Chapter 4 — Reports(Tutorial example at the end)
Why this chapter matters
Reports help owners and managers see operations in numbers and charts: how busy messaging and workflows are, how many forms were approved, and whether to add people or tune flows. Filter by period and export when the report supports it.
Examples:
- Operations reviews real-time or daily reports weekly to decide on support staffing.
- Finance opens monthly reports and form instance reports at month-end to reconcile signups vs approvals.
- Managers use form pivot analysis to slice survey or application data from different angles.
- Owners describe “this month’s sales by customer” in AI BI Builder and generate a dashboard from a dataset.
- Engineering uses template reports to drop site photos onto a fixed Word / PDF layout and download it.
The left menu Reports section lists multiple sub-reports; each may be licensed separately — without permission the menu hides or the page shows access denied.
| Menu name | Rough purpose |
|---|---|
| AI BI Builder | Pick a dataset and fields, describe the view in plain language, save or import/export the definition. |
| Real-time report | Near-live operational or workflow snapshot. |
| Daily report | Statistics and trends aggregated by day. |
| Monthly report | Monthly rollups for month-end reviews. |
| Apps media report | Photos grouped by run and process data; select or exclude, then export PDF, Word, or ZIP. |
| Template report | Pick photos from apps media, apply a library template, let AI map photo slots, then download. |
| Form instance report | Submission counts and status by period; preview fills and export PDF (one page per form) or Excel. |
| Form pivot analysis | Cross-tab analysis of form data across dimensions. |
| Commerce reports | Monthly statements and sales-order pivot (permissions can be separate). |
| System usage billing | Workflow runs, Meta outbound messages, AI calls, and amounts. |
4.1 Typical workflow
- Open Reports in the left menu, then pick a report type.
- Set date range, workflow, form, or other filters on the page.
- If Export exists, download PDF or Excel (when that report implements export).
If numbers do not change after changing filters, confirm you clicked Query / Apply (or similar) and wait for loading to finish.
4.2 AI BI Builder
For colleagues who do not write code: pick or create a dataset, describe the view in plain language, and preview a report or dashboard.
- Choose New report (tabular detail) or New dashboard (charts and KPI cards).
- Choose data: chat to create a dataset from Odoo, Excel, or Google Sheets (joins, or attach a screenshot of an existing report to map columns), or pick an existing dataset and fields.
- Describe the need, click Generate, preview, keep asking for changes, then save. The saved list supports open, export, and import of definition files.
4.3 Template report
Place photos collected in a flow onto a layout from the report template library.
- Filter workflow instances the same way as Apps media, and tick photos to print (exclude the rest).
- Pick a template; AI maps photos to PHOTO slots — adjust if needed.
- Preview and download.
TutorialExample: reviewing leave, expense, or sales form statistics
When leave, expense, or quote-request forms are collected through forms and flows, managers use Form instance reports for volumes and status by period, Form pivot analysis for cross-tabs, and AI BI Builder when they want a custom view in plain language — matching “HR attendance stats” or “expense history” style needs in the reference diagrams.
- Report permissions may be separate from menu visibility; ask your administrator if something is missing.
How the product ties together: reporting reads stored form instances and workflow-related data; filters are meaningful when names and fields match what you designed in Chapter 2.