Standard versus custom report types
Key Takeaway
Standard report types come with Salesforce and give access to most Salesforce data. Admins build custom report types when users need custom objects, extra related objects, or a tailored set of fields.
A report type is the template behind every report. It decides which records and fields a report can show, based on the relationships between a primary object and its related objects. For example, the Opportunities report type gives access to Opportunity records and fields like Amount, Stage, and Type.
Standard and custom report types
There are two kinds of report types: standard and custom.
| Standard report types | Custom report types | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get them | They come with Salesforce | An admin configures them |
| Give access to | Most Salesforce data | Custom objects, or custom views of standard objects |
| Available in | All editions except Database.com | Essentials, Professional, Enterprise, Performance, Unlimited, and Developer Editions |
You can tailor reports built on standard report types, so you rarely need to create a brand-new report.
Unlike standard report types, custom report types give you more flexibility with object relationships. They can pull in fields from objects with lookup relationships, which expands the data available to report users.
For example, an admin can build a custom report type with Opportunities plus related fields from Products. Users can then report on Opportunities for a given product.
An admin doesn't have to create every custom report type, because some Salesforce features come with pre-designed custom report types that are built in advance.