Open Forum

My heart sinks when I need to go create any kind of report in CVENT. 

Find the correct template with the fields I need. 

Hope that I don't pick any of the dead fields with no data instead of the correct ones which have exactly the same name.  And the order that you select these fields impacts which one will have the field name change (e.g. Start Date -> Start Date 2)

I realize I was missing one field and I have to go back only to have to start again, or save a brand new copy of a template every time I run it and hope I can keep them sorted.

Dozens upon dozens of templates in different spots, and most with hundreds of available fields. 

And yet, no single template that has everything.

Investigating user issues that I should normally expect to resolve in 15 minutes or less ALWAYS turn into hours. 

Many investigated issues do not get resolved because I cannot compile enough of the correct data quickly enough before another issue comes up.  When I can it typically requires referencing more than one report.

This is worse than looking for a needle in a haystack -- Instead I am looking for a needle in a haystack and I can never find more than half a needle.

Am I the only one struggling with this?

I know I could create the templates I need and save them --> trouble is I need hours just to find the fields I need, and tools to merge reports together and then I need to run tests to generate the confidence that the selected fields represent what I think they should.

Someone out there has a better way.  I am desperate to find a faster way to reliably generate what I need.

#Reporting
#ManagingEvents

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Daniel Austin
Training Coordinator
NSF International Canada
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Hi Daniel,

I understand how challenging it can be to manage complex reports with so many fields and templates.
I'd be happy to help you streamline your reporting process with a custom template.
Let me know if you'd like support setting this up-happy to assist!

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Amarnath Annamalai
Freelance Cvent Specialist
www.cvntexpert.com
info@cvntexpert.com
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There are lots of resources on reporting in the Cvent Community.  Check out the Learning Center on Reporting & Insights, which offers links to knowledge base articles as well as online classes in Cvent Academy.  Reporting & Insights Learning Center - Cvent Community

These resources can be really helpful when you're trying to figure out which report to run, or how to update the data in your report.  I do recommend favoriting the report templates that you use most often.  That way they are easy to find, as some of the report template names can be very similar.

I hope those resources help!

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Jess Olcott
Training Program Coordinator
ETC, Inc.
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There is a very usefully tip I learned at Cvent Connect this year. 

After choosing a template, under the field tab on the top right, there is a "Only show selected fields"  check box which will choose all the admission items, sessions, session questions, registration questions, custom registration questions,  and optional items you have built in your event and all will be selected. 

Hopefully that helps?

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James Rose | Senior Web Developer and Platform/Product Manager
Digital Infrastructure
Office of University Development | University of Michigan
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Hi Daniel - 

While it can be overwhelming and a little frustrating, what I would recommend is taking an hour of your day and creating 3 - 4 Saved templates for yourself.  Start with the templates that have "details" in the title since those will be the most comprehensive and include most fields that you might be looking for.  Not sure what types of reports you are running but determine what you are most asked about and create a catch-all report for each category.  An example of reports that I might start with, include:  

1) Event Details Report - To capture fields (particularly custom fields and custom questions) regarding your event (or events, if running a cross-event report)

2) Meeting Request Details Report - To capture fields (particularly custom fields) off of your Meeting Requests

3) Answer Details by Attendee - To capture information asked on your Registration Pages

4) Sent Emails Details - Used within a specific event to track Emails, Who they were sent to and actions taken

For these particular reports, include all available fields (although you will be limited - I believe it is 150 fields per report) so that you have a report that pulls in all fields that you might be looking for) and when you build it - save it with just a small window of information  - example:  a week's worth of data  - specify it with the custom dates option.  By saving it with a small window, the report will run faster vs. saving it with a month or year's worth of data which will take a long time to run.  This way you can run the report, see if it includes the information you need and then if it does, update with the timeframe you are looking for.  

Start with 3-4 "Go To" reports that you can rely on and then if needed, you can go out and explore the other templated reports that Cvent has available.  Once you are familiar with what you are looking for you, you can also use those words in the Search bar when looking for a specific type of report (example:  Attendees, Fees,  Participants, etc.)

Another tip that I would recommend if you are having challenges with locating a certain report, is to open a ticket with Cvent Support.  I will often times, open up a ticket at the end of my day explaining all the fields that I am looking for, but more importantly what I am trying to get out of the report.  By explaining the end result you are looking for, that helps give the support team insight on the best report to run.  More often then not, by the time I get into the office the next day, I've received a response with recommendations to try and step by step instructions on how to get what I need.

Hope this helps!

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Rebecca Yousif
Senior Administrator - Event Technology
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Are the dead fields due to custom contact fields that you no longer use because you have created a new (similar) field?  Or is it from questions that were used in a previous event that was copied from but not used in the current event? 

I have found in the case of the outdated custom contact fields that I update the name of the old field to include "do not use" so that when I see it in the report field options I know not to use it.  This should also hopefully keep people from adding that field to a new event registration process.   

If questions are appearing that weren't used in the event, it's most likely due to the event being a copy of a copy of a copy etc.  In this case I would recommend implementing an event template that new reg sites get created from rather than copying a previous year.  Also if you have 2 questions in the event that are practically identical, I try to go into the question settings and update what shows for reporting purposes to make it clearer.  This also helps if you have a long question so that you can abbreviate what shows in the report column header.

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Peggy Beach
Event Technology & Operations Manager
Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company United States
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