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Using Report Builder

Builder is a flexible tool for creating custom reports. Selecting
Reports > Report Builder
 in the left navigation takes you to a blank report where you can build your own starting from choosing the appropriate data table and adding desired fields, filters, subtotals and display options. You can include custom fields.
When you select a report labeled as
Build Your Own
, the report opens in the Report Builder tool with no pre-selected fields and filters. The Report Type, however, is pre-selected as a Matters report, which establishes what fields and filters are available to select for that report. Different report types can be selected from the
Build Your Own
 dropdown.
Using the Report Builder to create a report provides the most options for returning the exact data you want, in a variety of layouts.

Selecting the Report Type

The first step in building the report is to select the report type. Depending on the report type you choose, different options are available for columns and filters, and information in the Report Builder is organized according to that type to make it efficient to build your report.
Report type
Description
Budget report
Includes a breakdown of budget information for multiple budgets or matters. You can create reports that include a breakdown of budget information for multiple budgets or matters.
Firms report
Includes information about some or all of your firm offices and firm users. You can create reports that include information about some or all of your firms and firm users. For example, you could create a report that includes the firm name and email address for each firm's Lead System Administrator or Client Relationship Attorney, or you could create a report that shows all firms for which matter budgets, accruals, and attorney evaluations are required. Note that the Firms report type does not return all results from the attorney profile.
HighQ report
Shows information about HighQ sites that are linked to Tracker matters. Information includes data such as site name, site ID, site owner, and matter information.
Invoices report
Shows invoice information, including date ranges and invoice statuses (approved, pending and rejected). In addition, you can access specific invoice information directly from the report. For example, you can use this report type to create a report that includes the matter short name, the invoice number, and the billed total (include tax). The billed total (including tax) refers to the amount billed for the invoice, not for the entire matter.
If you want to report on the amount of spending in a matter by firm or vendor, the easiest way to accomplish this is to edit the preconfigured Invoices Report.
Matter - Notes report
Report of matter notes. This report is similar to the Matter-status report, but includes information related to notes posted to the matter.
Matter - Status report
Report of information related to status reports. For example, you can create a report that shows all status reports submitted in the current month that have a material change.
Matter Participants report
Shows all company and firm users who have access to a matter. For example, you can run a report that provides a contact list for all matter participants, including their matter role, so you know what level of access they have to matter information.
Task code spending & alerts report
Lets you monitor your spend against your client’s task code alert limits.
Timekeeper Entries (Core DataWarehouse)
Lets you quickly view your timekeeper entries using structured data from the Thomson Reuters-managed customer data warehouse.
Timekeeper rates report
Shows the currently approved rate for all of your timekeepers, including matter specific rates.
Users report
Shows a list of company and firm user information, including all contact information, the user's position or title, and whether the user is active or disabled.
Currency
You can select the currency in which your report is displayed from the
Currency
 drop-down list in the Report Builder. By default, reports are displayed in your preferred currency. You can display the report in any other currency you select, including
Company Preferred Currency
.
If you select a currency other than your preferred currency, then the results will show only the converted amount. You will not see the results in your currency.
If you share a report with other users who have preferred currencies different from yours, then the report results are displayed in the other user's preferred currency. For example, you create a report in your preferred currency of US dollars and you share it with a user in Canada whose preferred currency is Canadian dollars. The report results display in Canadian dollars for that user.

