Overview
Custom Tables & Charts give you the flexibility to analyze your data exactly the way your business needs—without being constrained by pre-built dashboards.
In this article, you’ll learn:
What Custom Tables & Charts are and how they differ from standard reports
When and why to use them
How to structure effective custom analyses for faster, more confident decision-making
Whether you’re tracking performance, validating hypotheses, or exploring new business questions, Custom Tables & Charts help you turn raw data into meaningful insights.
Section 1: What Are Custom Tables & Charts?
Custom Tables & Charts (previously known as Custom Reports) allow you to build fully customizable data views using your connected data sources. Unlike predefined dashboards, they give you control over metrics, dimensions, filters, and visualizations—all in one place.
Key Capabilities
With Custom Tables & Charts, you can:
Choose exactly which metrics and dimensions to analyze
Apply filters to focus on specific time periods, channels, or segments
Switch between table and chart views to explore trends or details
Create ad hoc analyses without needing engineering support
When to Use Them
Custom Tables & Charts are especially useful when you want to:
Answer a specific business question not covered by standard dashboards
Investigate anomalies or performance changes
Compare metrics across dimensions like channel, product, or campaign
Prototype insights before adding them to a shared dashboard
Example:
You notice a dip in revenue and want to understand whether it’s driven by fewer orders, lower AOV, or a specific acquisition channel. A Custom Table lets you break this down quickly—without editing an existing dashboard.
Section 2: Building a Custom Table or Chart
Every effective Custom Table or Chart starts with a clear analytical goal.
Step 1: Define the Question
Ask yourself:
What am I trying to understand or decide?
What metric best represents success or performance?
This ensures your report stays focused and actionable.
Step 2: Choose Metrics and Dimensions
Metrics define what you’re measuring (e.g. Revenue, Orders, Conversion Rate).
Dimensions define how results are grouped (e.g. Date, Channel, Product).
Tip: Start with one primary metric and one main dimension, then expand only if additional context is needed.
Section 3: Filters, Comparisons & Date Controls
Filters and date settings allow you to refine your analysis and add context to your results.
Filters
Filters let you narrow the dataset to what matters most. You can:
Filter by date range, channel, product, customer segment, and more
Combine multiple filters for granular analysis
Include or exclude specific values
Well-applied filters reduce noise and highlight meaningful trends.
In the example below, we break down the data by sales channel and filter it to show only web channel data.
Comparisons
Comparisons help you understand performance over time by adding a reference point. You can:
Compare a period to the previous period
Compare year-over-year performance
Quickly identify growth, decline, or seasonality
Comparisons are especially useful when monitoring trends or reporting changes to stakeholders.
Lock Date & Granularity
Lock Date ensures historical data remains consistent by preventing recalculation beyond a set point in time. This is useful for financial reporting and period-close workflows.
Granularity controls how data is grouped over time (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly).
Tip: Use finer granularity for short-term analysis and broader granularity for long-term trend evaluation.
Section 4: Layout & Data Presentation Customization
Custom Tables & Charts offer several options to control how data is displayed and prioritized.
Show Top / Bottom Rows
You can limit results to:
Top-performing rows (e.g. top 10 products by revenue)
Bottom-performing rows to identify underperformers
This helps focus attention on the most impactful data points.
Switch Rows and Columns
Switching rows and columns allows you to:
Change the perspective of your analysis
Improve readability for wide or complex datasets
Adapt the layout for tables versus charts
This is especially useful when comparing multiple metrics across a single dimension.
Color Scales
Color scales visually highlight performance differences by:
Emphasizing high and low values
Making patterns and outliers easier to spot
Improving scannability in large tables
Color scales are ideal for quickly identifying winners, laggards, or anomalies.
Section 5: Visualization Options
You can toggle between table and chart views depending on how you want to explore or present the data.
Tables
Best for:
Exact values
Detailed comparisons
Multi-metric analysis
Charts
Best for:
Trends over time
Pattern recognition
Visual storytelling
If an insight isn’t obvious in one view, switching views often makes it clearer.
Section 6: Scheduling Custom Tables & Charts
Custom Tables & Charts can be scheduled to keep you and your team informed automatically.
Scheduling Capabilities
You can:
Schedule reports to run on a recurring basis
Deliver results to stakeholders without manual effort
Use schedules for weekly, monthly, or executive reporting
Schedules turn Custom Tables & Charts from one-time analyses into reliable reporting tools.
Best Practices for Scheduling
Use clear report names so recipients understand the purpose
Schedule only finalized or stable analyses
Align schedules with business rhythms (e.g. weekly performance reviews, monthly closes)
Best Practices
Focus each Custom Table or Chart on a single core question
Use comparisons and color scales to add context, not clutter
Lock dates for financial or historical reporting
Start simple and iterate as new questions arise
Schedule reports that provide ongoing value
Troubleshooting
If a Custom Table or Chart doesn’t look right, it’s usually due to differences in configuration. Use the checks below to quickly identify the issue.
Numbers don’t match another report
Check for differences in:
Date range or granularity (daily vs. monthly)
Filters applied or excluded
Lock date settings
Metric definitions (e.g. Gross vs. Net Revenue)
Small setup differences can lead to different results.
Missing or incomplete data
If data appears missing:
Loosen or remove filters
Confirm the selected date range contains data
Check Top / Bottom row limits
Ensure the selected metrics and dimensions are compatible
Unexpected comparison results
If comparisons look off:
Verify the comparison period (e.g. previous period vs. year over year)
Check for partial or incomplete periods
Align granularity across periods
Table is hard to read
To improve readability:
Switch rows and columns
Reduce the number of metrics
Use Top / Bottom rows to focus results
Apply color scales to highlight patterns
Scheduled report looks different
If a scheduled report doesn’t match expectations:
Open the saved report to confirm its configuration
Check for recent changes to filters or dates
Avoid dynamic dates if fixed reporting is required
By mastering Custom Tables & Charts, you gain the freedom to explore your data on your terms—turning questions into answers and insights into action.
If you’d like help translating a business question into a Custom Table or Chart, our team is always here to help.