If you’ve ever had to wrangle data into something an executive actually wants to read, you know how painful “reporting” can be. You want to show what matters, skip the fluff, and not spend your Thursday night sifting through spreadsheets. If your company uses Trellus for B2B account management or sales, you’re in luck: it can generate clear, custom reports. But a lot of the default options are, frankly, just noise.
This guide will walk you through building custom B2B reports in Trellus that actually answer your stakeholders’ questions. No jargon, no smoke and mirrors—just the steps, the gotchas, and a few real-world tips.
Step 1: Know What Your Executives Actually Care About
Before you open Trellus, figure out what your audience wants. Most execs want:
- Trends, not raw data dumps
- Outliers and red flags
- A clear story: “Are we on track?” or “Where are we losing money?”
- Not a wall of charts they have to decipher
If you’re not sure, ask. A quick Slack message like, “What are you looking for in this quarter’s report?” saves hours of wasted effort.
Pro tip: If you can’t summarize the main point of your report in one sentence, you’re not ready to build it yet.
Step 2: Get Familiar with Trellus Reporting Basics
Trellus has a reporting module, but it’s not magic. Here’s what you need to know:
- Reports are built off saved filters and data views.
- Dashboards can combine multiple reports, but they’re mostly for at-a-glance monitoring.
- Exports (CSV, PDF, Excel) are possible, but formatting is basic.
What works: Trellus is decent at pulling together data from multiple accounts, showing trends over time, and letting you slice by region, rep, or product.
What doesn’t: Visualization options are limited. You won’t get a slick executive summary with infographics here. If you need pixel-perfect slides, plan to export and clean up in PowerPoint or Google Slides.
Step 3: Build a Custom Data Filter
This is where most people go wrong—they grab the default “pipeline” or “accounts” report, which is generic and cluttered. Build a filter first.
- Go to Reports > Create New Report.
- Pick your data source. For B2B, this is probably “Accounts,” “Opportunities,” or “Revenue.”
- Add filters for things like:
- Date range (e.g., “last quarter”)
- Account type (“Enterprise,” “Mid-Market,” etc.)
- Status (Active, At Risk, Churned)
- Owner or region
- Preview your results. Is this the data set that matches the story you need to tell? If it’s too broad, narrow it down. Too narrow? Loosen a filter.
- Save your filter with a clear name (e.g., “Q2 Enterprise Churn by Region”).
Skip this: Don’t add every possible field “just in case.” More columns = more confusion.
Step 4: Select the Right Metrics (Don’t Go Overboard)
Executives want to see:
- Revenue (closed, forecasted, by region)
- Pipeline health (what’s at risk, what’s new)
- Churn and retention
- Key account activity (big wins, major losses)
To avoid: Vanity metrics (number of meetings, raw activity counts) rarely matter at the exec level. Pick 3-5 metrics that actually drive decisions.
How to adjust in Trellus:
In your custom report, use the “Columns” or “Fields” picker to choose only the relevant data points. Remove anything you wouldn’t want to explain on a Zoom call.
Step 5: Format for Clarity (Not Just for Show)
Trellus’s formatting tools are basic, but you can make your data easier to digest:
- Sort by importance. Put revenue or risk at the top, not alphabetical order.
- Group data. Use region, owner, or account segment groupings to show big-picture trends.
- Add conditional formatting if Trellus allows (e.g., highlight churned accounts in red). If not, flag them in the export.
- Write a 1-sentence summary in the report description field. Example: “Churn rate in Enterprise accounts rose to 8% in Q2, mainly in EMEA.”
Reality check: If you export to Excel or Sheets, you’ll have more control. Sometimes it’s worth the extra step.
Step 6: Automate Where Possible
You don’t want to rebuild this every month. Trellus lets you:
- Schedule reports to run and send via email (weekly, monthly, etc.)
- Share live links with execs if they want to self-serve
Warning: Scheduled reports can get ignored if they’re just “more email.” Make sure someone actually reads them. Better to send a quick summary with a link than just a giant attachment.
Step 7: Prep Your Executive-Ready Output
If your execs want a PDF, Trellus can export, but it’s bare-bones. For serious presentations:
- Export the filtered data (CSV or Excel)
- Pull key charts into your own slide deck
- Write a headline for each section: “Pipeline On Track in Americas, EMEA Down 14%”
- Keep slides minimal—one chart, one takeaway per slide
Don’t: Copy-paste a wall of numbers. If it takes more than 10 seconds to “get it,” it’s too busy.
Step 8: Get Feedback, Iterate, Repeat
First version won’t be perfect. Ask your stakeholders:
- “Was this useful?”
- “Anything missing or unclear?”
- “What should I drop next time?”
It’s way easier to change your report early than after it becomes “the way we’ve always done it.”
Pro tip: Keep a template of your best report. Next quarter, you’ll thank yourself.
What to Ignore (and What to Watch Out For)
Trellus has a lot of options. Some are more trouble than they’re worth.
- Ignore “advanced analytics” unless you know what you’re doing. Most execs don’t care about regression models or predictive scoring.
- Skip visualizations that look cool but confuse people. Stick to bar charts and line graphs—pie charts rarely add value.
- Don’t rely on Trellus’s permissions for sensitive data. Double-check who can see what, especially if you’re sharing links or exports.
Keep It Simple—And Keep Moving
Great executive reports aren’t built on fancy tools—they’re built on clarity. Trellus can get you there, but only if you stay focused on what matters. Start small, get feedback, and improve with each cycle. Don’t sweat the perfect chart; sweat the perfect insight. Your execs (and your future self) will thank you.