Configuring the Report

Choose the Report Layout
The
Layout
 drop-down list in the Report Builder provides the following selections for how your report results are organized:
  • Tabular: Standard
    —Displays all fields in side-by-side columns.
  • Tabular: Stacked
    —Multiple fields are stacked in the same row in the same column. This is a good format to choose when you have numerous fields and you want a narrower report layout. You should also select this layout if you want to see two kinds of data together as opposed to side-by-side. When selecting your criteria, you can see which fields will be stacked and in what order. You can also click and drag to quickly rearrange the columns and stacking order
  • Tabular: Standard + Detail Rows
     or
    Tabular: Stacked + Detail Rows
    —Detail rows are fields that you may not always want to see. Adding detail rows is a good way to limit the overall length of the report if you expect many rows of data to be returned and if you do not need to see certain fields for each result. For example, you add the Matter Description as a detail row. Your report results display in the standard tabular format with side-by-side columns, and you can see or hide the detail rows by clicking
    Show details
     or
    Hide details
    .
  • Tabular: Standard -Detail Rows
     displays additional
    Detail rows
     options after you select the columns to include in the report.
    Tabular Stacked + Detail Rows
     is the most compact report layout. Your report results will be stacked plus you have the option to view or hide the detail rows.
When you select one of the Tabular Stacked options, multiple fields will be stacked in the same row in the same column. This is a good format to choose when you have numerous fields and you want a narrower report layout. You should also select this layout if you want to see two kinds of data right together as opposed to side-by-side. When selecting your criteria, you can see which fields will be stacked, and in what order. You can also click and drag to quickly rearrange the columns and stacking order.
Tabular Stacked + Detail Rows is the most compact report layout. Your report results will be stacked as above, plus you have the option to view or hide the detail rows.
Add Columns to a Report
  1. From the left navigation, select
    Reports > Report list
    .
  2. In the Report list, select the three small dots icon on the toolbar.
  3. From the menu that opens, select
    Edit column settings
    .
  4. A panel opens that you can use to select the columns to be included in the report.
  5. Select
    Save
    .
Selecting Columns
The
Columns
 section is where you choose the fields that are in the columns of your report. The available fields vary, depending on the report type you selected.
To select columns:
  1. Under the
    Columns
     section, click
    Add fields
    .
  2. Complete one or both of the following to find columns:
    • Enter a word or phrase (such as "lead company person") in the search field then click
      Search
      .
    • Click + for
      Common report fields
       or
      All report fields
       to see all of the field options.
  3. Click
    Select
     for each field you want to add as a column in the report.

Report Filters

Filters allow you to narrow your report results according to certain criteria. For example, you can run an invoices report and filter the results to show only unapproved invoices, only invoices above a certain dollar amount, invoices from a certain country, etc.
Column-Level Filters
Some column fields have corresponding filters that you add in the
Columns
 section, rather than the
Filters
 section. These filters apply to the results in that field, not the larger set of report results. For example, if you select a
Spending > Approved/in approval
 field in the Matters report type, you have the ability to filter based on the invoice status and the invoice date criteria.
  1. Click
    Select
     for a field, such as one of the
    Spending > Approved/in approval
     fields in the Matters report type or a
    Current unbilled > Unbilled total
     field for the Invoices report type.
  2. Click
    Edit
     under the field name in the
    Columns
     section. The Column Criteria box opens.
  3. On the Column criteria pop-up window, click
    Edit
     for the column-level filter you want to add.
  4. Specify the filter criteria.
  5. Click
    Save
    .
Advanced Filter
The Advanced Filter feature enables you to use the Boolean expressions and and or to create compound filters to return even more precise results
  1. Under
    Columns
    , click
    Add Field
    to select all the fields you want to include in the report.
  2. Under
    Filters
    , click
    Add Filter
    to select all the filters you want to apply to your results. To use an Advanced Filter, you must add at least two filters, and you must use all the filters in your list. Notice that each filter is numbered.
  3. Under
    Filters
    , click the text box next to
    Advanced Filter
    .
  4. Type a Boolean expression using the numbers assigned to the filters. You can only use the expressions and and or, and you must use all of the filters in your Filters list.
Example
You want to find invoices in matter ABC that were either billed at more than $20,000 and rejected, or billed at more than $20,000 and still pending for a matter.
You would use the Invoices Report and add fields such as
Short Matter Name
,
Invoice Number
,
Billed - Total (including Tax)
,
Firm: Short Name
, and
Invoice Status
 fields. Next, you would add the following filters:
  • Matter Short Name equals: ABC Matter
  • Billed - Total (Including Tax): greater than $20,000
  • Invoice Status: Rejected
  • Firm or Vendor Name equals: ABC Firm
  • Invoice Status: Unapproved
Filtering on Calculated Fields
You can filter on calculated fields. The formula filter will appear at the top of the list, under Field Filters. In the example below, the report contains a calculated field showing the difference between the amount billed and the amount approved.
  1. Click
    Reports > Report Builder
    in the left navigation.
  2. In the
    Report Criteria
    section, select the
    Type of report
    ,
    Currency
    , and
    Layout
    .
  3. Under
    Columns
    , click
    Add fields
     and select all the fields you want to include in your report.
  4. Under
    Filters
    , click
    Add filters
    . The
    Select Filter
     section will appear on your left. Filters corresponding to the fields you have selected for your report appear at the top of the list, under
    Field Filters
    .
  5. Click the plus signs (
    +
    ) to expand the list of filters from which you can select, or type a term in the text box and click
    Search
    to search for a field by which to filter. When you select a filter, the
    Edit Filter
     box opens. Different field types have different filtering options.
  6. Click the
    Save
    button for each filter you want to include in your report criteria.
  7. You can reorder them by clicking and dragging:

