Following article contains the steps to create your own report template from scratch.
Introduction
Create your own report template to tailor the content and layout to your reporting needs. Combine Analysis widgets, rich text, and predefined Business Insights, then arrange them across pages and choose which report details to display, such as your logo, location, and reporting period. Once configured, you can reuse the template to publish reports for different locations and periods or generate them automatically on a recurring schedule.
Steps to create your own report template
- Open Templates and start a new template. Give it a name and description.
Add your content. Use Add Widget to insert Analytics, Readings, Financials or text blocks. Use the table below to choose the right block for each part of your report.
- Configure your Analytics blocks. Choose the data and visualisation, and decide whether each block should use the report period, a rolling period or fixed dates.
- Arrange the layout. Drag blocks into position and resize them to organise the report.
- Customise the header and footer. Include the information you need, such as a logo, report period, template name, location, page number or generation date.
- Save the template. Once the template is saved you can use it to create reports
- Share the template if needed. Where your permissions allow, share it with a user group or make it available across your account. When sharing with a group, choose whether its members can view or edit the template.
Making a template available to your account does not make it public on the internet. User-created templates cannot be shared across accounts, including accounts in the same organisation.
Choose the right content blocks
| Block | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Analytics | Configurable charts and data views where you choose the analysis and its settings. |
| Business insights: Readings, Financials | Ready-made tables, charts and KPIs with predefined calculations and presentation. |
| Text | Headings, explanations and linked images. Use the editor's formatting tools to organise your content. |
You can combine all three in one template. For example, use an Analytics chart to show consumption trends, a financial to summarise costs, and a text block to explain the report's purpose.
Set the period for an Analytics block
Each Analytics block can use one of three period options:
| Option | Behaviour | Example |
|---|---|---|
| By context | Uses the report instance's period. | In an August report, the block shows August. |
| Rolling | Uses a period relative to the report period, not the date someone opens it. | A year-to-date block in an August report shows 1 January-31 August. |
| Fixed | Always uses the dates selected in the block's configuration. | A block configured for the 01/01/2025 to 31/12/2025 keeps showing that year in every report. |
Use By context for blocks that should follow each report's reporting period. Use Rolling for views such as year-to-date, and Fixed when you deliberately want to keep the same reference dates.
Add images
You can insert an image into a text block using its URL.
Some externally hosted images may appear in the browser report but be missing from the downloaded PDF because their host does not permit the access required (CORS Policy). Check your downloaded PDF before distributing it and check with your image hosting provider if the image is missing.
Understanding Business insights blocks
Business insights are ready-made report components that require no configuration within the block. Each one displays a predefined table, chart or set of KPIs using the report's location, period and language.
They are useful when you want standard information, such as a cost breakdown or contract summary, without building the analysis yourself.
Examples
| Business insight | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Contract information | Contract and price information for electricity, gas, water or thermal energy. |
| Cost breakdown | The components of the corresponding energy or water bill. |
| Total KPIs | Total consumption and total cost excluding VAT for the report period. |
| Maximum demand | Electricity maximum demand and contracted load by tariff period. |
| Hourly consumption heatmap | Average electricity consumption by hour of the day and day of the week. |
| Consumption statistics | Minimum, maximum and average electricity consumption, with comparison against the previous period. |
Availability depends on the component and your account's capabilities. Financial Business Insights require the corresponding Financials capabilities and use the relevant underlying contract, cost and consumption information. Some specialised blocks are included in Spacewell templates but are not available to add individually.
Add a Business Insight to a template
- Open a template you can edit.
- Select Add Widget and choose a Business insight element from the modal menu.
- Position and resize the block in your layout.
- Add any other blocks you need, then save the template.
- Create a report instance or an automation from the template. The Business Insight will draw on the context of each resulting report to determine the data to plot, based on location hierarchy, categories configuration and period.
You can add multiple Business Insights, and move, resize or remove them. Business Insights will target different categories depending on selection:
- Financials/Electricity: Consumption/import category
- Financials/Gas: Consumption category
- Financials/Thermal: Consumption category
- Financials/Water: Consumption category
Unlike an Analytics block, a Business Insight does not let you change its columns, calculations, visualisation, sorting or filters. It cannot be exported individually; download the report PDF to include it in an export.
Example: A Bill Simulation report can combine contract information, a cost breakdown and total KPIs. When you create a report for a different building or period, those blocks use the new report context without needing to be configured again.