How to Create and Export Reports for Events

In event management, having access to detailed and customizable reports can greatly improve event planning, execution, and evaluation. Timely software allows event organizers to export tailored reports for events, complete with advanced filters and content customization.

This post will walk you through the process of creating event reports and highlight the benefits of using these documents to enhance your event management.

1. Benefits of Creating and Exporting Reports for Events

Customized event reports help organizers gain valuable insights and support data-driven decision-making:

Consistent, accurate reporting: Generate standardized reports across departments or calendars, ensuring data consistency and reducing manual tracking.
Improved planning and scheduling: Identify peak periods, seasonal trends, and scheduling gaps to plan future events more effectively.
Support for stakeholder and leadership reporting: Easily share clear, structured and branded reports with leadership, sponsors, or partners to demonstrate impact and results.
Data export for external analysis: Export event reports as CSV files for use in BI tools, spreadsheets, or other platforms for deeper analysis.
Informed strategic decision-making: Use reliable event data to guide program development, resource allocation, and long-term event strategies.

2. What is the Timely Reporting Feature for Events?

The Timely report feature for events allows you to generate and export reports tailored specifically to event data. You can include detailed insights for each event, apply filters to focus on specific timeframes, categories, or organizers, and export reports in multiple formats for a professional, easy-to-read presentation.

These reports can be shared with internal teams, marketing stakeholders, or leadership to support planning, performance analysis, and transparency. They are especially useful for organizations managing high volumes of events, such as educational institutions, government organizations, cultural venues, and destination marketing organizations.

3. How to Create a Report for Events with Timely

Timely allows event organizers to generate comprehensive reports for events with customized filters and data fields. Follow these steps to access, filter, and export event reports. Before you begin, ensure your events have the correct filters (e.g., tags, organizers, categories) added, as these fields impact what you can filter and report on.

Log in to your Timely dashboard.
On the left menu, go to Reports.
Choose Events to open the event reporting dashboard.

How to Create a Report for Events with Timely

3.1 Use Basic Filters to Build Your Report:

Start by applying the basic filters to define which events are included in your report. These filters help you narrow results, focus on the most relevant data, and generate accurate, meaningful insights.

Start date range: Use the date picker to select the time period you want to analyze, such as a specific month, quarter, or custom range.
Event status: Choose which events to include based on their current status. Available options include All, Published, Draft, Pending, Rejected, and Trash.
Event visibility: Control which events appear in the report based on their access level. Select Public to include events visible to all audiences, or Private for internal or restricted events.

Timely EMS software options to filter PDF Reports for Events.

If you choose not to apply advanced filters, click Search to run the report. The system will return results based on your selected criteria. Otherwise, continue reading this post to learn more about advanced filters for reporting.

3.2 Apply Advanced Filters:

Click on Advanced Filters to access more detailed options for customizing your report.

Use these filters to refine your results:

Venue: Select one or more venues to focus your report on specific locations.
Categories: Filter events by categories, such as workshops, meetings, or conferences.
Organizers: Narrow down the report to events managed by specific organizers.
Tags: Add tags to include events based on types, themes, or formats.

Any custom event filter you create in your account is also available for reporting. Use these advanced filters to refine results, analyze targeted event data, and generate more accurate, meaningful insights.

Timely EMS software options of advanced filters for reports.

Once you’ve applied your advanced filters, click Search to generate the report and retrieve the matching data. The system will display results based on the criteria you selected.

3.3. Customize Report Content:

Under Customize Report Content, you can select exactly which fields should be included in your exported report. Each checkbox corresponds to a data point that may be relevant for your organization or stakeholders. Here’s what each item means:

All Day: Indicates whether the event spans the entire day without specific start and end times.
Created At: Shows the timestamp when the event or space record was created in the system.
Ends: Displays the event or booking end time.
Entry Fee: Indicates whether the event has an entry fee and what that fee is.
Event Status: Reflects the current status of the event (e.g., Draft, Published, Pending).
Facebook / LinkedIn: Shows whether the event has been shared to social media platforms.
Featured: Indicates if the event or space is marked as “featured” in your Timely calendar.
Post Status: Reflects the status of the post in your WordPress (or similar CMS) system, like Published or Pending.
Repeats At: Displays information about recurring events or bookings.
Starts: Shows the start time of the event or booking.
Ticket Type: Shows what type of ticketing is associated with the event (e.g., General Admission, VIP).
Timezone: Displays the timezone setting for the event or booking.
Title: The title of the event or space booking, as displayed on the calendar.
Updated At: Indicates the most recent update timestamp of the record.
User: Shows the user who created or manages the entry.
User Email: Displays the email address of the user managing the record.
User Role: Reflects the role of the user in your organization (e.g., Admin, Editor).
Venue: Lists the venue name associated with the space or event.

Tip: You can select multiple items depending on the level of detail needed. This is especially useful if you need to analyze patterns like booking times, space popularity, or user activity.

4. How to Export your Customized Report

Once you’ve applied all desired filters and selected the content fields, you can now export your custom report. First, click on the Export button next to the Customize Report Content button.

Export button next to the Customize Report Content button

Next, select the preferred Export File Format. The available options are CSV, PDF and ICS.

Export File Format. The available options are CSV, PDF and ICS

For each file format, the system displays additional options, which are explained in detail below.

4.1 CSV Export Options

After selecting CSV as your export file format, you can choose to export all event columns or just the current list.

4.1.1 Export All Event Columns

If you select Export All Event Columns, all event data and columns will be exported.

4.1.2 Export Current List

If you select Export Current List, additional settings will appear:

Internal Notes: Check this box to include internal notes added by dashboard users.
Default Filters: Select preferred filters such as Categories, Tags, and Organizers.
Custom Fields: Select custom fields from the drop-down menu.
Custom Filters: Select custom filters from the drop-down menu.

After selecting CSV as your export file format, you have additional options.

4.2 PDF Export Options

After selecting PDF as your export file format, you can further customize the report using:

Default Filters: Select preferred filters such as Categories, Tags, and Organizers.
Custom Fields: Select custom fields from the drop-down menu.
Custom Filters: Select custom filters from the drop-down menu.

After selecting PDF as your export file format, you have additional options.

4.3 ICS Export Options

After selecting ICS as your export file format, you can enable the following options:

Include HTML: include the HTML for the event description.
Include Image: include event cover image.

After selecting ICS as your export file format, you have additional options.

4.4 Finalizing Your Export

Once you’ve selected your file format and options, choose one of the following:

Export File: Generates the export immediately.
Save and Schedule: Saves the export settings and lets you schedule the report.

This feature empowers event managers with calendar data to refine their event planning and coordination, ensuring every event achieves its full potential. Explore more ways to improve your event management with Timely’s solutions. With Timely’s reporting capabilities, event organizers can easily track and present crucial event data, simplifying analysis and supporting successful event planning.

Need Additional Help?

For further guidance and support, please visit our Help Center. Additionally, if you have any inquiries or need assistance, don’t hesitate to contact our customer success team by opening a support ticket from your Timely account’s dashboard.

Moreover, in case you require additional assistance in implementing and using Timely event management system, we are happy to assist. Explore all the professional services we offer, and feel free to get in touch with us today!