10 min guideUpdated September 2026App review required

Turn a one-paragraph brief into a checked organisation report

Write the decision you need to make as a short brief, then turn it into a checked SignBas3 report with the five-stage Custom report builder.

Best forOwner / Admin · Accounts · Project Management / Production

Before you beginUse a representative record and confirm you have the permissions required for this area.

Step by step

Write a one-paragraph brief that names the decision, the audience, the period, how rows should be grouped and which figures must appear.
Open Reports in the top navigation and select Create custom report, or open All reports and choose a Standard report such as Job profitability to start from a ready-made definition.
In the Name stage, enter the Report name, paste your brief into Description, and choose the Report type whose Each row line matches the record you need.
In Select Fields, tick the fields the brief asks for and arrange them in the Selected field order list.
In Select Criteria, set the Date field and Date range, then use Add filter for each condition in the brief.
In Table Rows, choose whether rows are grouped and subtotalled, set the Sort field and Sort direction, and tick any row actions.
In Permissions, choose who can open the report and which criteria viewers may change, then select Check and preview report.
Read the Data checks, Report definition check, Page structure and Report preview; resolve anything marked Review required before you save.

Good practice

A good brief names the decision, not just the chart. Write it before you touch the builder, paste it into Description so the next person knows what the report is for, and treat a Review required badge as a stop sign rather than a formatting issue.

When you are finishedA report definition that matches your brief, has passed the organisation data checks and shows a live preview ready to save, publish or export.

Before you begin

You can open Reports and read the records the report will use, such as jobs, invoices or production tasks.
You know the decision the report supports, who will read it and which period it covers.

Complete workflow

How the workflow moves

01
Write the brief
Name the decision, the audience, the period, the grouping and the fields in one short paragraph.
02
Build in five stages
Map each part of the brief to Name, Select Fields, Select Criteria, Table Rows and Permissions.
03
Check and preview
Run Check and preview report and read the Data checks, Report definition check and Report preview before relying on the numbers.

What this controls

Reports at /reports is where your organisation builds reusable reports from approved SignBas3 records. The Custom report builder follows five stages: Name, Select Fields, Select Criteria, Table Rows and Permissions. Every report is a definition, not a spreadsheet: it records the record type, fields, criteria, layout and permissions, and SignBas3 reads live organisation data each time the report opens.

The brief is your own plain-language statement of what the report must answer. The builder does not read it for you; it gives you a Description field to keep it with the report and five stages that map cleanly onto its parts. Saving, publishing and exporting the finished report are covered in Save, publish and export a report.

Before you start

Reports are organisation-owned and cannot be loaded without an active organisation.
Each Report type is permission-gated. Production Control needs job access; Job Invoiced Sales, Job Profitability and Financial Control need invoice access; Decision Queue needs organisation read access.

Walkthrough

Step 1: Write the brief

Use a sentence like: We need to decide which open jobs to invoice this month, for the accounts meeting, covering the current financial year, grouped by job manager, showing job value, invoiced to date and unbilled value. Each clause becomes a builder choice in turn.

Step 2: Start the report

The Reports menu in the top navigation lists All reports, Favourites and Create custom report. All reports opens the Reports page on Saved reports, where Create report in the header and Create custom report in the Create a trusted report panel open an empty builder. Standard reports offers Active jobs, Production priorities, Job profitability, Aged receivables, Unbilled work and Decision exceptions; choosing one loads its definition into the builder so you only adjust it.

Step 3: Name stage

Report name is required. Page name labels this page of the report. Description accepts up to 500 characters with the prompt What this report is for and how it should be used. Report type lists the record types you may read: Decision Queue, Financial Control, Job Invoiced Sales, Job Profitability and Production Control. The Each row line under the form tells you the grain, for example One job per row. Layout type is Table. Add page, Duplicate and Remove in the Report pages bar build a multi-page pack.

Step 4: Select Fields

Tick fields in the list, or use Search available fields, Select all and Select none. Selected field order shows the column order with move up and move down buttons. At least one field is required before Next becomes available.

Step 5: Select Criteria

Date field lists the date fields on the record, or No date field; Date range offers All dates or Custom date range with From and To. Under Additional filters, Add filter adds a row with Join (And or Or), Field, Condition and Value. Conditions depend on the field type, including is, is not, includes, starts with, is between, is blank and includes any of. With no filters the page reads No additional filters — every record in the selected date range will be included.

Step 6: Table Rows

Rows are offers Not grouped or Grouped and subtotalled by the first field. Display the last field places the final column On the same line or On the next line. Sort field defaults to Source order; Sort direction is Ascending or Descending. When grouped, Subtotal fields lists the numeric fields you selected. SignBas3 row actions stay permission-gated when the report is viewed.

Step 7: Permissions and check

Who can open this report? offers All staff with source-data access, Administrators and report owner, or Selected staff and report owner, which reveals a staff list. Viewers sets whether readers Cannot change the filters, Can change the date filters or Can change all filters. Check and preview report runs the definition against organisation data; Report checked against organisation data confirms it.

Step 8: Read the checks

The Report workspace card shows the page and match counts. Data checks passed, or Review data before relying on this report, lists records checked, ready, unresolved and duplicated. Report definition check shows each page's rows, fields, filters and ordering as Confirmed or Needs review. Page structure lists each page's source, fields, filters, group and sort. Report preview renders the pages exactly as they will be exported from live approved records.

What changes elsewhere

Nothing is stored until you select Save report; the checked draft lives only in the builder.
Row actions ticked in Table Rows appear as controls in the saved report viewer at /reports/view for users with permission.
Permissions chosen here decide who sees the saved report in the Custom reports library.

Common problems

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Next stays disabled on Name	Report name is empty or no Report type is chosen.	Enter a name and choose a record type.
Select at least one field	No fields are ticked on this page.	Tick the fields the brief needs.
Check and preview report is disabled	A page has no fields, or Selected staff was chosen with nobody selected.	Open each page in the Report pages bar and complete it.
Review data before relying on this report	Some records are unresolved or duplicated.	Read the listed issues and correct the source records before saving.
Reports are temporarily unavailable	The organisation reporting service did not respond.	Select Try again; no empty library is shown in the meantime.

Check your work

The Report workspace card shows Data checks passed and Report definition check reads Confirmed.
Page structure lists the source, fields, filters and sort your brief asked for.
The Report preview shows a row count that matches your expectation for the period.

See reporting and analytics for sign shops →

If your workspace behaves differently, record the relevant job, client or record number and raise a support ticket so the team can investigate the exact context.