Docs & Tutorials

Creating a Pivot Report

Creating a Pivot Report

Pivot Tables in NileDesk are a powerful way to summarize and analyze large amounts of data. Instead of scrolling through long lists of records, you can transform your dataset into a structured, interactive report that highlights trends, comparisons, and key insights.

This guide walks you through creating a Pivot Table in NileDesk, explains each component, and shows practical examples of how you can use it for better decision-making.

Pivot Reports are supported across all template types — including Process Flows, Boards, Datasets, and Data Forms.

Getting Started: Accessing the Pivot Table Editor

  1. Open your Template Dashboard page in NileDesk.
  2. Navigate to the Reports tab.
  3. Click Create Report.
  4. Select Pivot Table, give your report a meaningful name (e.g., Monthly Sales by Region), and click Create.

This will open the Pivot Table Editor, where you can design your report.

Understanding the Components of a Pivot Table

A Pivot Table in NileDesk consists of three key parts:

  • Row Field → Groups data vertically. Each unique value in this field becomes a separate row.
  • Column Field → Groups data horizontally. Each unique value forms a column.
  • Value Field → Represents the numerical data that is aggregated (summed, counted, averaged, etc.) according to the row and column fields.

Example: Basic Sales Report

If you’re analyzing sales data, you might set up your table like this:

  • Row Field → Product Category
  • Column Field → Month
  • Value Field → Total Sales (Sum)

This setup would display monthly sales totals for each product category, making it easy to compare performance across categories and months.

Adding Multiple Fields for Hierarchical Analysis

NileDesk allows you to add more than one field to Rows, Columns, and Values. This creates hierarchical breakdowns for deeper insights.

  • The first field acts as the parent.
  • The subsequent fields create nested levels within that parent.

Example: Multi-Level Sales Analysis

  • Row Fields: Region → Country → City
  • Column Fields: Year → Month
  • Value Fields: Total Sales (Sum), Order Count (Count)

This produces a detailed Pivot Table showing sales and order counts, broken down by location and time. For example, you could drill down from Asia → India → Delhi to see monthly sales in that city.

Aggregation Options for Value Fields

Each Value Field can be summarized using different aggregation functions:

  • Sum → Adds all values (e.g., Total Sales).
  • Min → Shows the lowest value (e.g., Minimum Order Amount).
  • Max → Shows the highest value (e.g., Largest Invoice).
  • Count → Counts the number of records (e.g., Number of Orders).

You can even apply multiple aggregations side by side. For example, Order Count (Count) and Average Sales (Sum ÷ Count) could be shown together.

Display Formats for Value Fields

NileDesk lets you control how the aggregated values are displayed:

  • Default → Raw numbers (e.g., $10,000).
  • % of Row → Each value as a percentage of its row total.
  • % of Column → Each value as a percentage of its column total.
  • % of Grand Total → Each value as a percentage of the entire dataset.

Example: Sales Percentage View

If Electronics Sales in January = $10,000 and the Grand Total Sales = $100,000:

  • % of Column (January): 10%
  • % of Grand Total: 10%

This quickly shows contribution without manual calculations.

Customizing the Pivot Table

NileDesk gives you flexibility to make your Pivot Table more readable and meaningful:

  • Value Field Labels → Rename fields to business-friendly terms (e.g., rename Total Sales (Sum) to Revenue).
  • Show Column Totals → Add totals for each column (e.g., Total Sales for January across all products).
  • Show Row Totals → Add totals for each row (e.g., Total Sales for Electronics across all months).

These totals help users quickly spot the highest-performing products, months, or regions.

Filtering Data

You don’t always want to analyze everything at once. NileDesk allows you to filter records based on form fields or system fields.

Common filter options include:

  • Submitted At → Date when the record was created.
  • Submitted By → The user who submitted the record.
  • Closed At → Completion date of the process.
  • Status → Active, Completed, Pending, etc.
  • Process ID → Narrow down to specific processes.

Example Filter

Show only Completed Sales Orders:

  • From January to March
  • For Product Category = Electronics

This gives you a focused Pivot Table that answers a specific business question.

Saving and Viewing Your Pivot Table

Once your Pivot Table is ready:

  1. Click Save.
  2. The report will be listed under the Reports tab.
  3. Pivot Tables display data in pages, with 20 rows per page for easy navigation.

You can always return later to edit, adjust filters, or add more fields.

Practical Examples of Pivot Table Use in NileDesk

  • Finance Teams → Track monthly revenue by department, compare actual vs. target.
  • HR Teams → Analyze employee onboarding by department, showing counts per quarter.
  • Operations Teams → Monitor order processing times, grouped by region and product type.
  • Customer Support → View ticket resolution times by agent, category, and month.

Pivot Tables aren’t just numbers—they help uncover patterns and bottlenecks, making it easier to take action.

Conclusion

Pivot Tables in NileDesk are a powerful reporting feature for turning raw data into actionable insights. With support for hierarchical grouping, multiple aggregations, percentage-based views, and custom filtering, you can tailor reports to match your exact business needs.

Whether you’re tracking sales, operations, HR, or support metrics, Pivot Tables let you explore your data from different angles and make smarter, data-driven decisions.