39 Best Reporting Tools For Better Project Visibility In 2024
10 Best Reporting Tools List
Here's my pick of the 10 best software from the 39 tools reviewed.
Get free help from our project management software advisors to find your match.
There are seemingly countless reporting tools available, so figuring out which is best for you is tough. You want to share data with your team in the most accessible and accurate way possible but need to figure out which tool is the best fit. I've got you! In this post I make things simple, leveraging my experience using a variety of different project management reporting tools for everything from large projects to business growth to bring you this shortlist of the best reporting tools.
What are reporting tools?
Reporting tools are software that help businesses collect, process, and present data in an organized and understandable format. They pull data from various sources, like databases and spreadsheets, and turn it into reports that display trends, patterns, and insights. These reports can be in the form of tables, charts, graphs, and dashboards, making complex data easier to understand at a glance.
Reporting software is invaluable for decision-making, as it provides managers and stakeholders with the information needed to understand performance, identify areas for improvement, and plan future actions, which can mean more informed strategies, efficient operations, and a stronger bottom line.
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Hub Planner
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.2 -
ClickUp
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.7 -
Miro
Visit WebsiteThis is an aggregated rating for this tool including ratings from Crozdesk users and ratings from other sites.4.8
Overviews Of The 10 Best Reporting Tools
Below is a description of each tool, how it handles report generation, and why it was chosen for this list. I’ve added screenshots of the tool so you get an idea of what it looks like from a user’s perspective.
ClickUp is a project management software that is popular amongst DPMs. Why? Because of the range of features that it offers in one tool. ClickUp has reporting features that you will be amazed by because of its customization and how information-rich they can be.
Normally, we are used to dashboards that only display graphs. However, ClickUp’s dashboards are widget-based and can pull information from anywhere in your projects. For example, you can add a text block to display lists or a chat window to start a conversation over a specific graph.
The best part is that you can rearrange all these elements according to your needs with a simple drag and drop.
ClickUp offers native integrations with Slack, G Suite, Dropbox, and many more tools, as well as over 1,000+ integrations through Zapier.
ClickUp is free with limited storage for an unlimited number of users. Paid plans start at $5/user/month and offer a free trial.
Xero is a cloud-based accounting software platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses. Xero offers a wide range of accounting features to help businesses manage their finances effectively, making it perfect for small teams that need to be able to perform many functions on one platform. Users can automate recurring tasks, generate financial statements, and gain insights into their business's financial health.
Xero also incorporates smart categorization features into its expense reporting. It employs machine learning algorithms to automatically categorize expenses based on previous patterns, reducing the time and effort required for manual categorization. This feature enhances accuracy, saves valuable time, and streamlines the expense tracking process, freeing up time for small teams to take on bigger projects.
Xero integrates with tools like Stripe, Shopify, Square, Trello, HubSpot, Deputy, Float, Unleashed, and WorkflowMax.
Pricing starts at $17/month. A free trial is available.
Celoxis is a project management software that caters to businesses across a wide range of industries, providing a comprehensive suite of features that include time tracking, resource planning, budgeting, and customizable dashboards.
As a reporting tool, Celoxis provides users with the ability to create detailed reports on various entities such as projects, tasks, time entries, and custom app data like bugs and risks. These reports can include specific attributes and aggregated data from related entities, which are essential for informed decision-making across your project portfolio.
Additionally, the platform features time-phased reporting tools, resource management analysis, financial performance tracking, and customizable features to tailor reports to the specific needs of different businesses and industries. Users can gather real-time insights across projects and teams through dynamic dashboards.
Celoxis also distinguishes itself with unique capabilities such as what-if analyses for strategic project selection based on custom metrics and resource capacity.
Celoxis integrates with Zapier, Excel, Google Drive, Microsoft Project, QuickBooks Online, Outlook, Salesforce, JIRA, Slack, Trello, and more.
Zoho Analytics is an analytics and reporting tool to help you convert raw business data into comprehensive reports and dashboards. You can use it to collect, enrich, and filter data to make it easier to analyze. It has an AI assistant feature to help you generate insights, spot patterns, and forecast trends. Zoho Analytics has a mobile app version that works on iOS and Android.
Zoho Analytics lets you use charts, widgets, and pivot tables ensuring you can present data in the best possible way. Zoho Analytics allows you to collaborate with other users to build and share custom reports and dashboards. Its user permission settings give you control over who can view and edit your data according to need and/or authority.
Zoho Analytics cost starts at $24/month/up to 2 users. They offer a 15-day free trial.
Best reporting tool for integrating over 150 data sources
Supermetrics is a comprehensive reporting tool that simplifies the process of collecting, integrating, and analyzing marketing data from over 150 data sources. It enables businesses to streamline their data workflows by aggregating data from multiple sources into a single destination, making it easier to create cohesive and insightful reports.
