HubSpot’s custom reports are a powerful tool that allows businesses to gain deeper insights into their performance data and track key metrics unique to their business.
Whether you want to analyse sales activities, track marketing campaigns, or monitor customer service efficiency, HubSpot custom reports enable you to create tailored views of your data for meaningful insights.
In this detailed guide, we’ll walk through a step-by-step process for creating effective custom reports in HubSpot.
By the end of this article, you’ll have a comprehensive understanding of how to set up custom reports, customise them for your specific needs, and maximise their effectiveness.
What are HubSpot custom reports?
HubSpot’s custom reports offer more flexibility than standard reports. They allow you to choose which data points to include, how to display the information, and how to filter it for clarity.
Custom reports help you answer complex business questions, such as,
- Which marketing channels generate the highest number of qualified leads?
- What’s the average deal size by a sales representative?
- How effective is our customer support team in resolving tickets?
With HubSpot’s custom report builder, you can easily tailor your data analysis to gain deeper insights and drive better business decisions.
Additional benefits of HubSpot custom reports,
Improved data visualisation
Custom reports offer more advanced data visualisation options like pivot tables, segmented bar charts, and multi-axis graphs, which are not available in standard reports.
Cross-team collaboration
Share custom reports across different departments like sales, marketing, and service to foster collaboration and ensure everyone is aligned with business goals.
Real-time data access
Unlike manual reporting methods, HubSpot’s custom reports update in real-time, ensuring you always have access to the most up-to-date data.
Types of HubSpot custom reports
HubSpot offers several types of custom reports, each serving different purposes:
Single-object reports
Analyse data from a single object like contacts, companies, or deals.
This report type is perfect for getting insights into the performance of one specific area, such as tracking the number of new contacts added within a certain time frame.
Cross-object reports
These reports combine data from multiple objects, such as linking contacts with deals, to analyse relationships between different data points.
Use this type when you need to understand interactions across various data sources, like how certain contacts impact deal closures.
Funnel reports
Track process stages, such as leads moving through different sales stages, to visualise conversions over time.
This report is valuable for identifying bottlenecks in your sales funnel and improving the efficiency of your sales process.
Attribution reports
Attribute revenue, traffic, or other outcomes to specific marketing actions or campaigns to measure effectiveness.
For example, you can track which marketing channels are driving the most revenue or contributing to conversions.
Activity reports
These reports focus on tracking the activities of your sales or service teams, such as emails sent, meetings booked, or calls made.
Activity reports are ideal for monitoring team performance and ensuring that goals are being met.
Choosing the right report type is crucial as it dictates what kind of data you can analyse and how you can visualise it.
Step-by-step guide to creating a custom report in HubSpot
Creating custom reports in HubSpot can seem daunting, but by following these steps, you’ll be able to build effective reports that deliver the insights you need.
Step 1: Navigate to the custom report builder
- Log in to your HubSpot account.
- Go to your dashboard and click on the “Reports” tab.
- Select “Reports” from the drop-down menu and then click on “Create Custom Report”.
For additional details on how to navigate and use the custom report builder, refer to this comprehensive HubSpot guide on creating custom reports.
Step 2: Select the report type
Choose the report type that best suits your analysis needs. For instance:
Use this if you want to analyse data from one object like deals or contacts.
Select this if you want to analyse relationships between different objects, like linking deals with the contacts associated with them.
Track interactions such as emails sent, meetings booked, or calls made.
Choose this option to track conversions and see how contacts move through stages like MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) to SQL (Sales Qualified Lead).
This report type allows you to attribute revenue or other outcomes to specific marketing actions or campaigns, helping you understand which channels and efforts are driving the most value for your business.
Step 3: Add data sets and properties
Choose the objects
Select one or more objects you want to analyse (e.g., Contacts, Deals, Companies).
- For a single-object report, choose just one object such as “Contacts” or “Deals.”
- For a cross-object report, select multiple objects like “Contacts” and “Deals” to analyse their relationships.
