Report templates
A template is the design of a report — what fields it asks for, who has to submit it, how often. You build it once and the system generates a fresh submission for each assignee every period.
Create a template
- Go to Reports → Templates.
- Click the create button.
- Fill in the basics:
- Name — short, descriptive. Weekly Cell Report, Monthly Branch Giving, Quarterly Discipleship Update.
- Description — optional helper text shown to assignees.
- Cadence — weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annually.
- Day of period — when in the period it's due. For weekly: a day of the week. For monthly: a day of the month.
- Cutoff — when an unfilled submission becomes overdue. Default is end of the next period.
Add fields
Click the add-field action to define what the report asks for. Field types:
| Type | Use for |
|---|---|
| Number | Counts (attendance, baptisms, salvations) |
| Currency | Amounts (giving total, expenses) |
| Text | Short free-form (highlight of the week) |
| Long text | Detailed paragraphs (prayer requests, narrative) |
| Date | Specific dates (next event date) |
| Dropdown | Pick from a list |
| Multi-select | Pick many from a list |
| Boolean | Yes / No |
| Member picker | Reference a specific member from your roster |
For each field set:
- Label — what assignees see.
- Key — internal identifier (auto-generated).
- Required? — block save with empty value.
- Help text — optional hint shown below the field.
- Default value — pre-fills the field.
You can re-order fields by dragging.
Assign the template
Choose who has to submit:
- By role — every user with this role submits one per period.
- By user — specific named users.
- By org unit — one submission per unit (typically the unit's leader fills it in).
You can mix these — e.g. every shepherd + the bookkeeper + one per branch.
Auto-fill from existing data
Some fields can pre-populate from GCM data, saving the assignee from re-entering what's already there:
- Attendance count — pull from the attendance table for the period.
- Donation total — pull from the donations table.
- New members count — pull from members created during the period.
When the assignee opens the submission, these fields show the auto-pulled value with an option to override. This is the single biggest time-saver — assignees just verify rather than re-enter.
Reminders
A template can have reminders:
- Initial nudge — N days before the due date.
- Overdue nudge — N days after, while still unfilled.
- Final escalation — to the assignee's manager.
Each nudge sends a message on a configured channel (typically WhatsApp or email).
Publishing
A template is in draft until you publish it. Drafts don't generate submissions. Once published, the next period's submissions are created and assigned automatically.
WARNING
Editing fields on a published template doesn't retroactively change historical submissions — they keep the structure they had when filed. Going forward, new submissions use the new fields.
Versioning
Each publish bumps a version number. Historical submissions show the version they were created under, so reports stay accurate even after schema changes.
Common questions
Can a template have conditional fields? Not yet — every assignee sees every field. We're considering basic conditional logic for v2.1.
Can the cadence be irregular? No. The supported cadences are weekly, fortnightly, monthly, quarterly, annually. For one-off data collection, use a form instead.
Can I import data into past submissions? You can manually create a submission for any period (admin only), but bulk-importing historical reports is not yet supported.
Next steps
- Submitting a report — what assignees see.
- Reports overview — concepts and rollups.
- Demographics — auto-generated, no template needed.