One of the key features that make Supermetrics an excellent reporting tool is its ability to automate data transfers, reducing the time and effort required for manual data collection. Users can set up automated data refreshes, ensuring that their reports are always up-to-date with the latest data. This automation extends to scheduling regular data imports, allowing businesses to maintain consistent reporting schedules without manual intervention.
Additionally, Supermetrics offers powerful data transformation capabilities, enabling users to customize their data for specific reporting needs. The tool allows for filtering, combining, and modifying data before it reaches the final destination.
Its compatibility with various reporting platforms like Google Data Studio and Power BI also allows users to create detailed and visually appealing reports that provide deeper insights into their marketing performance.
Integrations include Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, Instagram Insights, LinkedIn Ads, Twitter Ads, Microsoft Advertising, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Shopify, YouTube, Bing Ads, Reddit Ads, Snapchat Ads, Pinterest Ads, Salesforce, Snowflake, and Amazon Ads.
QuickBooks is an accounting solution that helps small businesses track their expenses, manage their invoicing, and report on their financials. The software tracks your transaction details, helping you keep accurate records. Based on the finances you track in the system, you can view how much you're spending in each expense category from your dashboard.
The platform offers a simple, low-cost expense reporting solution for small- and medium-sized businesses. Receipts are sorted automatically, and you can reclassify transactions in bulk. You can also generate invoices, and even set up recurring invoices for repeat clients or customers.
QuickBooks Online integrates with over 450 business apps like Square, Stripe, Paychex, Insightly CRM, Mailchimp, Shopify, eBay, BigCommerce, Magento, Squarespace, Etsy, Katana, and ProjectWorks. Pricing starts from $30 per month, and a 30-day free trial is available.
Best for real-time reporting on profitability and utilization
Bonsai is a comprehensive tool that offers integrated business management solutions for agencies, consulting firms, and professional services. It provides a wide range of features including client management, project management, and financial management, making it ideal for businesses looking to consolidate all aspects of their operations in one platform.
The platform provides reporting tools that allow businesses to track and analyze their performance, including project progress, client billing, and financial performance. The customizable reports offer valuable insights into operations, helping businesses make informed decisions to improve efficiency and profitability. Bonsai's user-friendly interface and intuitive design also make it easy for users to generate and interpret reports.
I particularly like Bonsai's ability to produce comprehensive utilization and profitability reports. These reports provide insight into time planned vs. time spent and how utilization and project progress affect overall profit and loss margins. These reports can also inform future project planning.
In addition to reporting tools, Bonsai offers a comprehensive suite of features to streamline business operations, including proposals, contracts, scheduling, time tracking, invoicing, and payments.
The platform integrates with tools like QuickBooks Online, Calendly, ClickUp, Trello, Google Drive, Gmail, Google Calendar, Zapier, Slack, Google Sheets, and Xero. Pricing starts from $10/user/month with a free trial available.
Tableau is a visual analytics platform for exploring, understanding, and managing business data. It uses a drag and drop method to create reports using the available data visualizations and widgets.Tableau uses interactive data visualizations so you can create visually-compelling reports that viewers can click to explore.
If you need to build powerful dashboards quickly, Tableau is the best reporting tool for you because of its embedded analytics features. The embedded analytics are customizable through an API so you can insert data collection and reporting functionality into your pre-existing workflow. This can also help you personalize your customers’ data experience.
Tableau integrates with other business tools, including Google Cloud, Microsoft SQL Server, Google Sheets, Hive, and SAP.
Tableau pricing starts at $12/user/month, and they offer a 14-day free trial.
Whatagraph is a reporting tool for marketing agencies and in-house marketing teams that helps you get the right data in front of your customers and in a way they understand.
With this tool, you can create reports in minutes thanks to their 95+ templates and connectors to multiple data sources. Also, you can make these reports customized to your client by changing the colors and adding their logo.
Once you are done making it pretty, Whatagraph lets you automate report delivery so your clients can get their weekly, monthly or quarterly reports, and all you have to do is set the time interval! No more '$!@, I forgot to send the report' moments.
Whatagraph integrates with over 40 tools. These include Facebook, Shopify, Mailchimp, Salesforce, and Tik Tok Ads. All of them can be used as data sources for your reports.
Whatagraph has a 7-day free trial, and pricing starts at $199 per month, which gets you 25 data sources and 5 users, with unlimited reports.
Created in 2002, ProWorkflow was designed as a project management solution that supported analytics and reporting needs. When you log in to this tool, you immediately see a user-friendly dashboard showing a graphical summary of your current stats for active, completed, and upcoming work.
Standard reports provide detailed information on workload and performance as well as your projects, tasks, time, and financial data. Custom reports let you build your own report, select the filters and data that you need, and even share the report with your team.
Visually, the reporting screens and downloads aren’t much to look at. The data is solid and easy to read but if you are looking for some added physical pizzaz, you might need to deploy some manual graphic design intervention.
Key features you can tap into include: resource reports on staff and time, workload breakdown reports, time summary reports, individual project reports, general project reports, task reports, and the ability to export reports to multiple formats.
