Report Builder
Report Builder is the Salesforce tool you use to create and edit reports.
Definition
Report Builder is the Salesforce tool you use to create and edit reports. It gives you a point-and-click canvas where you pick a report type, add fields as columns, set filters, choose groupings, and add formula columns, with a live preview that updates as you work.
In Lightning Experience, Report Builder opens in edit mode whenever you start a new report or click Edit on an existing one. You do not pick a report format by hand. The builder decides whether the report is tabular, summary, or matrix based on the groupings you add, so the layout follows the questions you ask of the data.
How Report Builder Assembles a Report
The report type decides what you can build
Every report starts with a report type, and that choice frames everything that follows. The report type sets which objects are in scope, which of their fields you can add as columns, and how related records join together. You select it in the Create New Report window, then click Start Report to open Report Builder against it. Once the report is open, you cannot swap the report type underneath it, so the early pick matters. If you need fields that the standard types do not expose, an admin builds a Custom Report Type first, then you point Report Builder at that. The type also controls record scope through its A-with-B or A-with-or-without-B relationship. A type like Accounts with Opportunities only returns accounts that have at least one opportunity. Get this wrong and the report quietly omits rows you expected to see, which is one of the most common reasons a report total looks too low. Treat the report type as the foundation, not a detail you can fix later.
Columns, the Fields panel, and the preview
Inside Report Builder, the left rail holds the Fields panel and the report settings, while the right side shows a live preview. You add columns by searching the Fields panel and dragging a field onto the preview, or by using the Add Column control. Removing a column from the report does not delete the field anywhere else, it just drops it from this view. The preview updates as you go, though it shows a sample of rows rather than the full result set, so very large reports render fully only when you click Run. Each column action menu lets you summarize a numeric field by Sum, Average, Max, or Min, which feeds subtotals and grand totals once you have a grouping. You can reorder columns by dragging them, and you can hide detail rows to see only the summarized view. This drag-and-drop loop is the core of the tool. Most of building a report is adding the right columns, summarizing the numbers that matter, and watching the preview confirm the shape before you commit.
Groupings drive the report format
You never choose tabular, summary, or matrix from a menu. Report Builder sets the format from the groupings you add. With no groupings, the report is tabular, a flat list of rows. Add one or two row groupings and it becomes a summary report with subtotals at each level. Add column groupings as well and it becomes a matrix, a grid that summarizes across both axes. The builder supports up to two row groupings and two column groupings. Date fields can be grouped by day, week, month, quarter, or year, and by calendar or fiscal periods, which is how you turn a pile of closed deals into a clean month-over-month view. Grouping is also a prerequisite for two other features. You cannot add a chart until the report has at least one grouping, and summary formulas need a grouping to evaluate against. So the order of work tends to flow naturally. Pick columns, add the grouping that answers your question, then layer charts and formulas on top of that structure.
Filters, including field-to-field and cross filters
The Filters tab controls which records reach the report. It starts with standard filters such as Show Me, which scopes records by owner or scope, and a date range filter on a chosen date field. Below those you add field filters, where you compare a field to a value with operators like equals, contains, or greater than. Two filter types go further. A field-to-field filter compares one field to another field on the same record, so you can find opportunities where the amount is greater than the expected revenue without hardcoding a number. A cross filter brings in related objects without adding their columns, using WITH and WITHOUT logic. Accounts WITHOUT Opportunities surfaces accounts that have no deals, which is hard to express any other way. A report can hold up to three cross filters, and each cross filter can carry up to five subfilters that narrow the related records. Filter logic lets you combine field filters with AND, OR, and parentheses for precise conditions. Good filtering is usually what separates a noisy report from one people actually trust.
Summary formulas and row-level formulas
Report Builder offers two calculation tools beyond plain field columns. A summary formula column computes a value from group subtotals and grand totals, so it needs at least one grouping to exist. You might write IF(AMOUNT:SUM less than 1000000, AMOUNT:SUM 0.85, AMOUNT:SUM 0.80) to model a tiered discount on each group total. A row-level formula is different. It runs once per record and shows the result as its own column, so it works like a temporary formula field that lives only inside the report. Row-level formulas have firm limits worth remembering. Each report supports two of them, and each can reference up to five unique fields, where reusing the same field still counts as one. They cannot reference bucket fields, summary formulas, or other row-level formulas, and they cannot be used inside cross filters or buckets. You create and edit them from the Outline panel, not the Fields panel, and they are not available on joined reports or in Salesforce Classic. Used well, these formulas let a report answer questions the underlying data model never stored directly.