Report Formulas and Miscellaneous Fields

Formulas
Formulas allow you to apply mathematical equations to the fields in your report to return a calculated field. For example, you can divide the total amount billed by the total number of invoices to see the average amount billed per invoice. You can also filter based on your calculated result. This lets you see, for example, only matters where the average amount billed per invoice was more than $50,000.
To add a formula:
  1. Under the
    Columns
     section, click
    Add fields
    .
  2. Click + for
    All report fields
     then click + for
    Formula & miscellaneous
    .
  3. Click
    Select
     for Formula.
  4. On the Column criteria pop-up window, use the variables provided to enter the equation in the
    Formula
     field.
  5. Select whether you want to display the result as a number or as a percentage.
  6. Click
    Save
    .
In the report results, formula columns are labeled
Formula
 by default and the equation is not provided. For those reasons, it is a good idea to provide a custom name for your formula. For example, you could provide
Average Amount per Invoice
 as a custom name for a column.
Constants
You can add a constant value (a word, phrase or number that will display in each row) to your report. Constants can be used to label results or to provide accounting or other codes that apply to all the data.
To add a constant to the report:
  1. Under the
    Columns
     section, click
    Add fields
    .
  2. Click + for
    All report fields
     then click + for
    Formula & miscellaneous
    .
  3. Click
    Select
     for Constant.
  4. On the Edit constant pop-up window, enter the constant value in the
    Value
     field.
  5. Select whether the value is a number or text.
  6. Click
    Save
    .
Blank Fields
To create a blank column or field in the report:
  1. Under the
    Columns
     section, click
    Add fields
    .
  2. Click + for
    All report fields
     then click + for
    Formula & miscellaneous
    .
  3. Click
    Select
     for Blank Field.
Date Report Run
To add the date the report was run to the report:
  1. Under the
    Columns
     section, click
    Add fields
    .
  2. Click + for
    All report fields
     then click + for
    Formula & miscellaneous
    .
  3. Click
    Select
     for Date Report Run.

Display options

The Display options include Subtotal, Sort, and Graph.
Subtotal
The Subtotal function essentially groups your results and then displays the number of items or the subtotal of values in each group. For example, you can create a report that shows the number of matters in each invoice approval route (subtotal by approval route).
Sorting
You can sort results either ascending (A-Z) or descending (Z to A). You can add multiple levels of sorting, so that you can see the invoice approval routes in numeric order and then the matters within each invoice route in alphabetical order, for example.
If you run the report and view the results on screen, you can also sort your results by clicking the column headers. An upward-pointing arrow indicates that results are sorted in ascending order.
To add subtotals and sorting to your report:
  1. In the
    Display
    section, click
    Add subtotals,
     and then select or search for the fields that you want to see subtotals for. The results will be grouped by that field.For example, a simple matter report is configured to include matter names and total spending. In the resulting report, the matters will be grouped according to invoice approval route, and a spending subtotal for each route will be included.
  2. To sort the subtotaled results, click
    Add sort
    , and then select the field by which you want to sort. The results within each invoice approval route will be sorted by matter name, and then by spending.

