Reporting Tips (RE7 And NXT)

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Reporting is the #1 discussion topic when I visit nonprofit organizations! For most of us, there is a wealth of information in our Raiser's Edge database, but everyone wants to see the information in a slightly different way (different fields, calculations, etc.). You're not alone! Here are some tips from the pros (Blackbaud staff and nonprofits):

Repeat after me: query is not a reporting tool. Query can duplicate records if you include one-to-many fields (examples: constituent codes, phone numbers, etc.). Query however does feed into output (mail, export, reports, etc.), helping to select records for them. Queries are most commonly used on the "General" tab to select records, but sometimes within the "Filters" tab too (often for gifts, campaigns, funds, appeals, etc.)
Look for reports with a "Columns" tab to add/change report output fields. If there's no "Columns" tab, sometimes you can add/change fields within the "Format" tab. Speaking of the "Format" tab, change the name format for individuals, organizations and sometimes solicitors (fundraisers). You can create an Addressee/Salutation (in Configuration) that includes the "Constituent ID" field.
Good reporting comes down to clear expectations as to how each field will be used. If your team isn't using the database in the same way (or someone's entering "junk" into the fields), your reports will reflect that. You'll know you have work to do especially if people around your office are complaining about the reports.
It's tempting to create custom reports, but try the standard reports first. Custom reports take expertise to create, and work to maintain. Is it really that bad that a report is missing one field?

Want more tips? I'm leading an interactive webinar called 30-Minute Tips & Timesavers on September 20 at 1pm ET where you can learn more about Raiser's Edge reporting tips from me and other Raiser's Edge users.

News Raiser's Edge® Blog 09/04/2017 11:30am EDT

Added by Chris Geady

5 Comments

Cathy Spencer Sep '17

"Good reporting comes down to clear expectations" -- yes!
Thanks for the tips on the columns tab to add or change the output fields.

Joanne Felci Sep '17

Looking forward to the webinar on the 20th Chris. Honestly I have a lot of apprehension about using canned reports as they have given me incorrect data in the past. For the most part I use exports (ala the export menu...not query exports) especially when I'm wanting to find accurate financial data.

Mark Guncheon Sep '17

My favorite part of this blog post is "Repeat after me: query is not a reporting tool." I cannot tell you how often I have helped someone who was pulling a list and was having problems because they were only using query. I urge them to consider query as a tool to grab all records that may end up in your final list. Export and Report are the real tools that will giue you that final list.

Carley Haynes Sep '17

I highly encourage everyone in the office to try each and every standard report. It's quite amazing the variety of reports you can find in there! Thanks Chris!

Karen Stuhlfeier Sep '17

While I mostly agree that query is not a reporting tool, I successfully use a fund query for reporting. It works great and the numbers in it exactly match both my reports in RENXT and my RE financial reports. The benefit of using this fund qery is that I can easily export it and cut and past it into a Word document for a quick report and I have also used it for Dashboard and Pivot reports.