Charts, saving, folders, and sharing
Once a grouping exists, you can add a chart with the Add Chart button, then open its gear menu to set the chart type, the grouping it plots, the measure it summarizes, and the color palette. The chart rides along with the report, so anyone who runs the report sees it, and a dashboard component can later point at this same report. Saving asks for a name, an optional description, and a folder. The folder is not cosmetic. It decides who can see and run the report through folder sharing, which is the main access control for analytics in Salesforce. A report saved to a private folder stays with you, while one in a shared folder reaches a role, group, or public audience. After saving you click Run to see the full result set rather than the preview sample. From the run page, users with the right permission can subscribe to get the report on a schedule, export it, or feed it into a dashboard. What you actually edit in Report Builder is the report definition, the saved set of type, columns, filters, groupings, formulas, and chart that produces fresh results every time it runs.
How to build a report in Report Builder
Building a report in Lightning Experience means opening Report Builder, choosing a report type, then shaping columns, groupings, and filters until the preview answers your question. Here is the core path from a blank report to a saved, runnable one.
- Open Report Builder
From the Reports tab, click New Report. In the Create New Report window, search for and select the report type that holds the objects and fields you need, then click Start Report. The builder opens in edit mode with settings on the left and a live preview on the right.
- Add and summarize columns
Use the Fields panel to drag fields onto the preview, or click Add Column. Open a numeric column action menu and choose Summarize to total it by Sum, Average, Max, or Min. Remove any column you do not need; this only drops it from the report, not from the object.
- Group to set the format
Add a row grouping to turn the flat list into a summary report with subtotals, and add a column grouping to make it a matrix. The format follows your groupings automatically. Group date fields by month, quarter, or year to see trends over time.
- Filter to the records you want
On the Filters tab, set Show Me and the date range, then add field filters. Use a cross filter with WITH or WITHOUT to include related records by existence, and use filter logic with AND or OR for precise conditions.
- Save to a folder and run
Click Save, give the report a name and description, and pick a folder, since the folder controls who can see it. Click Run to load the full results. Optionally click Add Chart, or subscribe to receive the report on a schedule.
Chosen in the Create New Report window before the builder opens. It fixes the available objects, fields, and record scope, and cannot be changed once the report is open.
A label entered at save time. It appears in folders, search, and any dashboard that sources this report.
Where the report is stored. Folder sharing decides whether the report stays private to you or is visible to a role, group, or the whole org.
- Once the report is open you cannot change its report type. If the type is wrong, start a new report rather than trying to fix it in place.
- An A-with-B report type only returns records that have a related record, so an Accounts with Opportunities report silently omits accounts that have no opportunities.
- Charts and summary formulas both require at least one grouping. Add the grouping first or those options stay unavailable.
- Row-level formulas are capped at two per report and five unique fields each, and they live on the Outline panel, not the Fields panel.
Prefer this walkthrough as its own page? How to Report Builder in Salesforce, step by step
Trust & references
Cross-checked against the following references.
Straight from the source - Salesforce's reference material on Report Builder.
- Build a Report in Lightning ExperienceSalesforce
- Add a Summary Formula Column to a ReportSalesforce
Hands-on resources to go deeper on Report Builder.
About the Author
Dipojjal Chakrabarti is a B2C Solution Architect with 29 Salesforce certifications and over 13 years in the Salesforce ecosystem. He runs salesforcedictionary.com to help admins, developers, architects, and cert/interview candidates sharpen their fundamentals. More about Dipojjal.
Test your knowledge
Q1. When an analyst opens Report Builder, which authoring action does the canvas let her perform directly?
Q2. Which capability did Report Builder gain in Lightning Experience beyond what the Classic version offered?
Q3. Why do mature orgs train end users on Report Builder rather than centralizing every report with admins?
Discussion
Loading discussion…