If you work in B2B sales and need actual answers—not just dashboards collecting dust—you’re in the right place. This guide is for sales ops folks, analysts, and anyone tired of canned reports that never quite fit. We’ll walk through making your own custom reports in Xiqinc, with a focus on what really matters for sales performance analysis. No fluff, no magic “AI-powered insights”—just practical steps and honest advice.
Why bother with custom reports?
Let’s be real: out-of-the-box reports in most sales tools are either too generic or too complicated. They rarely match how your team actually works or sells. Custom reports let you focus on what you care about—be it conversion rates by segment, rep performance, pipeline velocity, or the weird KPIs your boss keeps asking for.
Think of custom reports in Xiqinc as your way to slice and dice data without waiting on IT or settling for someone else’s idea of sales “success.” But: just because you can build anything doesn’t mean you should. Pick what matters, and don’t go overboard.
Step 1: Know what you want to measure
Before you even open Xiqinc, write down what you actually need to see. Be specific. “Improve sales” isn’t a metric, and neither is “get more visibility.”
Common B2B sales metrics worth tracking:
- Opportunity-to-close rates by segment or rep
- Average deal cycle length
- Win/loss by product line
- Pipeline health (by stage, age, value)
- Lead source effectiveness
Pro tip: Ask yourself, “Will this report change how we act, or is it just for the sake of reporting?” If it won’t drive a decision, skip it.
Step 2: Get your data house in order
Custom reports are only as good as the data behind them. If your CRM is full of half-completed fields or duplicate accounts, expect garbage in, garbage out.
Things to check before building:
- Data consistency: Are fields like “Industry” or “Deal Stage” standardized, or is there a mess of typos and old values?
- Ownership: Do you know which rep owns which accounts, and is that tracked reliably?
- Date fields: Are close dates, create dates, and other key time stamps accurate?
If your data isn’t clean, fix what you can before you start. Don’t spend hours on a beautiful report that tells you nothing because your inputs are junk.
Step 3: Start a new custom report in Xiqinc
Once you’ve got a clear question and (mostly) clean data, it’s time to actually build something.
3.1: Navigate to the reporting section
- In Xiqinc, go to the “Reports” tab.
- Look for the “Create Custom Report” button—usually top right (unless the UI team has moved things around… again).
3.2: Pick your data source
- Choose the main object you want to report on: Opportunities, Accounts, Contacts, or custom objects your org uses.
- If you need data from multiple related tables (like Opportunities and Accounts), check if Xiqinc supports joining them in one report. Not all versions do, so don’t bang your head against a wall if it’s not working.
3.3: Choose columns and filters
- Columns: Select only what matters. More columns = more clutter.
- Filters: Set your timeframes, sales teams, product lines, or whatever slices you care about.
- Grouping: Group by rep, by stage, by source, etc.—but avoid more than 2 layers unless you want a spreadsheet from hell.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with every available field just because you can. Stick with what ties to your original question.
3.4: Add calculations and KPIs
- Xiqinc lets you add calculated fields—things like conversion rates, average deal size, or custom formulas.
- Use sparingly. Too many calculations and nobody will trust the numbers.
- Double-check your formulas. “Avg. Deal Size” can mean different things to different people.
Reality check: If you’re fighting with formula syntax or stuck on a calculation, ask your Xiqinc admin or hit up support. Life’s too short.
Step 4: Visualize (but don’t overdo it)
Charts and graphs can make trends obvious—if you pick the right ones.
- Bar/column charts: Good for comparing reps, products, or segments.
- Line charts: Best for tracking changes over time (like pipeline growth).
- Pie charts: Meh. Only use if you have 2-3 categories. Otherwise, skip.
- Tables: Sometimes, you just need a list. That’s fine.
Pro tip: Pick one or two visuals that answer your core question. You’re not building a dashboard for Times Square.
Step 5: Share, schedule, and get feedback
Don’t hoard your report. In Xiqinc, you can:
- Share reports with specific users, teams, or company-wide.
- Schedule reports to email out on a regular basis—weekly, monthly, etc.
- Export to CSV or Excel if someone “just wants the raw data.”
Ask your sales managers or reps if the report actually helps. If they squint at it and say “looks nice,” but can’t tell you what they’d do differently, it’s time to tweak.
What works (and what doesn’t)
Works well:
- Simple, focused reports that answer a clear question
- Filters that let users drill into their own slice of the data
- Calculated fields for key ratios (win rate, conversion, etc.)
Doesn’t work:
- Overcomplicated, multi-level grouped reports—nobody reads them
- Pie charts with more than 3 slices
- Reports that rely on manual data entry (they’re always out of date)
- Trying to track every possible metric just because you can
Common headaches and how to dodge them
- Bad data ruins everything: If you see “Closed Won” deals with $0 value, fix your pipeline hygiene first.
- Permissions: Xiqinc can be picky about who can see what. Double-check sharing settings unless you want awkward emails.
- Performance: Big, complex reports can be slow. If it takes more than a few seconds to load, simplify it.
- Version confusion: If your org has custom fields or objects, make sure you’re pulling the right versions.
Pro tips for real-world reporting
- Iterate: Your first version won’t be perfect. Get feedback, tweak, repeat.
- Keep a “report graveyard”: Archive old or unused reports so your team isn’t sifting through junk.
- Document what’s what: Add a one-liner description to your report so others know what they’re looking at.
- Don’t just email reports—review them together. A five-minute huddle beats a PDF in someone’s inbox.
Wrapping up: Keep it simple and useful
Custom reports in Xiqinc can be powerful—but only if you keep things grounded. Focus on the questions that matter, keep your data clean, and don’t get lost in the weeds of endless filters or charts. Start small, see what actually helps your team, and adjust as you go. The best report is the one people use—so build with that in mind.