If you’re tired of canned sales reports that never quite fit what you want, you’re in the right place. This guide is for sales managers, ops folks, or anyone who needs real answers—not just more charts. We’ll walk through how to make custom sales reports in Sales Ape, how to avoid the common time-wasters, and what actually matters when it comes to analyzing the results.
Let’s get into it.
1. Know What You Actually Need (and Ignore the Rest)
Before you open up Sales Ape or start clicking buttons, spend five minutes to figure out what you really want to see. Most people jump right into filters and end up with a report no one understands or cares about.
Ask yourself: - What question am I trying to answer? (“Why did Q2 pipeline dip?” beats “Show me everything!”) - Who’s this report for? (Your VP wants top-line trends. Your reps want their own numbers.) - How often do I need this? (One-off deep dives need different setups than weekly dashboards.)
Pro tip: Don’t try to track everything at once. The more data you cram in, the less anyone pays attention.
2. Get Familiar With Sales Ape’s Reporting Basics
Sales Ape’s reporting is flexible—but it’s not magic. There are a few core components:
- Data sources: Where your sales info lives (deals, leads, activities, etc.)
- Filters: Narrow down by date, team, deal stage, whatever.
- Fields/Columns: Choose what to show (revenue, owner, close date, region, etc.)
- Groupings: Break things down (by rep, by product, by month).
- Visualizations: Tables, bar charts, pie charts, and more. Don’t overdo it.
It’s worth clicking around for five minutes to see what’s possible—just don’t get lost trying every color scheme.
3. Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Custom Sales Report
Here’s how to actually build a custom report that doesn’t suck:
3.1. Start a New Report
- Go to the Reports tab in Sales Ape.
- Click Create Report (sometimes it’s a plus sign or “New Report” button).
- Pick a starting template or choose Blank Report if you want full control. Templates can be handy, but blank is usually safer if you know what you want.
3.2. Choose Your Data Source
- Decide if you’re reporting on Deals, Leads, Activities, or something else.
- Stick to one main object unless you really know what you’re doing—multi-source reports get confusing fast.
3.3. Set Your Filters
- Add basic filters like date range (e.g., “This Quarter”).
- Filter by team, owner, region, or whatever else matters.
- Be ruthless—more filters = more specific answers, but too many and you’ll miss the big picture.
What to avoid: Don’t add filters just because they’re there. If you don’t need to see “Deal Source: Podcast Sponsorship,” skip it.
3.4. Pick Your Fields and Groupings
- Choose the columns that matter. Typical ones: Deal Name, Owner, Amount, Stage, Close Date.
- Group by what you want to compare—like Owner (to see who’s closing), Stage (to spot bottlenecks), or Product (to see what’s selling).
Pro tip: If you’re not sure if a field helps answer your question, leave it out. Less is more.
3.5. Choose a Visualization
- Tables are underrated—great for detail.
- Bar charts are good for trends.
- Pie charts look pretty but are easy to misread. Use sparingly.
- Only add a chart if it actually helps people see what’s important.
3.6. Save and Share
- Name your report something obvious (“Q2 Pipeline by Owner,” not “Report 7”).
- Save it to the right folder—don’t let it get lost in “My Reports.”
- Share with your team if they need it. Otherwise, keep it private and tweak as needed.
4. Analyze Without Overthinking It
Now you’ve built your report—don’t just stare at it. Here’s how to get actual value:
4.1. Look for Outliers and Trends
- Who’s crushing it? Who’s struggling? Is there a month that fell off a cliff?
- Are certain products always lagging—or winning?
- Is the pipeline clogging at a certain stage?
Ignore: Tiny blips and weird one-offs. Focus on stuff that repeats or stands out.
4.2. Use Filters to Drill Down
- Want to see a single team or region? Add a quick filter.
- Need to see just enterprise deals? Filter by deal size.
Don’t be afraid to duplicate your report and try different angles. Just don’t drown in versions—keep the good ones and delete the rest.
4.3. Don’t Obsess Over Visualization
A chart won’t fix a bad report. If your table answers the question, that’s enough. Fancy charts are only helpful if they make the answer clearer.
4.4. Export If Needed—but Only When It’s Useful
Sales Ape lets you export to Excel or CSV. This is handy if: - You need to share with someone outside Sales Ape. - You’re combining with other data (finance, marketing, etc.).
But don’t export just to make a pretty slide deck. If people aren’t going to look at it, don’t bother.
5. Common Pitfalls (and How to Dodge Them)
Let’s be honest—most custom sales reports get ignored, misunderstood, or cause more confusion than they solve. Here’s what usually goes wrong:
- Overcomplicating it: More columns, charts, and filters don’t equal better insight.
- Trying to please everyone: A report for “everyone” is useful to no one. Make different reports for different needs.
- Data that’s out of date: If your CRM data isn’t updated, no report will save you.
- Not checking permissions: Make sure the right people can see (or not see) the report.
What works: Start simple. Build one report that answers a real question. Share it. See what feedback you get. Then tweak.
6. Quick Tips for Better Sales Reports in Sales Ape
- Name reports clearly: So you know what’s inside without opening them.
- Use favorites or pins: Most tools let you star key reports for easy access.
- Schedule reports (if available): Get them emailed on a cadence—less logging in.
- Document what filters mean: Especially if you use custom fields or odd logic.
- Delete old reports: If no one looks at it, it’s clutter. Archive or delete.
7. When to Ignore the Custom Report Hype
You’ll hear all sorts of promises—AI insights, “real-time” dashboards, predictive voodoo. Here’s the truth: Most of the time, you just need a clear list showing what’s selling, who’s selling it, and where things get stuck. Don’t feel pressured to use every feature or trend.
If your team isn’t acting on your reports, it’s not because you need more charts. It’s probably because the questions aren’t clear—or the data isn’t trusted.
8. Keep It Simple and Iterate
Building useful sales reports in Sales Ape isn’t rocket science, but it’s easy to overthink. Start with a clear question, build a focused report, and—most important—see if it actually helps anyone do their job better.
If not, tweak and try again. The best reports don’t look fancy—they get used. Good luck, and don’t let the reporting rabbit hole eat your day.