Tables and Pivot Reports

What is this page about: Light gives you two ways to build your own reports from ledger data — a Table report (a template where you design the rows and columns and drive each cell with a formula) and a Pivot table report (which cross-tabulates your ledger across dimensions and aggregates a single measure per cell). This page explains what each one is and how to create, configure, filter, view, edit, and duplicate it.

Light gives you two ways to build your own reports from ledger data. A Table report is a template you design yourself: you lay out rows and columns and write a formula for each cell, which makes it ideal for financial statements and other fixed, structured layouts. A Pivot table report lets Light do the cross-tabulation for you: you pick a measure and choose which dimensions form the rows and columns, and Light aggregates the figures. This page covers both. (A third report type, Text to chart, is covered separately.)

# On this page

• Table report vs pivot table report
• What is a table report?
• How do I create a table report?
• How do I build rows and columns in a table report?
• How do I write formulas in a table report?
• How do I set the period for a table report?
• How do I save, edit, or duplicate a table report?
• What is a pivot table report?
• How do I create a pivot table report?
• How do I configure values, columns, and rows?
• What filters are available in a pivot table report?
• How do I view a saved pivot table report?
• How does drilldown work in a pivot table report?
• How do I edit or duplicate a pivot table report?

# Table report vs pivot table report

Use a Table report when you want to design the layout yourself — define the rows and columns and write a formula for each cell. It's best for financial statements and any fixed, structured layout. (Light's built-in Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and VAT reports are Table reports.)

Use a Pivot table report when you want Light to cross-tabulate and aggregate for you — you pick a single measure and drag dimensions into rows and columns, and Light fills in the figures.

# What is a table report?

A table report is a template-style report you build yourself. You lay out rows — which can be nested into a hierarchy — add columns, and drive each cell's value with a formula. Formulas can pull from GL accounts, account types, tax tags, or other cells, so you can compose your own financial statements and structured schedules. Light also ships system templates (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, VAT) built this way.

# How do I create a table report?

1. Navigate to Planning & Reports → Reports
2. Click + Create report and choose Table from the dropdown
3. A blank template editor opens with 5 empty rows and 1 column (A)
4. Enter a name in the Template name field (required)

# How do I build rows and columns in a table report?

Rows. Each row has a Row label text field (required). Click a row's number to open its menu:

• Insert 1 row above / Insert 1 row below — add a row next to the current one.
• Insert child row — nest a row under the current one. Child rows are indented under their parent and can have their own children, so you can build a hierarchy.
• Delete row — removes the row and everything nested under it.

You can also click the + at the bottom-left of the grid to add a row.

Columns. A new template starts with one column, A. Columns are labelled A–E, and each header is an editable text field (clear it to fall back to the letter). Click the + on the last column header to add a column, up to 5 columns. A header's menu includes Delete column when more than one column remains; deleting a column clears all the formulas in it.

# How do I write formulas in a table report?

Each cell holds a formula, entered in a single-line editor with autocomplete. Formulas can reference other cells, GL accounts, account types, and tax tags, and you can subtract any term with a leading minus sign. The main functions:

A row that uses an ACP prefix formula generates its own account child lines, so it can't also have manually added child rows.

# How do I set the period for a table report?

Use the Period dropdown to choose how the report is dated:

• Range — a date range (the default).
• Snapshot — balances as of a single point in time.

There's also an Exclude year-end transactions checkbox, and a Country selector that determines which tax tags are available to your formulas.

# How do I save, edit, or duplicate a table report?

Enter a Template name and click Save (top right); on success you'll see "Report saved successfully." Creating or editing a table report requires edit access to reports — in practice the Company Admin or Controller roles. View-only users can open the report but not change it.

To duplicate, open the ⋮ menu on the report in Planning & Reports → Reports and choose Duplicate (the copy gets a timestamp appended to its name). To export, use the CSV download, the same as for pivot reports.

Light's system templates (Balance Sheet, Income Statement, VAT) show a lock icon and can't be duplicated or deleted.

# What is a pivot table report?

A pivot table report is a Light report type that cross-tabulates ledger data across any combination of dimensions, such as entity, account, business partner, currency, or tax code. Unlike the formula-based Table report, which relies on manual row definitions, a pivot table report is driven by dimension and measure selection: you choose a measure to aggregate, then choose which dimensions define the rows and columns.

# How do I create a pivot table report?

To create a pivot table report in Light:

1. Navigate to Planning & Reports → Reports

2. Click + Create report

3. Select Pivot table from the dropdown

4. The pivot table builder opens with a two-panel layout:

   • Left panel — configuration (chart name, values, columns, rows)
   • Right panel — table preview and filters

# How do I configure values, columns, and rows?

Configuring a pivot table report means setting its chart name, its measure (Values), and the dimensions used for its columns and rows.

# Chart name

The chart name is a required field. Enter a name for the report — this is what appears in the reports list.

# Values

The Values field selects the single measure that the pivot table report aggregates in each cell:

# Columns and Rows

A pivot table report supports up to 2 dimensions for columns and up to 2 dimensions for rows. Each dimension can go in either columns or rows, though not in both at the same time.

Available dimensions:

In addition to these 14 fixed dimensions, each custom property group configured in your organisation's Light workspace appears as its own option in Columns and Rows, marked with a Custom badge. Custom property groups work as Columns or Rows dimensions, though not as a Values measure.

Each selected column or row dimension has an Ascending / Descending sort order selector. Sorting applies to Columns and Rows only; the Values measure itself has no sort order.

Once values, columns, and rows are configured:

1. Click Test table (bottom of the left panel) to generate a preview in the right panel
2. Review the results and apply filters if needed (see "What filters are available in a pivot table report?" below)
3. Click Save table (top right) to save the pivot table report

# What filters are available in a pivot table report?

A pivot table report can be narrowed using the filter bar in the right panel, available both while building and while viewing the report:

# How do I view a saved pivot table report?

A saved pivot table report can be opened from Planning & Reports → Reports in Light. The report view shows:

• Report title and description
• Filter bar
• Pivot table data
• Download button (icon-only) — exports the current view as CSV
• Edit button — reopens the configuration panel to modify values, columns, and rows. The Edit button only appears for users with permission to edit reports; view-only users see the report and Download button but not Edit.

# How does drilldown work in a pivot table report?

Drilldown in a pivot table report shows the individual ledger transaction lines behind any cell. Click a cell to open the drilldown view, which includes infinite scrolling, column visibility, reordering, and resizing controls, and a CSV export button.

The drilldown totals column depends on the pivot table report's selected measure:

• Transaction amount → totals in transaction currency
• Local amount → totals in local currency
• Group amount → totals in group currency

# How do I edit or duplicate a pivot table report?

Editing a pivot table report requires permission to edit reports — view-only users won't see the Edit button.

To edit a pivot table report:

1. Open the saved pivot table report
2. Click Edit
3. Modify the chart name, values, columns, rows, or sort order
4. Click Test table to preview changes
5. Click Save table to update the report

To duplicate a pivot table report:

1. Go to Planning & Reports → Reports
2. Click the menu (⋮) on the pivot table report
3. Select Duplicate

A duplicate appears in the reports list with a timestamp appended to the name. Light saves the duplicate to your list; open it from there to edit it.

# Related articles

• Reporting overview
• Custom reports and filters
• Exporting reports