Running and printing reports

After you configure the report, you can run, export, print, or save it.
When you run the report, the results are displayed below the criteria, and the results contain information about the report at the top. That information is the report name; the user who ran the report, and the date it was run; the filters used in the report, and a description that you have the option of including.
However, if you export the report, the information about the report is not included in the export. If you include a
Description/Print Comment
, it appears at the top of the printed page but not at the top of the export.
After you select your report criteria and run the report, the criteria section is collapsed to maximize the screen for viewing your report results. To quickly change any of the reporting criteria and generate a new report, click Report Criteria to expand the section:
When you view your report results on screen, results for which you have access will be hyperlinked. For example, if you are a Matter Editor or Matter Reader on some matters, then those matter names will be hyperlinked so that you can click them and access the matter profiles. However, if you have Report-only access to a matter, then those matters will not be hyperlinked. Keep in mind that if you have different matter roles for different matters, some of the results in the same report may be hyperlinked and some may not.

Finished Reports

After you have created the report, you have the option of saving the report criteria (the fields and filters) for re-use. Saved reports can be shared with other users. Click
Save Report As
 button to save the report criteria as a new report. If you are editing the criteria of an existing My Report or a company report (if you are a Company System Administrator), you can save the new criteria and overwrite the existing report.
If the report contains more lines than can be displayed on the screen, a control at the top of the report screen lets you page forward and backward through report pages.

Graphing report results

When your report includes numerical values, you can add a horizontal bar chart, a vertical bar chart, or a pie chart to your results. The chart will display the values for the top five results.
To add a graph to your report:
  1. In the
    Display
    section, click
    Add graph
    .
  2. Select the kind of graph you want to create.
  3. Select the information category you want to use for the Y axis. The choices in the
    Y-AXIS list
     represent the columns with numeric values.
  4. To change the column used for the X-AXIS value, change the order of columns in the
    Columns
    section. The
    X-AXIS
     value represents the first non-numeric column in your report.
  5. In the
    Elements number
     field, type the number of graphed results you want to include. You can specify a maximum of 15 results.

Exporting a report

  1. Select
    Reports > Report Builder
    .
  2. Follow the steps in Configuring the Report above to set up the report.
  3. Click the three small dots iconin the toolbar and select
    Export
    . (You can export the report before or after you run it and view the results.) The export dialog box appears.
  4. Click the type of file to export the report to:
    1. CSV:
       This is the Comma Separated Value format, which is a list of unformatted data. If you select this option, you can open the file in a spreadsheet program, such as Microsoft Excel, or a database program, such as Microsoft Access. Each field will be in its own column, but you must format the data yourself.
      If you select the CSV option, you must choose the delimiter you want to use. A delimiter is a character or symbol that separates data items.
      Tracker supports the following delimiters in CSV files: comma, asterisk, pipe, tilde, semicolon
    2. Excel:
       If you select this option, Tracker creates a formatted Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. You can choose either .xls or .xlsx.
    3. XML:
       This is the Extensible Markup Language format. XML is used to format data for sharing and delivery over the Internet.
    4. PDF:
       This is the Adobe Portable Document Format. If you select this option, Tracker creates a PDF document that cannot be edited. For best formatting results of the .pdf format, select a maximum of ten columns
Advanced PDF Layout Options
Several formatting options are available for Tracker reports that you export to PDF. You can:
  • Add custom headers and footers
  • Select layout or portrait mode
  • Set the margins
To set up these options, click
Additional Options
. Specify the options you want to use and click
OK
.
  • Custom Header:
     Specify the header that you want to appear on the report.
  • Custom Header Alignment:
     Use this option to select whether you want the header to be left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered.
  • Custom Footer:
     Specify the footer that you want to appear on the report.
  • Custom Footer Alignment:
     Use this option to select whether you want the footer to be left-aligned, right-aligned, or centered.
  • Margin:
     Use this option to specify the margin you want to use, in pixels.
    The default is 15. To use a different margin, click
    Custom Margins
     and specify the margins you want to use.
  • Cell Alignment:
     Use the drop-down to specify whether you want cells to be right-aligned, left-aligned, or centered.
  • Layout:
    • Check the
      Landscape
      button if you want the report to be oriented horizontally.
    • Check the
      Portrait
      button if you want the report to be oriented vertically.
Export a report from the Reports List
Using the three small dots icon on the toolbar, you can also export and save the report result in the following file formats:
  • Comma Separated Value (CSV)
  • Excel
  • XML
  • PDF

This article applies to:

  • Product: Legal Tracker
  • Subject: Reports
  • Audiences: Firm