Report Actions
What actions are available when viewing a report?
Purpose: To teach you what actions are available for you when viewing a report in BambooHR.
Table of Contents
Using the old report builder? Check out our new report builder featuring dynamic upgrades like faster load times, real-time previews, customizable layouts, and expanded datasets! This guide will be your go-to resource for exploring the new report builder.
Select a report
When viewing a report in BambooHR, you will have different actions available to you depending on the type of reports. A custom report includes all of the actions listed below. For standard reports, the available actions vary depending on the type of report you are viewing. The following actions may be available:
Standard report
In a standard report, or the reports automatically included in your BambooHR account, you have the option to filter the data by the standard filters in BambooHR. You can create multiple filters for all categories. Once you have selected the filter(s), click Apply, and the data in the report will automatically filter accordingly. Keep in mind that if you do not have any options listed for division, that filter option will not show in the drop-down list. If you need to revert to the unfiltered report, click Reset or exit the report.
Unless a report is specifically about terminated employees, standard reports will default to including only active employees. To see terminated employees in these standard reports, simply adjust the filter on the right to inactive or all employees.
Custom report
Custom reports allow you to create multiple filters for all five categories (Department, Division, Location, Employment Status, and Job Title). In the example above, I have created a filter for this report that includes two departments and one employment status.
You also have the additional option to filter a custom report by status (Active, Inactive, or All). Reports automatically show only active employees unless you manually change this filter.
When generating your report in the new custom report builder, you have the option to include active, inactive, or all employees by applying a filter on the report creation page itself. The status filter set during report creation will be the default filter in the report view after it is run. When viewing the report, you can adjust the status filter temporarily to find the data you need and click Reset to default filters at any time (see below).
If you do not specify a status filter during report creation, your report will default to include only active employees in the report view. Within this view, you can include terminated employees, if needed, by adjusting the filter to either Inactive or All. We recommend using All if you need to include both active and terminated employees, or if you anticipate needing to switch between these employee statuses while viewing the report.
Only custom reports have an edit option when you view it. Clicking Edit in the top right corner will take you back to the custom report builder, where you can add or remove fields, change filters, and sort or group data.
To share a report, type an individual user's name or the name of the access level into the Share this Report pop-up window. Then, determine if you would like the user(s) to receive an email notification about the shared report. If you check to have the user(s) notified via email, you will see the option to schedule a recurring email. (See below.)
Click Share, and the report will be available to the specified user(s) under the Shared with Me folder. A user must have access to all of the required fields for a standard report for it to be accessible. Read below under Standard Report Access to learn more about how to see what fields the user still needs access to.
You cannot share reports with employee access level users since they do not have access to other employees' information.
If you share a standard* report with a user who does not have access to specific fields in the report, you will see a red warning icon. Simply hover over this icon to see which fields the user needs to have access to in order to view this report. Additionally, click which necessary permissions below to see the full list of fields required to view this report. The blue notification at the top of the screen includes a link to take you directly to Update Access Level. Simply navigate to the employee's access level to update the permissions to the required fields.
*Data displayed within a custom report adheres to the individual user's access level. If you share with a user who cannot view a particular field, the Share this Report pop-up window will show a warning, and the field data will remain locked when the user runs the report.
If you share a custom report, the user must have access to the fields in the report for all employees to see the status filter option (Showing: Active/Inactive/All) in the top right corner of the report.
If you selected to notify people via email when sharing the report, BambooHR will delay the email notification by 30 minutes to allow the Full Admin to change access levels if needed. After 30 minutes and no new change to the user's permissions to view the report, we will send this email to the individual the report was shared with.
If all of the required fields have been shared with the user, the above email notification will be sent letting them know they now have access to the report. The user can simply click View Report to be taken to the report in BambooHR.
If you check the box to notify the user(s) via email, you will see an option to schedule a recurring email. Click Schedule Recurring Email to set up the schedule.
- Recipient: This lists the users who will receive the recurring email. This automatically populates a list of users with who you selected to share the report.
- Starting on: Select the date you would like to begin the recurring schedule. This automatically populates with today's date.
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Frequency: Enter the amount and select the frequency. The options include days, weeks, or months.
- If you select Week(s), you will see an option to choose which day of the week.
- If you select Month(s), you will see a list of options based on the selected date. In the example above, I chose 10/01/2024, and it lets me choose between the first day of the month or on the first Tuesday of every month.
Once you set up your schedule, click Save, and then click Share to share the report.
*Reports that are not available to share will also not be available to schedule. However, please note that the Missing Data report is available to share but does not have an option for scheduling recurring emails.
Email notification
The user(s) will receive the first email notification as soon as you share the report. This email notification details who shared the report, the report name, and the defined schedule. They can click See the Report to view the report in BambooHR. Please note that they must be logged in to BambooHR to view the report.
Moving forward, the user(s) will receive the notification above based on the recurring schedule set when you shared the report. This notification will send at 7:00 AM (company's timezone).
- Anyone who has access to share a report can also schedule sharing the report.
- Full Admin: Scheduling reports is accessible for almost all reports.*
- Custom access users: Can share reports if they have access via access levels. For example, if a custom access user has access to manage job openings, they automatically have access to the Candidate reports and can share them. However, with a report like Birthdays, the custom access user cannot share it unless someone shares the report with them.
- Custom reports: If a custom access user has access to create custom reports, they can schedule a share if they own the report.
- Manager access users: Has access to view scheduled reports but does not have access to schedule reports.
The Employee # field will automatically be included in all Excel exports of standard reports as a unique identifier.
You can export custom or standard reports as an Excel, PDF, or CSV file. Exporting capabilities within a standard report vary depending on the specific report.
Selecting Excel or CSV will automatically download the report to your computer. If you choose PDF, a modal will pop up for you to enter the desired paper size and orientation.
Filters: If you have applied any date or employee filters to the report you are exporting or printing, you will see those filters in the exported file for all file types.
- CSV: You will receive two files zipped together when exporting. The first file contains the raw data, and the second has the applied filters.
- Excel: You will receive one file with two tabs. One tab with the raw data and the other tab with the applied filters.
You can print any custom reports. Printing capabilities within a standard report vary depending on the specific report.
To print a report, select Print, and your computer's print setup will appear for you to select specifications for printing.
Download Forms allows you to download basic forms for your employees with basic demographic information auto-populated. When selecting this feature from a report view, it will automatically fill the Selected Employees area with all employees from the report. Then, you can choose the forms and determine how you would like to download them.
Selecting Duplicate will create a replica of a report and take you to the custom report builder. In this way, you can easily add or remove fields from the new report without changing the previous report.
An administrator or owner of a custom report will have the option to delete the report. Once you select Delete Report, you need to confirm before deleting the report.
Power editing a report will pull all employees and fields from the report into the power edit tool. This tool allows you to edit these fields for all employees in the report at once. The Selected Employees list auto-populates to the list of employees from the report.
Power editing is not currently available in the new custom report builder. If you are still using the old report builder, you can use the power edit feature there.
Please note that any changes to single field information will remove previous data immediately. Changes to table field information through the power edit tool will add a new line to the table. Be sure to confirm what fields you are editing when using this feature.