How to Create a Custom Report in Meta Ads Reporting

The Ads Manager table is built for managing ads; Ads Reporting is where you build a view of results you want to keep, reuse and send to someone. A custom report lets you choose the layout, the way data is split and the numbers shown, then save it so you don’t rebuild it each week. It can also cover more than one ad account.

Who can create a report?

Meta says you should have administrator, advertiser or analyst access to the ad account the report covers.

How do you get to Ads Reporting?

You have two ways in:

1. From Ads Manager, click the Reports dropdown, then Create new report.
2. From the left menu bar, scroll to Analyze & report and click Ads reporting.

If you use it often, Meta says the Ads reporting icon also appears under Shortcuts.

How do you build the report?

1. Click Reports on the left-hand side, then select Create report.
2. Select the ad account or ad accounts to include and click Create.
3. Choose a layout and click Continue.
4. Add breakdowns to change how the data is split.
5. Open the Metrics tab in the left column and pick your metrics.
6. Add filters and choose attribution windows if you need them.
7. Save the report.

Which layouts can you choose?

Meta offers three layouts when you create a report: a pivot table, a trend line chart or a bar chart. After the report exists, you shape what it shows with breakdowns, metrics, filters and attribution windows, which Meta covers in its guides to editing reports in Ads Reporting.

What metrics can you add?

Meta’s metric list covers ad performance (such as reach, impressions and delivery), engagement (such as Page engagement, likes, mentions and video views), conversions (such as website views and website adds to cart) and settings (such as objective, ad set budget and campaign budget). You can also create your own custom metrics from the Ads Manager table or Ads Reporting, so you can run your own calculations without exporting the data.

How do you export or share it?

1. Open Ads Reporting to see your saved reports in a table.
2. To export, tick the report and click Export, then choose .xlsx or .csv.
3. To share, tick the report and click Share, then copy the link.

You can also open a report and use the Export or Share buttons inside it. Saved reports can be viewed, duplicated or deleted from the options under View report.

FAQ

Can I share a report with someone outside my business?

Yes. Meta lets you share a report link with people inside or outside your business. People outside it can’t edit the report or see unsaved changes, and you can set an expiration date for their access to the link.

How far back can a report go?

Meta says the maximum reporting window is 37 months from the date of your request. Ads deleted more than 37 months ago still appear in Ads Manager, but their reporting data is no longer available.

Can one report cover several ad accounts?

Yes. When you create the report, you can select more than one ad account, and Meta describes this as a cross-account report. Meta’s access rule still applies: administrator, advertiser or analyst access to the ad account the report is about.