Reports in PlanGuru Analytics

So now that we've established that dashboards are for monitoring everyday financials and KPIs, which is great, but what about those monthly reviews, quarterly reports, board meetings, stuff like that? Right? That brings us to reports. Reports create structure around the numbers. Right? They make sure everyone's looking at the same story with the same definitions at the same time. They show what we planned, what actually happened, and what we're gonna do about it. Right? So just like dashboards, when adding a report, you can choose from a template library, each one with its own style and focus. Again, if you hover your mouse over the tooltip, see a brief description of the template and relevant data that's included. A lot of options here. However, these are also completely customizable. So let's open up an existing report that we have here called monthly review. And here we are with the report builder here. So, you know, right off the bat, you've got your cover letter. Scroll down. You see some of these metrics that we've already applied here. And, you know, you could number one, add your company logo here. Right? You can upload an image right here. You can adjust the text in any one of these headers. Right? You can change the color, you know, of these assets to match your branding. Completely customizable here. You have the full scope of your metric library here, whether that's your own or the, you know, full library, reach templates here. And what's pretty cool is something called the scratch pad. So if you've created, you know, a page here where whether that's a section of a page, an entire page, you know, and you wanna add that to the scratch pad by clicking this button right here, that means, you know, when you're creating other reports and you want to include that page in that report without without having to rebuild it, it's as simple as clicking and dragging it over, and it will populate. So a lot of customization ability here as well.

📑 Reports

While Dashboards are ideal for monitoring daily KPIs and real-time financial performance, Reports are designed for structured financial communication — including:

Monthly Reviews
Quarterly Reports
Board Meetings
Investor Updates
Executive Presentations

Reports create structure around the numbers. They ensure everyone is reviewing the same story, with the same definitions, at the same time — clearly showing:

What we planned
What actually happened
What we’re going to do about it

1️⃣ Why Use Reports?

Reports are ideal when you need:

A formal presentation format
Consistent recurring review documents
Structured comparison of Budget vs Actual vs Forecast
Professional exports for leadership or stakeholders
Branded, polished financial storytelling

Unlike dashboards (which are interactive monitoring tools), reports are meant to deliver a guided financial narrative.

2️⃣ Choosing a Report Template

Just like dashboards, when creating a report you can select from a Template Library.

Each template includes:

A brief description
Included KPIs and visuals
Specific use-case focus

Hover over the tooltip to preview details before selecting.

There are templates for:

Monthly reviews
Financial summaries
Variance reporting
Cash flow analysis
Executive board packages
And more

3️⃣ Opening the Report Builder

Let’s look at an example: Monthly Review Report. When opened, you’ll enter the Report Builder interface.

Right away, you’ll notice:

A cover page
Structured report sections
Metrics already applied to pages
Editable content blocks

4️⃣ Customizing Your Report

Reports are fully customizable — from layout to branding.

🖼 Adding Branding

You can:

Upload your Company Logo
Adjust header text
Modify section titles
Change colors to match your brand guidelines

This ensures your reports align with your company’s visual identity.

✏️ Editing Text & Layout

Every header and text block can be edited:

Update commentary
Modify section names
Add executive summaries
Provide contextual analysis

Reports allow you to combine financial visuals with written interpretation.

5️⃣ Using the Metric Library

Inside the Report Builder, you have access to:

Your saved metric templates
The full PlanGuru Analytics/Reach template library
Previously created dashboard metrics

You can drag and drop metrics directly into your report pages.

This makes report building efficient and consistent.

6️⃣ The Scratch Pad Feature

One of the most powerful report tools is the Scratch Pad.

What is the Scratch Pad?

The Scratch Pad allows you to save:

A section of a page
An entire page
A custom layout

So you can reuse it in future reports without rebuilding it.

How It Works

Click the Add to Scratch Pad button on a page or section.
The layout is saved.
In future reports, simply drag it in from the Scratch Pad.

This is ideal for:

Standard board meeting formats
Recurring executive summaries
Advisor client reporting packages
Departmental review pages