Yardi comes with hundreds of built-in reports covering nearly every aspect of property management. Yet despite this breadth, most organizations eventually need custom reports. The standard reports are designed for general use cases—your business has specific needs that generic solutions can't fully address.
Understanding when and how to leverage custom reporting is key to getting maximum value from your Yardi investment.
Why Custom Reports Matter
The most common reasons organizations invest in custom Yardi reports include:
- Combining data across modules: Standard reports typically pull from a single module. Custom reports can integrate data from multiple sources into unified views.
- Specific formatting requirements: Board reports, investor packages, and regulatory filings often require precise formatting that standard reports don't provide.
- Calculations unique to your business: Every organization has KPIs and metrics specific to their operations.
- Automation opportunities: Custom reports can eliminate hours of manual data compilation and formatting.
Types of Custom Reports
Executive Dashboards
High-level views that aggregate portfolio performance, occupancy trends, collections status, and other key metrics for leadership review.
Operational Reports
Detailed reports that support daily operations—lease expirations, maintenance tracking, vendor payments, and more.
Investor Reporting
Formatted packages with financial statements, property performance, and distribution calculations tailored to investor requirements.
Compliance Reports
Reports structured to meet regulatory requirements for affordable housing, senior living, or other compliance frameworks.
The Power of Scheduled Reports
Custom reports can be scheduled to run automatically and distribute to stakeholders. A well-designed scheduled report eliminates the recurring labor of manual report generation and ensures consistent, timely information delivery.
The Custom Report Development Process
Creating an effective custom report involves several phases:
1. Requirements Gathering
Define exactly what data you need, how it should be calculated, and who will use the report. The clearer your requirements, the better the final result.
2. Data Source Analysis
Identify where the required data lives within Yardi and how to access it reliably. This step often reveals data quality issues that should be addressed.
3. Development and Testing
Build the report and validate results against known data. Multiple rounds of testing ensure accuracy.
4. Documentation and Training
Ensure users understand how to run the report, interpret results, and troubleshoot common issues.
"The best custom reports become invisible—they just work, delivering the right information to the right people at the right time, without manual intervention."
Making the Business Case
Custom reports require investment, but the ROI is often substantial:
- Time savings: Eliminate hours of manual data compilation
- Accuracy: Automated calculations reduce human error
- Timeliness: Get information faster for better decision-making
- Consistency: Ensure everyone works from the same data
- Scalability: Reports that work for 10 properties work for 100
Getting Started
If you're considering custom reports, start by documenting your pain points. Where do you spend the most time on manual reporting? What information is hard to get from standard reports? What would help your team make better decisions?
Our team has built custom reports for organizations of all sizes, from focused single-purpose reports to comprehensive reporting suites. We can help you identify opportunities and develop solutions that deliver real value.