ProWorkflow integrates with tools like Xero, Quickbooks, KashFlow, FreshBooks, MYOB AccountRight, Box Storage, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and hundreds more through Zapier.
ProWorkflow costs from $10/user/month, which includes a maximum of 10 active projects.
The Best Reporting Tools Comparison Chart
Here is a table you can use to compare all the tools we just covered in the overviews.
| Tools | Price | |
|---|---|---|
| ClickUp | From $7/user/month | Website |
| Xero | From $15/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Celoxis | From $15/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Zoho Analytics | From $24/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Supermetrics | Pricing upon request | Website |
| QuickBooks Online | From $15/user/month | Website |
| Bonsai Agency Software | From $10/user/month | Website |
| Tableau | From $70/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
| Whatagraph | From $249/month (up to 5 users, billed annually) | Website |
| ProWorkflow | From $20/user/month (billed annually) | Website |
Compare Software Specs Side by Side
Use our comparison chart to review and evaluate software specs side-by-side.
Compare SoftwareOther Dashboard Reporting Tools
Here are a few more auto-reporting tools that didn’t make the top list. If you need additional suggestions for the handy ad hoc report tool, check these out.
How I Picked the Reporting Software on This List
I started by doing extensive research on the most popular business intelligence tools on the market, based on user reviews and available features. Then, I weighed factors that make a tool a good option for project reporting, like being able to access real-time data. After reducing the number of tools, I selected the ones that came out on top and evaluated them using the criteria below.
User Interface (UI)
I look at how the information is displayed. A report is no good if it’s in a cluttered interface with distracting elements and information overload.
Key Features
- Data Visualization: Project report software often includes features for creating visually appealing charts from data sets using graphs and dashboards, thereby enhancing the accessibility of complex project data. Through visual representations, stakeholders can easily comprehend trends and patterns.
- Robust reporting: Normally seen in the form of interactive reports where you can click on items and drill down into the information source. You can also measure robust reporting by the number of filters available to you.
- Real-Time Reporting: Many reporting tools for project management provide updates in real-time or near-real-time, offering project managers access to the latest information on project status, tasks, and milestones. This immediacy facilitates agile decision-making based on current project dynamics.
- Historical Data Analysis: Reporting tools include features for analyzing historical project data, enabling project managers to identify patterns, trends, and areas for improvement based on past performance. This historical context contributes to informed decision-making and continuous project enhancement.
Usability
I analyze the different options in which you can get a report. Whether that is through a screen where we set parameters and get a custom report in return to the dashboards and the capacity to export them. This usability criteria also includes research on the tool’s customer support and resources to help you master it quickly.
Integrations
I review how many integrations are available for the tool. This analysis will include pre-built integrations that you can use right away and also the tool API available to make custom integrations.
Pricing
I looked at the tool’s pricing structure. Some of these tools are free, others have low-cost. Likewise, I look at free trials and free versions of the software so you can try them out for yourself.
Reporting Tools FAQs
Find answers to common questions other people ask about this topic.
What are the types of reporting tools?
There are many types of reporting tools, such as dashboard software, data visualization software, scorecard tools, and ad-hoc report writers.
Dashboard software lets you put the reports that matter most to you front and center. Data visualization software turns data into something visually-oriented that users can easily read.
Then, scorecarding tools are all about performance data. Therefore you know who your high achievers are. Lastly, ad-hoc report writers create various styles of in-the-moment reports for companies that have ever-changing needs.
What is business intelligence software?
BI software is a critical tool for gathering raw data, analyzing it, and presenting it in a user-friendly way to support informed decision-making. BI software aggregates and processes data from various sources, offering project managers a comprehensive and cohesive view of project performance. It enables them to identify trends, monitor key performance indicators (KPIs), and make data-driven decisions that contribute to the successful execution of projects.
What are the benefits of reporting tools?
One benefit is that reporting tools gather data across sources and then organize it visually so users can read and interpret it. These sources are inventory, sales, conversion, web traffic, social media impressions, time spent, and so on.
Reports can typically be saved into different formats, printed and distributed, visualized, and presented, so it is a great way to convey large amounts of useful information quickly. Also, reporting allows you to ask big-picture questions and then collect the data you need to make the best decisions.
Not looking for report software at the moment?
Check out our other lists of other project management tools you might find useful:
- Look at project portfolio management tools. They can help you conduct and communicate your reports on a higher level and across projects.
- Communication, communication, communication. If you haven’t nailed this, you can’t really get started on anything else. Try these 10 Best Communication Tools & Software.
- Find a project reporting tool within other software, such as my list of the best marketing project management software.
- Worth checking out: Managing Tasks As A Project Manager: 3 Key Strategies For 2023
What's Next?
Reporting is a big part of our jobs. Therefore, I encourage you to read how to set up a PM dashboard the right way. You can also check out how to build a project status report that puts a smile on your client's face.
Related tool lists:
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