified, you can copy them first and modify the copies.

To copy a Criteria Set:

1. Search for and expand the Report in the Report Explorer
2. On the right side of the Criteria Set you’d like to copy, click the three dots and select Copy

A new Criteria Set will appear with the name “Copy of [Name of Criteria Set].”

How do I edit Criteria Sets?

You can edit only copied or custom Criteria Sets.

To edit a copied or custom Criteria Set:

1. Search for and expand the Report in the Report Explorer
2. On the right side of the Criteria Set you’d like to copy, click the three dots and select Edit

3. Make edits, including:

   • Renaming the Criteria Set 

     TIP: We recommend naming your Criteria Set to include information about both Criteria and Parameters, for example: “By Event excluding Ticket Commissions.”

   • Modifying the Criteria
   • Clicking the Parameters tab and modifying the Parameters

   TIP: You can switch between the Criteria and Parameters tabs and the edits will stay the same even before you save.

4. After you’ve made all edits, click Save

How do I delete Criteria Sets?

You can delete only copied or custom Criteria Sets. Reports should have at least one active Run Setting.

To delete a copied or custom Criteria Set:

1. Search for and expand the Report in the Report Explorer
2. On the right side of the Criteria Set you’d like to copy, click the three dots and select Delete
3. From the Confirmation pop-up, click Confirm

WARNING: Deleting a Criteria Set is permanent.

How do I create custom Criteria Sets?

To create a custom Criteria Set:

1. Search for and expand the Report  in the Report Explorer
2. Click New criteria set

3. Name the Custom Criteria Set 

   TIP: We recommend naming your Criteria Set to include information about both, for example: “By Event excluding Ticket Commissions.”

4. Add Criteria

5. Click the Parameters heading and set your Parameter values 

   TIP: You can switch between the Criteria and Parameters tabs and the edits will stay the same even before you save.

6. Click Save

What’s Next?

Once your Report Parameters have been set, copied, modified and/or saved, you can run or schedule Reports. Learn more by reading the following articles:

• How to Run a Report
• Report Schedules