If you've ever sat through a quarterly business review where the sales report was nothing but a messy spreadsheet and a few vague charts, you know how pointless that can feel. This guide is for sales managers, operations folks, and anyone who needs to get real numbers and real insight out of their sales data—not just a wall of numbers or another “good quarter!” slide.
We're going to walk through using Koala, a sales reporting tool that promises to make detailed quarterly reports a lot less painful. I’ll show you honestly what works, what’s worth skipping, and how to avoid the classic traps that turn reports into unreadable data dumps. Let’s get into it.
Step 1: Get Your Data House in Order
Before you even crack open Koala, make sure your sales data is solid. Garbage in, garbage out—a cliché because it’s true. Here’s what to check:
- Is your CRM up to date? If deals are missing or not closed out properly, your report will be off.
- Are sales stages consistent? If one rep marks “proposal sent” and another uses “negotiation” for the same thing, your pipeline charts will be nonsense.
- Have products, territories, and reps been updated? Don’t let last quarter’s org chart mess up this quarter’s insights.
Pro tip: Run a quick deal audit for any weird outliers—like a $0 deal or a “won” deal that shouldn’t be.
If your data’s a mess, fix that first. If it’s at least 90% right, you’re ready for Koala.
Step 2: Connect Koala to Your Sales Data
Koala supports direct integrations with popular CRMs (Salesforce, HubSpot, Pipedrive, etc.) and CSV uploads. If you’re not set up yet, here’s how:
- Go to Koala and log in.
- Navigate to “Integrations.”
- Select your CRM or “Upload CSV.”
- For CRMs: You’ll typically need admin rights and will have to approve access.
- For CSVs: Export your data from the CRM, making sure to include fields like deal amount, close date, rep, and stage.
Heads up: CRM integrations are usually smoother for ongoing reporting. CSVs are fine for a one-off, but you’ll have to re-upload every time.
Once connected, Koala will pull in your sales data. It might take a few minutes for the first sync, especially if your pipeline is big.
Step 3: Set the Right Date Range and Filters
Koala defaults to showing you all your sales data, which is overwhelming and not what you want for a quarterly review.
- Set the date range to match your quarter. This sounds basic, but I’ve seen plenty of reports that accidentally include the wrong months.
- Filter by team, territory, or product as needed. If you’re reporting for a particular region or business line, set those filters now. Koala’s filtering is pretty straightforward, but double-check—sometimes filters “stick” from a previous session.
Skip: Don’t bother with the “custom fiscal calendar” unless your company’s quarters are truly weird. The default works for almost everyone.
Step 4: Pick the Right Metrics (and Ignore the Rest)
Koala offers a mountain of metrics. Most people fall into two traps here:
- Overload: Including every chart under the sun.
- Vagueness: Relying on vanity metrics like “calls made” or “emails sent.”
Focus on what actually matters for a quarterly review:
- Total sales (closed-won revenue) for the quarter
- Pipeline by stage (what’s pending, what’s stuck)
- Win rate (by rep and team)
- Average deal size
- Sales cycle length
- Top customers / deals
If you want to get fancy, maybe add:
- Product or segment breakdowns
- Lost deal reasons (if tracked well)
Skip: “Engagement” metrics, unless your sales process is heavily outbound and you have a good reason. Otherwise, it’s just noise.
Step 5: Build the Report in Koala
Here’s where Koala actually shines. The report builder is drag-and-drop; just don’t get carried away.
- Start with a blank report. Don’t use the “Quarterly Template” unless you know exactly what’s in it—you’ll spend more time deleting irrelevant sections.
- Add your key metrics as widgets.
- Koala lets you add tables, charts, and graphs. Stick to bar or line charts for trends, and tables for top deals or reps.
- Use clear labels. Rename widgets so they’re obvious—nobody wants to see “Widget 4” in a big meeting.
- Arrange in a logical order:
- Summary (total sales, key highlights)
- Pipeline snapshot
- Rep/team breakdowns
- Deal details
Pro tip: Less is more. If you have more than 8-10 widgets, you’re probably overdoing it.
Step 6: Add Context and Notes
A report is only as good as the story it tells. Koala lets you add notes to each section—a criminally underused feature.
- Highlight actual insights: “Enterprise team missed quota due to two slipped deals,” not “Enterprise team at 84%.”
- Add explanations for outliers: If Q3 looks weird, say why.
- Flag action items: “Follow up on high volume of lost deals for Product X.”
Skip: The “auto-summary” feature. It sounds tempting, but the AI-generated blurbs are usually too generic to be useful.
Step 7: Share and Export
Once you’re happy with the report, you need to get it in front of the right people.
- Share directly in Koala (for teams already using it).
- Export as PDF or PowerPoint. Koala’s exports look decent, but always check formatting—charts sometimes get squished, and long tables can break across pages.
- Double-check permissions: Make sure you’re not sharing confidential data with the wrong folks.
Pro tip: Avoid “live links” for exec reviews unless you’re sure your data won’t change between now and the meeting. Nothing’s worse than a number shifting mid-presentation.
Step 8: Prep for Q&A
Expect questions. Koala’s drill-downs are handy if you need to show details on the fly. But don’t rely on them too much—nobody wants to watch you navigate a dashboard for five minutes in front of a VP.
- Have key data on one page. Print or save a summary slide.
- Know where your numbers came from. If something looks off, be ready to explain.
What Actually Works (and What Doesn’t)
What Works
- Focusing on a handful of actionable metrics.
- Adding notes/explanations—not just numbers.
- Keeping it simple: Nobody reads a 30-page sales report. Aim for clarity, not volume.
What Doesn’t
- Over-customizing charts. Koala lets you tweak colors and styles, but that’s just lipstick.
- Dumping all raw data. It’s tempting, but it buries the story.
- Relying on AI-generated insights. They’re fine for brainstorming, but not for exec reviews.
What to Ignore
- “Gamification” features: Some Koala plans have badges and points for reps. Fun, but it won’t help your QBR.
- Data that’s not actionable: If you can’t do anything about it, leave it out.
- Fluffy visuals: Stick to what helps you explain the quarter, not what looks flashy.
Keep It Simple, Iterate, Repeat
That’s it. Building a detailed quarterly sales report in Koala isn’t magic, but it does take discipline. Don’t try to make it perfect on the first go. Start with the basics, see what actually gets used in the review, and adjust for next time. The best reports are simple, honest, and tailored to your audience—not overloaded with every metric Koala can spit out.
Good luck—and remember, the real value comes from the discussion the report sparks, not the charts themselves.