If you’re sick of canned dashboards and “insights” that don’t actually help you justify your marketing spend, you’re not alone. Custom reporting in Terminus isn’t magic, but it is possible to get numbers you can trust—if you know what you’re doing. This guide is for marketers, ops folks, and anyone else tired of exporting CSVs just to answer a basic ROI question.
Below, I’ll lay out exactly how to build custom reports in Terminus that cut through the noise and help you track what actually matters: whether your marketing is making you money, or just burning it.
1. Know What You’re Trying to Measure
Before you even log in, decide what “ROI” means for your team. Terminus can measure a hundred things, but not all of them are useful. Ask yourself:
- Are you tracking pipeline generated? Closed-won revenue? Leads? Something else?
- Do you want ROI by channel, campaign, account, or all of the above?
- Who’s actually going to look at this report? (If the answer is “the CMO,” keep it simple.)
Pro tip: Write this stuff down. You’ll save yourself hours of rework later.
2. Get Your Data Ducks in a Row
Custom reports are only as good as your data. Terminus pulls from a bunch of sources—CRM, MAP, web analytics, ad platforms, etc. Here’s what to double-check before building anything:
- CRM integration: Is Salesforce/HubSpot/whatever actually syncing correctly? No sync, no ROI.
- Opportunity & revenue fields: Make sure these fields are mapped and up-to-date.
- Campaign tracking: Are your UTM parameters and campaign naming conventions consistent?
- Account mapping: If you do ABM, confirm your target accounts are loaded correctly.
If something looks fishy—like missing revenue or duplicate accounts—fix it now. Otherwise, your “custom report” will just be a custom mess.
3. Navigate to Reporting in Terminus
Once your data’s solid, head into Terminus. The actual UI changes sometimes, but generally:
- Log in and look for a section called “Analytics,” “Reports,” or “Measurement.”
- Find the option for “Custom Reports” or “Custom Dashboards.”
- If you only see canned templates, check your permissions—some features are paywalled.
What to skip: Don’t bother with the “Overview” dashboards if you need real customization. They’re fine for a pulse check, but won’t answer deeper ROI questions.
4. Start a New Custom Report
Click “Create Report” or “Build Custom Report.” You’ll now pick your data sources and layout.
- Choose your base data: Usually, you’ll want to start with “Campaign Performance,” “Account Engagement,” or “Opportunity Influence.” Pick what matches your ROI goal.
- Select date ranges: Don’t default to “last 30 days” unless that’s actually what you want. If your sales cycle is long, pick a longer window.
- Apply filters: Filter by campaign, channel, account list, or region—whatever matters to you.
Heads up: It’s easy to overcomplicate here. Start simple; you can always add complexity.
5. Pick the Right Metrics (and Ignore the Noise)
Terminus will throw a ton of metrics at you—impressions, clicks, engagement minutes, pipeline, revenue, and so on. For ROI, focus on:
- Attributed pipeline: What’s the dollar value of opportunities sourced or influenced by marketing?
- Attributed revenue: How much closed-won revenue can you tie to your marketing programs?
- Cost (budget spent): How much did you spend on each channel/campaign?
- ROI/ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Some Terminus setups can calculate this directly; otherwise, you’ll need to do some math.
What to ignore: Vanity metrics like “Engagement Minutes” or “Ad Clicks” are fine for optimization, but they won’t justify your budget. If your boss doesn’t care about it, drop it.
6. Customize Your Visuals (But Don’t Get Cute)
Terminus lets you pick charts, tables, and visualizations. The temptation is to make it look fancy, but clarity always beats eye candy.
- Bar charts: Good for showing ROI by channel or campaign.
- Tables: Best for detailed breakdowns (just don’t overload with columns).
- Trend lines: Helpful if you want to show improvement over time.
Pro tip: Always add labels, and keep colors simple. If your report looks like a Skittles ad, you’ve gone too far.
7. Set Up Segmentation and Grouping
Here’s where custom reports get powerful. Slice your data to answer real questions, like:
- Which campaigns actually move pipeline?
- Are certain account tiers (e.g., enterprise vs SMB) seeing better ROI?
- How does ROI compare across regions or verticals?
Use grouping tools to break things out by campaign, channel, account list, or sales stage. Just keep your segments relevant—if you have 40 micro-segments, nobody will read the report.
8. Schedule or Share the Report (But Don’t Spam)
Terminus lets you schedule reports to send automatically or share a live link.
- Schedule wisely: Weekly or monthly is usually enough. Daily ROI emails are overkill (and get ignored fast).
- Export options: If people want to slice and dice data themselves, export to CSV or Excel.
- Access control: Don’t accidentally share sensitive revenue numbers with the wrong team.
Reality check: Most execs will only look at the top 2-3 numbers. Put those front and center, not buried in a tab.
9. Validate Your Numbers (Trust, But Verify)
Before you shop your report around, spot-check the numbers:
- Compare ROI figures against your CRM or finance reports.
- Double-check that your filters (date range, campaign, etc.) match what stakeholders expect.
- Watch for weird spikes or gaps—usually a sign of missing data or misconfigured integrations.
If you can’t explain a number, don’t include it. “I’m not sure where that came from” won’t fly in a budget meeting.
10. Iterate—Don’t Try to Make It Perfect
Your first custom report probably won’t be perfect. That’s normal.
- Ask for feedback from people who’ll actually use it.
- Drop anything nobody cares about.
- Tweak filters, visuals, and metrics as you go.
The best reports are living documents. Don’t wait for perfection—ship, learn, and adjust.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
- Works: Pipeline and revenue attribution, simple segmentation, scheduled delivery.
- Doesn’t: Overly complex reports, vanity metrics, assuming data is “just right.”
- Ignore: Anything that doesn’t tie back to business impact. If your report doesn’t help make a decision, it’s just noise.
Keep It Simple, Iterate Often
Custom reporting in Terminus isn’t about showing off how many charts you can cram in. It’s about cutting through the noise so you (and your team) can make smarter decisions, faster. Start small, focus on the numbers that matter, and tweak as you go. The simpler your report, the more likely people are to use it—and the easier it’ll be to spot when something’s actually working.