How to extract contract data and generate reports in Oneflow

If you’re drowning in contracts and just want clean, usable data out of Oneflow, you’re not alone. This guide is for anyone who’s had to answer, “How many contracts did we close last quarter?” and ended up copy-pasting numbers into a spreadsheet at midnight. Whether you’re in sales ops, legal, or just the unlucky person stuck with reporting, I’ll show you exactly how to get your contract data out of Oneflow and use it for real reports—no hand-waving or fluff.

1. Get Clear On What You Need (Before You Click Anything)

Let’s skip the “feature tour” and start with the basics: What do you actually want to report on? Oneflow collects a ton of contract data, but unless you know what you need, you’ll end up with a mess.

Take 5 minutes and jot down: - Which contracts matter? (e.g., only signed contracts, or everything in progress?) - What fields do you need? (Customer name, value, signing date, renewal date, etc.) - How do you want to slice it? (By sales rep, by product, by month?)

Pro tip:

Don’t try to build a “master report” with every field. Start small—add more later.

2. Finding and Filtering Contracts in Oneflow

Once you know your targets, it’s time to dig in. Oneflow’s interface is pretty straightforward, but it’s easy to miss filtering options that make your life easier.

Step 2.1: Use the Search and Filter Tools

  • Go to the Contracts dashboard.
  • Use the search bar for quick filtering by customer, contract name, or ID.
  • Click “Filters” to get more granular. You can filter by:
  • Status (e.g., Signed, Pending, Declined)
  • Date (signed date, created date, etc.)
  • Template type
  • Custom fields (if your org uses them)

Real talk:

The filters are decent, but not as customizable as you might want. For really complex queries, you may need to export and slice in Excel or another tool.

Step 2.2: Save Your Views (If You’ll Need Them Again)

If you’re running the same report every week, save time: - Set up your filters. - Click “Save view” (top right). - Give it a clear name (“Signed SaaS Contracts Q2 2024” beats “Test1”).

3. Exporting Contract Data

Here’s where most people hit a wall. Oneflow isn’t built as a pure reporting tool, but you can get your data out.

Step 3.1: Basic Export (CSV/Excel)

  • In your filtered contract list, look for the “Export” button—usually at the top or in a dropdown.
  • Choose CSV or Excel. CSV is safer if you’ll use Google Sheets or import elsewhere.
  • You’ll get a file with the columns currently visible in your view.

Heads up:
- Attachments and comments don’t export—just the contract metadata. - If you’re missing fields, go back and customize your columns before exporting.

Step 3.2: Exporting Specific Fields

  • Click the “Columns” or “Customize columns” option.
  • Select only what you need. Don’t export every field just because you can.
  • Once you’re happy, then export.

Pro tip:

If you use custom fields and they aren’t showing up, check with your Oneflow admin—they might not be enabled for export.

Step 3.3: Large Data Sets and API Export

If you’re pulling thousands of records or need automatic updates, the manual export will get old fast.

  • Oneflow has an API. It’s not plug-and-play, but it’s well documented.
  • You’ll need API access (usually an admin task).
  • Pulling contract data via API gives you more flexibility—great if you want to automate reports or integrate with BI tools.

But:
If you’re not technical, don’t bother with the API unless you’ve got IT help or you’re comfortable with Postman or Python.

4. Cleaning and Preparing Your Exported Data

Now you’ve got a spreadsheet. If you’re lucky, it’s tidy. More likely, there are weird date formats, missing fields, and columns you don’t care about.

Step 4.1: Open and Scan

  • Open your CSV in Excel or Google Sheets.
  • Delete columns you don’t need—less noise, faster analysis.
  • Check for obvious issues: empty rows, garbled characters, weird date formats.

Step 4.2: Standardize Dates and Amounts

  • Oneflow sometimes uses ISO dates (YYYY-MM-DD). Make sure your report tools understand them.
  • Amounts might include currency symbols. Strip those out if you need to sum things up.

Step 4.3: Fill Gaps

  • If columns are missing info, check if it’s a template issue (e.g., not all contracts have “Product Type” filled in).
  • You can’t fix data you don’t have, but you can highlight gaps for your team.

Honest take:

No matter what a vendor promises, exported contract data always needs a little cleanup. Don’t waste hours perfecting it—just get it good enough for your report.

5. Building Reports That Make Sense

Okay, you’ve got clean data—what now? Don’t just dump it into a chart. Think about what decision you’re driving.

Step 5.1: Pick Your Reporting Tool

  • Excel or Google Sheets: Great for one-offs and quick pivots.
  • Power BI, Tableau, or Looker: Overkill for most users unless you’re doing heavy, recurring analysis.
  • Built-in Oneflow dashboards: Handy for top-level stuff, but limited if you want custom KPIs.

Step 5.2: Create Simple, Useful Views

  • Use pivot tables to group by status, sales rep, month, customer, etc.
  • Filter out test contracts, internal documents, or anything that’ll muddy your results.
  • Visualize only what matters—one clear chart beats a dashboard of noise.

Step 5.3: Automate If You Repeat This Often

  • If you’re exporting the same data every month, build a template in your reporting tool.
  • Use scripts or macros to clean and reformat new exports automatically.
  • If you’re feeling ambitious and have IT help, set up a scheduled API pull to feed your report tool.

What to skip:

Don’t fall for shiny dashboard tools unless you’ve nailed down your process. Stick with what gets the job done.

6. Pro Tips, Caveats, and What to Ignore

  • Custom fields only work if your team uses them consistently. If half your contracts have a blank “Region” field, don’t base your report on it.
  • Oneflow’s built-in analytics are fine for high-level trends. For anything nuanced, export and build your own.
  • Ignore “PDF Export” for data work. It’s just a snapshot; you can’t analyze PDFs.
  • If you need contract text (not just metadata), you’re in for a slog. Oneflow doesn’t export contract body text in bulk. You’ll need the API or manual copy-paste, which is painful.
  • Ask your admin for help. Sometimes fields or filters are missing because of permissions.

Keep It Simple, Iterate, and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

Extracting contract data from Oneflow isn’t rocket science, but it’s rarely as smooth as the sales demo makes it look. Focus on the key numbers you need, set up a repeatable process, and don’t waste time chasing “perfect” data. Start simple, improve as you go, and remind your team that good enough is usually good enough—especially when the alternative is another late-night spreadsheet session.