Salesforce Reports Tutorial: From Basic to Advanced

Most Salesforce users know how to run a report. Fewer know how to build one that actually answers the question they're asking. This guide covers the four report types, how to use them, and the 6 reports every sales team should have built.

Estimated read time: 12 minutes

The four report types

Type	Structure	Best for
Tabular	Flat list of rows	Exports, simple lists
Summary	Grouped rows with subtotals	Pipeline by stage, revenue by rep
Matrix	Rows and columns (pivot)	Win rate by quarter and rep
Joined	Multiple report blocks	Side-by-side comparisons

Start with Summary reports — they cover most business questions.

Building a Summary report: Pipeline by Stage

1. App Launcher → Reports → New Report
2. Object: Opportunities → Start Report
3. In the report builder:
   • Filters: Add "Close Date = This Quarter" and "Stage Not Equal To Closed Won, Closed Lost"
   • Group Rows: Drag "Stage" to the Group Rows area
   • Columns: Add Name, Account Name, Amount, Close Date, Owner
   • Summarize: Click Amount column → check "Sum"
4. Save → name it "Open Pipeline by Stage - This Quarter"
5. Run

You now have a report grouped by stage, with total pipeline per stage.

Adding a formula column

Formula columns let you calculate values per row. Example: Days Until Close.

Report builder → Add Column → Add Summary Formula:

CloseDate - TODAY()

Format as Number (0 decimal places). Label: "Days to Close."

Now every row shows how many days until the close date.

Filters: the most important skill

Filters determine what data appears. Three filter types:

• Standard Filters: Date range, owner, record type — quick selects
• Field Filters: Any field, any operator (equals, contains, greater than, etc.)
• Filter Logic: Combine filters with AND/OR/NOT

Example filter logic: Show opportunities where (Stage = Proposal OR Stage = Negotiation) AND Amount > 50000:

1 AND 2

Where Filter 1 = Stage equals Proposal, Negotiation And Filter 2 = Amount greater than 50000.

Building a Matrix report: Win Rate by Quarter and Rep

1. New Report → Opportunities → Start Report
2. Report Type: Matrix
3. Group Rows: Owner Name
4. Group Columns: Close Quarter (derived from Close Date)
5. Columns: Count of Opportunities, Sum of Amount
6. Filters: Stage = Closed Won, Closed Lost
7. Add Summary Formula: Win Rate = CLOSED_WON_COUNT / TOTAL_COUNT (requires custom formula)

Matrix reports are powerful for cross-dimensional analysis but require more setup.

The 6 reports every sales team needs

1. Open Pipeline by Stage (Summary)

• Object: Opportunities
• Filter: Stage not in [Closed Won, Closed Lost], Close Date = This Quarter
• Group: Stage
• Summary: Sum of Amount

2. Pipeline by Owner (Summary)

• Same as above, Group by Owner instead of Stage
• Shows each rep's pipeline

3. Stale Opportunities (Tabular)

• Filter: Stage not in [Closed Won, Closed Lost], Last Activity Date < 14 days ago
• Columns: Name, Account, Stage, Amount, Close Date, Owner, Last Activity Date
• Sort: Last Activity Date ascending

4. Closed Won This Month (Summary)

• Filter: Stage = Closed Won, Close Date = This Month
• Group: Owner
• Summary: Sum of Amount, Count

5. Win/Loss by Quarter (Matrix)

• Group Rows: Owner
• Group Columns: Close Quarter
• Columns: Count, Sum of Amount
• Filter: Stage in [Closed Won, Closed Lost]

6. Overdue Opportunities (Tabular)

• Filter: Stage not in [Closed Won, Closed Lost], Close Date < TODAY()
• Sort: Close Date ascending
• Columns: Name, Account, Stage, Amount, Close Date, Owner

Scheduling reports

Reports can be emailed on a schedule:

1. Run the report → Subscribe
2. Set frequency (daily, weekly, monthly)
3. Set time and recipients
4. Set conditions (only email if record count > 0)

Use this for the Stale Opportunities and Overdue Opportunities reports — send weekly to managers.

Common mistakes

1. Reports that run as the wrong user Reports show data based on the running user's access. If a manager runs a report, they see their team's data. If it's scheduled to run as a junior rep, they see only their own. Check "Run As" settings.

2. No date filter A report without a date filter returns all historical records. Always add a date range unless you explicitly want all-time data.

3. Summary formulas that divide by zero AMOUNT / COUNT fails when COUNT is 0. Use IF(COUNT > 0, AMOUNT / COUNT, 0).

4. Too many columns Reports with 20+ columns are unreadable. Build focused reports for specific questions.

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• Audit of existing reports (we delete what nobody uses)
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• Conditional formatting and summary formulas
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Related reading

• How to Create a Salesforce Dashboard That Matters
• Your Pipeline Dashboards Are Lying to You
• Salesforce Reports Nobody Trusts? Here's the Fix