Creating a status report template
Prerequisite
- Access to the File > Status report template (PR051) menu.
Introduction
Status report templates allow for standardizing the information that will be displayed in the reports generated for the projects created in the system. With these templates, it is possible to define beforehand the content and structure of reports, aligning them with the monitoring and analysis needs of each project type.
Creating a status report template
1. Access the File > Status report template (PR051) menu.
2. Click on the 
toolbar button.
3. Enter an ID # and a name for the status report template.
4. In the Grouping field, select the frequency that will be used to group the information displayed in the reports created from the template.
5. In the Base date section, define whether the planned dates or the rescheduled dates of the project will be used in the reports from the template.
6. In the Description field, provide relevant information about the status report template.
7. In the Configuration tab, edit the information that will be displayed in the status reports from the template. By default, the fields in the View column will be checked by the system, indicating that all information will be shown in the report. Unselect the fields corresponding to the information you do not wish to show in the report:
Available fields
| Overview | It presents project information (ID #, name, estimated percentage), in accordance with the configured base date and actual %, and project performance information (charts and EVM values). |
| Performance | It presents a performance section to list the indicators associated with the project. |
| Opinion | It presents a field for an opinion to be given on the project. |
| Cost | It presents a list with the estimated costs, rescheduled costs (considering the base date), and actual costs of the project. A chart comparing the values will be displayed as well. The values shown will be referring to the total period of the project, and not only to the status report period. |
| Revenue | It presents a list with the estimated revenues, rescheduled revenues (considering the base date), and actual revenues of the project. A chart comparing the values will be displayed as well. The values shown will be referring to the total period of the project, and not only to the status report period. |
| Hours | It presents a list with the estimated and rescheduled allocations (considering the base date), and the timesheets filled out in the project. A chart comparing allocations and timesheets will be displayed. The values shown will be referring to the total period of the project, and not only to the status report period. |
| Project summary | It presents a list with the summary tasks, milestones, and delivery tasks. The tasks shown will be those referring to the status report period. |
| Previous past due tasks | It presents a list with the tasks that should have been closed already. Only the tasks whose end date is equivalent to the start date of the status report will be displayed. |
| Finished previous tasks | It presents a list with the tasks closed in a period prior to that of the report. For example, if the template grouping is weekly, and the report was generated on Mar/19, the tasks between Mar/12 and Mar/19, that is, one week earlier, will be considered. |
| Period tasks | It presents a list with the tasks that are under execution. |
| Next tasks | It presents a list of tasks with a date referring to the next status report period. For example, if the grouping is weekly, and the report was generated on Mar/19 and its end date is Mar/26, the tasks between Mar/26 and Apr/02 will be considered. |
| Achievements | It presents a field that allows for inserting the achievements derived from the project in the status report period. |
| Attention points | It presents a field that allows for highlighting aspects of the project that need attention. |
| Risks identified | It presents a field that allows for reporting the risks identified in the project. |
| Change requests / Recommendations | It presents a field that allows for inserting the change requests and recommendations referring to the project in the status report period. |
| Project progress | It presents the progress of the project until the report date. |
| Financial schedule | It presents a financial schedule to display the project's history of costs and revenues. |
| Total | It presents a financial totals section to display the project's total finances. |
| Action plan | It presents a list that allows for adding and/or associating action plans from SoftExpert Action plan. |
- Use the
button to check all fields. - Use the
button to uncheck all fields. - If the template is already being used in a status report, and the definitions performed in this tab are edited, these changes will not be replicated to closed status reports.
8. Click on the 
button to enable the Scheduling tab.
9. In the Scheduling tab, enable the automatic generation of status reports with the template. To do so, check the Recurrence option and configure the following fields:
Available fields
Recurrence pattern
Define how often the status report will be generated:
Daily: the status report will be generated every certain number of days. In the Every ___ field, enter the desired number of days and then choose whether this number refers only to working days or to any day (the working days in the project calendar will not be considered in the interval). For example: every 5 days.
Weekly: the status report will be generated every certain number of weeks and on specific days. In the Every ___ week(s) on, enter the desired number of weeks and check the days of the week that correspond to the days on which the task will take place. For example: every 1 week on Monday and Friday.
Monthly: the status report will be generated on a specific day of the month, according to one of the following options:
- On the ___ every ___ month(s): the status report will be generated on a certain day, always after a certain number of months. For example: on the 15 every 1 month.
- The ___ every __ months(s): the status report will be generated on a certain day of the week, always after a certain number of months. For example: the last Wednesday every 1 month.
Yearly: the status report will be generated on a specific day of the year, according to one of the following options:
- On ____: the status report will be generated on a specific date of the year. For example: On June 29th.
- The ____ of ___: the status report will be generated on a certain day of the month in the year. For example: the last Wednesday of June.
Range of recurrence
In this section, define the period during which the scheduling recurrence will be applied:
Start: this field is filled in by the system with the start date of the project, but it can be edited. In this case, enter the date from which the generation recurrence of the status report will be valid. Then, use one of the following options to define when the recurrence will end:
- Ends after __ occurrences: select this option and enter the number of occurrences after which the generation recurrence for the status report will end.
- Ends on __: select this option and enter a specific date on which the generation recurrence for the status report will end.
- The configurations set in this tab will only be applied if the "Automatic" option is enabled in the Status report section of the project data screen, during the tracking step.
- The status report will be generated in accordance with the configurations performed in this tab and will be sent by e-mail with an external access link, if the status report is configured for external sharing and the "Automatic" option is enabled in the project data.
10. Click on the 
button to finish the record.
Conclusion
Once templates are created, they can be linked to project types, ensuring that the status reports reflect the most relevant information for each context. To learn how to associate the template with a project type, click here.