The Cube Spreadsheet add-on enables drag-and-drop report building directly in your spreadsheet. Whether you are answering specific business questions, exploring data trends, supporting decision-making, or performing quick analysis without predefined report structures, it's easy with Cube.
Ad hoc reporting with Cube is straightforward and flexible. Use the Spreadsheet add-on to quickly generate and customize ad hoc reports based on your specific needs, whether you're pulling data from your ERP, HR system, or CRM.
Create an ad hoc report
1. Open a blank spreadsheet
Start by opening a blank spreadsheet in Excel or Google Sheets. Make sure you have the Cube Spreadsheet add-in installed and open.
This is where you’ll manage your data connections and build your reports.
2. Build a new range
Click the New button under Build in the Spreadsheet add-on. This will allow you to build a range by dragging and dropping your Cube dimensions to configure the report structure. It is essentially a simple pivot table-like architecture with columns, rows, and filters.
For example:
- Rows: Drag the Account dimension to the rows and select your Revenue accounts from the dropdown.
- Columns: Drag Time to the columns and select the current year from the dropdown. and Drag Scenario to the columns and select Actuals from the dropdown.
- Filters: Any other dimensions can be set as filters by dragging them into the filter area or clicking Add Remaining Dimensions. Make selections in these filters to narrow down the data fetched.
You also have the option to toggle on or off zero or blank rows. This excludes rows without data when you fetch.
3. Fetch data
Click the Fetch Data button. Cube will populate your spreadsheet with the structure you created when you built your range and then fetch data to your sheet based on your selections.
Customize your report
Because you're building your report right in your spreadsheet, you can edit it however you like. Format cells to highlight important numbers, call out headers, and hide gridlines to clean things up.
If you need additional formulas for this report, you can build them as you would any other spreadsheet formula. If you have common formulas that you regularly use, consider adding them to Cube so they are updated with your data and become one less thing for you to manage in your spreadsheet.
You can adjust and re-fetch data if you need something else by changing the filters or adjusting the dimensions selected in your rows and columns and clicking Fetch Data.
Do you regularly run the same ad hoc report? Save it as a template to enable you and your stakeholders to open it quickly from the spreadsheet or as a web report. Want to learn more about incorporating an ad hoc or saved report into your reporting deck? Check out our guide here.