Report Builder

Report Builder brings storytelling and numbers together in one place. It takes the data you capture, measure and evidence in Thrive and guides you, step by step, from a starting template to a polished, branded report, with your figures and your story side by side.

Every figure comes straight from the records captured and evidenced in Thrive, so reports are as defensible as they look. Reports draw on live data, so new records that match your filters are picked up as they are added, and a PDF export gives you a fixed snapshot whenever you need one.

Note Some Report Builder features, such as the full editor and sharing with colleagues, depend on your Thrive plan. These are marked below. Your Thrive Customer Success Manager can confirm exactly what is included for your organisation.

The Reports home

Figure 1 The Reports home, showing recent reports, templates and other reporting tools

Select Reports in the navigation menu to open the Reports home. Tabs across the top organise your reports:

Tab	What it shows
Home	Your recent reports, and templates to start a new one.
My Reports	Everything you have created, who it is shared with and when it was last opened.
Template Library	The report templates available to your organisation.
Shared With Me	Everything colleagues have shared with you.

Each report appears as a card with a preview, its name and when it was last edited. Select Create report (top right) to start a new one. The Other reporting tools panel on the right links to the other reports covered in the ‘Reporting’ article.

Building a report in five steps

Choose a template. Select Create report, then pick a template and preview it page by page so you can see exactly what is included. The Social Impact Report, for example, runs from a cover page and headline statistics through to what you have done, a case study and a full metric breakdown. To build your own layout instead, choose Start from a blank state and pick any pages from the library.
Add your report details and filters. Give the report a name (the only required field) and, if you like, a description. Then use filters such as project and date range to scope the report to the data that matters for its audience.
Choose your theme. Apply your organisation's branding or use the Thrive default theme (see Setting up your branding below).
Tell your story. Work through each page, adding your own words and images. When you select a field, the area you are editing is highlighted in the live preview, so you can see how every change looks as you make it.
Generate and export. Generate the report and export it as a PDF. The report is saved, so you can come back to it or duplicate it for the next reporting period.

Figure 2 Step 1: choosing a template, with a page-by-page preview

While telling your story (step 4), the following content is filled in for you or chosen from Thrive:

Content	How it works
Headline figures	Figures such as total social value are pulled in automatically, based on your filters.
KPIs	Drawn from your organisation's KPIs. Swap them in and out, and scope them by project if needed.
Images	Choose from the evidence in your selected projects, Thrive's stock image library or your own uploads, with fill and alignment controls to get the framing right. Every image in the Thrive stock library is licensed for use in your reports, with no further permissions needed.
Metric tables	Include every metric with data in a single click, or make your own selection, and hide anything with a value of zero.

Figure 3 Step 4: editing a page, with the live preview on the right

One set of data, many audiences

Once a report is built, duplicate it and adjust it for a new reporting period or a different audience. Every version draws on the same data in Thrive, so the figures always match. For example:

Your board or leadership team: a visual summary of progress for a project or reporting period.
Your clients: a branded report showing the value delivered for them.
Annual or ESG reporting: a narrative that tells the story of your year, not just the numbers.
Buyers and bid teams: figures you can stand behind when someone asks where a number came from.
Share with specific people: choose individual colleagues and set their permission level.
Share with your whole organisation: all colleagues with reporting access can find and view the report.
Reports stay current. Reports draw on live data, so new records that match your filters are picked up as they are added. When you need a fixed record of a moment in time, export a PDF.
Type, don't paste, between fields. Each field is styled for its place on the page, and copying text from one field into another carries the original styling with it.
Metric tables need metrics. If a template includes a metric table, select at least one metric before generating the report.
Existing reports are still available. Reports created before Report Builder remain in the Reports home.

Going further in the editor (depends on your plan)

For more control, open a report in the editor. Each page and component can be moved, resized and restyled on a flexible grid. You can add pages, change backgrounds, orientation and fonts, and select Add Component to bring in:

Figure 4 The Report Builder editor, with the Add Component panel open

Component	What it adds
Text	A standard paragraph or body text.
Metric	A single metric block with its value and label.
Metric Table	A table of key metrics and figures.
Model	Insights grouped by model, such as the IES or PPN 002.
Image	Static or dynamic image content.
KPI	KPI tiles, styled to follow your branding.
Top 5 Metrics	A table of your five strongest metrics.
Needs Analysis	Local need data for a postcode or area (see ‘Searching for an Area’ in the ‘Local Needs Analysis’ article).
Shape	Rectangles, circles, lines or arrows, with gradient and opacity, for dividers and layered layouts.

The Pages panel on the left lists every page in the report. Use the arrows to reorder pages, and Add Page to add a new one. Show Grid and Snap to Grid at the top help line components up.

Sharing and exporting

Figure 5 The Share report window

To share a report with someone outside Thrive, export it as a PDF and send it through your usual channels. Depending on your plan, you can also share a report inside Thrive, choosing between:

Sharing never opens up new data. Colleagues only ever see the data they already have access to in Thrive.

Setting up your branding

Admins and Super Admins can set your organisation's brand colours and logo in Configuration > Branding. Once set, they flow through to every template automatically, so every report looks like it came from you. If you are not sure who your Super Admin is, contact the Thrive team.

Good to know

Reports stay current. Reports draw on live data, so new records that match your filters are picked up as they are added. When you need a fixed record of a moment in time, export a PDF.
Type, don't paste, between fields. Each field is styled for its place on the page, and copying text from one field into another carries the original styling with it.
Metric tables need metrics. If a template includes a metric table, select at least one metric before generating the report.
Existing reports are still available. Reports created before Report Builder remain in the Reports home.