Lesson 10.5: Setting Up Custom and Restricted Reports

While FastFund Online includes a wide array of standard reports, every organization has unique data needs. You might need to extract a specific list of donors for a mail merge, analyze the average donation size by state, or provide a program director with a financial statement that only shows their specific department’s activity.

This lesson covers two advanced reporting tools: Custom Reports (also known as the Query Builder) for extracting specific data lists, and Restricted Reports for providing secure, limited financial views to specific users.

1. Custom Reports (Query Builder)

Custom Reports allow you to design your own lists by selecting exactly which columns (fields) you want to see and exactly which records (filters) should be included.

Detail vs. Summary Reports When creating a Custom Report, you must decide if you want a list of individual records or a calculation based on groups of records.

• Detail Report: Lists every record that matches your criteria.

    ◦ Example: A list of every individual donor name and address in New York.

• Summary (Aggregate) Report: Groups records together and performs a calculation.

    ◦ Example: A report showing the Total Count of donors in New York, or the Sum of all donations given in 2023.

    ◦ Available Aggregates: Sum, Average, Count, Minimum, Maximum.

Creating a Custom Report:

1. Navigate: Go to Reports > Reporting Tools > Custom Reports.

2. Initialize: Click New +, name the report, and assign which users are allowed to run it.

3. Select Output Fields:

    ◦ Select the Object (Table) and the Field.

    ◦ Click the arrow to move it to the “Display Fields” list.

    ◦ Note: This determines the columns of your spreadsheet/report.

4. Define Filter Criteria:

    ◦ Use the filter builder (similar to Report Filters) to define which records appear.

    ◦ Crucial Rule: If creating a mailing list, you must include the criteria Address Select is Equal to True to avoid duplicate address rows.

5. Generate: Click Generate Report to view as HTML, or export to Excel/CSV.

2. Complex Queries: Branching Logic

Custom Reports support “Branching Logic,” allowing you to ask complex questions using multiple groups of criteria.

• AND Logic (All Apply): Narrows results. (e.g., Donors who gave in 2022 AND gave in 2023).

• OR Logic (Any Apply): Broadens results. (e.g., Donors who gave in 2022 OR gave in 2023).

• Exclusion Logic (Does Not Exist): Finds records where data is missing.

    ◦ Example: “Find all donors who gave in 2022 (Branch 1) BUT DID NOT give in 2023 (Branch 2).” This is commonly used to find “LYBUNT” donors (Last Year But Unfortunately Not This).

3. Restricted Activity Reports

Standard financial statements show the entire organization’s activity. However, you may have a Program Director or a volunteer who needs to see only the revenue and expenses for their specific grant or department, without seeing the rest of the organization’s finances.

FastFund handles this via Restricted Reports.

How it works:

1. Create a User: Set up a login for the individual.

2. Assign Permissions: Give them the specific user permission for Activity Report (and remove permissions for other sensitive areas).

3. Create a Filter: Build a Report Filter that isolates their specific Cost Center (e.g., “Cost Center is equal to ‘Youth Program'”). Assign this filter specifically to that user.

4. Result: When that user logs in and runs the “Restricted Activity Report,” the system forces the application of that filter. They will see a Statement of Activities format, but it will calculate totals only for the transactions matching their assigned filter.

To Run a Restricted Report: Navigate to Reports > Financial Statements > Restricted Activity Report. Select the date range and the assigned filter.