A reporting snapshot lets you report on historical data by saving a tabular or summary report's results onto a custom object on a schedule. Use it when you need a stored trail of what a report looked like at regular points in time, such as open cases at 5:00 PM each day, so you can trend that history with reports, dashboards, and list views. Standard reporting shows the up-to-the-minute state of the business; snapshots turn those results into records you keep and work with like other Salesforce records.