What is a client report? At FinFolio we consider the report to be the final package that is delivered to your client. This package consists of a cover page, table of contents, and various other report sections. They come out of your printer already collated and ready to be sent to your clients. Packages can be printed for any of the major folio types (households, clients, portfolios or accounts).
You start by creating a new report package in FinFolio. You can create an unlimited number of report packages and each package has one or more sections. Each section is a small report unto itself and can span multiple pages, having unique formatting, data, charts and graphs. The list of sections includes Cover Page, Table of Contents, Portfolio Summary, Portfolio Returns, Index Comparison, Transaction Summary, and many more.
You can set a data grouping level for each section that tells the report engine how to group and when to start a new page. If you are printing a report for the Smith Household, then setting the section level to Default will print that section with everything grouped together at the household level--if the household's assets are spread across multiple custodians and accounts, those distinctions will not be visible. If you set the section level to Client, then a separate page will print for each client contained in that household and the table of contents will break out that section by client.
Each section has various custom properties. All sections have a title property that changes the name of the report at the top of the page. Most reports have three subgroup properties that let you group and calculate sub-totals for each data line. Summary reports, the cover page, and table of contents cannot be sub-grouped.
The groups and other properties extend the usefulness of each section. You can create a Current Position section that prints at the household level, sub-grouped by asset class titled "Positions by Asset Class". Then in the same report package you can add another Current Position section that prints at the account level with no grouping titled "Account Positions". Both provide relevant information and may better help your client understand their portfolio.
The report sections are just a starting point-- building blocks that can be customized to create your ideal client report. My next few posts will focus on even more ways to customize report sections.