How to Create a Report from Google Sheets

Your Google Sheet is filled with raw data, but data isn't the same as information. To make smart decisions, you need to turn those rows and columns into a clear, understandable report that tells a story. This guide walks you through several ways to build powerful reports directly within Google Sheets, starting with the basics and moving up to creating a simple, interactive dashboard.

Good Reports Start with Good Data

Before you build a single chart, taking a few minutes to clean and structure your data will save you hours of headaches. Think of this as building a solid foundation. Make sure your data follows these simple rules:

• Consistent Column Headers: Give each column a unique and descriptive name in the very first row (e.g., "Campaign Name," "Clicks," "Spend"). Don’t merge cells in your header row.
• One Piece of Data Per Cell: Avoid putting multiple values in a single cell, like "Facebook, Instagram." If you need to track both, give them their own rows.
• No Blank Rows or Columns: Remove any completely empty rows or columns cutting through your dataset. This can break formulas and pivot tables.
• Correct Data Formats: Ensure dates are formatted as dates (Format > Number > Date), numbers as numbers, and currency as currency. Messy formats are a common source of reporting errors.

Once your data is clean, you’re ready to start analyzing.

Method 1: Quick Insights with Sorting and Filtering

The simplest way to start reporting is by asking direct questions of your data using sorts and filters. This is perfect for getting quick answers without building complex summaries.

Let's imagine you have a sheet with marketing campaign data like this:

Example Data:

• Campaign Name
• Source (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn)
• Spend ($)
• Conversions
• Date

How to Filter Your Data

Filtering lets you temporarily hide rows that aren't relevant to your question.

1. Click any cell inside your data table.
2. Go to Data > Create a filter (or click the filter icon in the toolbar).
3. Small dropdown arrows will appear in your header cells. Click the arrow on the column you want to filter. For instance, click the arrow in the "Source" column.
4. You can now filter by condition (e.g., "Text contains Google") or by value (uncheck everything except "Facebook").

You’ve just created a simple report! You’re now only looking at your Facebook campaigns, making it easy to compare their performance.

How to Sort Your Data

Sorting lets you rearrange your data to quickly identify top or bottom performers.

1. With a filter applied, click the arrow in the column you want to sort.
2. Select "Sort A → Z" for ascending order or "Sort Z → A" for descending.

By sorting the "Conversions" column from Z to A, you instantly see your highest-performing campaign at the top. This simple action answers a critical business question: "Which campaign is generating the most conversions?"

Method 2: Visual Reports with Charts

Charts turn lifeless numbers into visual stories that are much easier to understand. Google Sheets makes creating charts straightforward.

Creating Your First Chart

1. Select your data range. Let's say you want to visualize Spend per Source. Highlight just the "Source" and "Spend" columns (hold Ctrl or Cmd to select non-adjacent columns).
2. Insert the chart. Go to Insert > Chart.
3. Choose the right chart type. Google Sheets will recommend a chart, but you can change it in the chart editor that appears on the right.
4. Customize your chart. Use the "Customize" tab in the chart editor to add titles, change colors, and label your axes. A clear title like "Total Ad Spend by Source - Q3" makes your report immediately understandable.

You can create multiple charts to analyze different parts of your data. Place them together on a new sheet to start building a dashboard-style report.

Method 3: The Ultimate Reporting Tool - Pivot Tables

For more advanced reporting, nothing in Google Sheets beats a pivot table. A pivot table lets you summarize large amounts of data to answer specific questions, all without writing a single formula.

Using our marketing data example, let's say you want to answer this question: "What is the total spend and total number of conversions for each traffic source?" Doing this manually would be a nightmare. With a pivot table, it takes about 30 seconds.

Step-by-Step Guide to Building a Pivot Table

1. Select your entire data range, including the headers.
2. Go to Insert > Pivot table.
3. Choose to insert it on a "New sheet" and click "Create." You’ll now see a blank pivot table and the Pivot table editor on the right.
4. Build your report using the editor:

In just a few clicks, you now have a clean, summarized report that answers your business question perfectly. This table is dynamic, as you add more data, it updates automatically. Just avoid checking "show totals" if you want an unaggregated view, and your charts will update accordingly.

Taking Pivot Tables a Step Further with Slicers

A slicer is a filter for your pivot table that looks like a button. It makes your report interactive and user-friendly for those unfamiliar with editing pivot tables.

1. Click anywhere inside your finished pivot table.
2. Go to Data > Add a slicer.
3. In the slicer settings on the right, choose the column you want to filter by. "Campaign Name" or "Date" are great options.

Now you have a clickable filter. Viewers can click the slicer and select a specific campaign or date to see its data in the pivot table without editing the pivot table directly.

Method 4: Putting It All Together in a Simple Dashboard

A dashboard combines all the elements we've discussed—summarized metrics, interactive charts, and pivot tables—onto a single sheet. This provides anyone with a complete, at-a-glance view of performance.

How to Structure Your Dashboard Sheet

1. Create two main tabs:
2. Build your pivot tables on a separate, hidden sheet (e.g., "Pivot Calcs"). This keeps your dashboard clean.
3. Create your charts in the Dashboard sheet, referencing data from your pivot tables.
4. Add key metrics (KPIs). At the top, create larger cells to display totals like Total Spend or Total Conversions. Link these cells to your pivot tables by typing "=" and selecting the corresponding cell.
5. Add Slicers connected to your pivot tables for interactive filtering.

This setup provides a high-level overview with the ability to drill down into specifics with a single click. It's a professional, effective data presentation method in Google Sheets.

Final Thoughts

Learning to transform raw data into clear reports in Google Sheets is a game-changing skill. By mastering sorting, filtering, charts, and pivot tables, you can create insightful reports that answer a variety of marketing and sales questions, enabling you and your team to make better, data-driven decisions.

While Google Sheets is an excellent tool, manually exporting CSVs from all your platforms, cleaning data, and rebuilding reports weekly can become a full-time job. We created Graphed to automate this process. Simply connect your data sources—like Google Analytics, Shopify, Facebook Ads—and create real-time dashboards accessible via plain English questions, saving you hours each week to focus on strategy, not spreadsheets.