Select the properties
Choose specific properties for the objects you want to include in the report. For example:
- For deals, select properties like “Deal Stage,” “Deal Amount,” and “Close Date.”
- For contacts, include properties like “Lifecycle Stage,” “Lead Status,” and “Industry.”
Set up filters
Apply filters to narrow down the data displayed in your report based on certain criteria, such as time frame, deal owner, or contact source.
- If you’re analysing deal performance, set a filter for “Deal Close Date” to show only deals closed within the last month.
Or if you’re focusing on sales rep performance, apply a filter for “Deal Owner” to see individual contributions.
Group and segment data
Use the group-by and segment options to organise data into meaningful categories, such as grouping deals by stage or contacts by industry.
Need help setting up complex custom reports in HubSpot? Get professional assistance from our HubSpot implementation experts.
Step 4: Choose a visualisation type
- Select how you want to visualise your data bar charts, pie charts, line graphs, or tables.
- Customise your visualisation by grouping data points or segmenting data based on properties like a deal owner or lead source.
- Preview your report to ensure that the data is displayed as intended.
Step 5: Save and share your report
Save the report
Click on “Save” and give your report a meaningful name, such as “Monthly Sales Performance by Deal Owner.”
Add to a dashboard
If you have a specific dashboard set up for your team, add the report to that dashboard.
Set up sharing
Share the report with team members via email or generate a sharing link. You can also automate report sharing at regular intervals.
Step 6: Advanced customisations, if needed
Create calculated properties
Use calculated fields to derive metrics such as conversion rates, average deal size, or time spent in each stage.
Go to the “Properties” section in the report builder and click on “Create Calculated Property.”
Add custom goals
Set goals within your reports (e.g., monthly sales targets) and track progress towards these goals.
Enhance your HubSpot reports with our GA4 GTM implementation services for advanced tracking and analysis.
Building custom dashboards with HubSpot custom reports
Once you have several custom reports, it’s useful to group them into dashboards for a complete view of your business activities.
Here’s how:
- Go to “Dashboards” and click on “Create Dashboard.”
- Choose a template based on your business needs, such as Marketing, Sales, or Service dashboards.
- Add your saved custom reports to the dashboard and arrange them in a way that provides a clear overview of your data.
- Set up email notifications to send regular dashboard updates to stakeholders.
Explore the top HubSpot extensions in 2024 to further optimise your HubSpot custom reports and marketing strategies.
Using HubSpot custom reports for different teams
HubSpot custom reports can be tailored for specific teams:
Marketing
Create reports to track lead generation sources, campaign performance, and website visitor behavior.
Sales
Build reports that show deal progress, sales activity, and pipeline health.
Improve your sales data visibility with custom HubSpot reports, tailored by our HubSpot sales consulting team.
Service
Monitor ticket resolution times, customer satisfaction, and support efficiency.
Learn how to create HubSpot workflows to automate your reporting processes and manage data more effectively.
Troubleshooting common issues with HubSpot custom reports
If you encounter problems while creating or viewing your custom reports, consider these solutions:
Incorrect data display
Check your filters and properties to ensure they match the data you want to analyse.
Missing data
Make sure all relevant fields are filled out in HubSpot and that your report includes the correct objects and properties.
Slow report loading
Simplify your report by reducing the number of visualisations or data points.
Connecting HubSpot custom reports to Google Data Studio
If you need even more advanced analytics, consider connecting HubSpot to Google Data Studio:
- Use a third-party connector like Supermetrics to pull HubSpot data into Google Data Studio.
- Create advanced visualisations and combine HubSpot data with other sources like Google Analytics for a comprehensive analysis.
Optimise your HubSpot custom reports by integrating them with Google Analytics using our Google Analytics implementation services.
Creating effective custom reports in HubSpot is essential for making informed decisions and driving business success. By following this step-by-step guide, you can build insightful reports that help track performance and optimise your strategies.
Need help setting up custom reports?
Schedule a free 30-minute consultation call with us to get personalised assistance in building and optimising your HubSpot custom reports.
