How does Report Toaster stack up against the reports provided with the Basic Shopify plan? Let's take a look and compare.
What is Report Toaster?
In case you missed our introductory blog post, let's give everyone a little background. Report Toaster is a free app that provides Shopify reports and analytics. A quick look at our features:
Over 80 pre-built reports
Edit columns and modify filters
Create and save your own custom reports
Export and download in CSV and PDF formats
Drill-down for more detailed information
Localize for date/time/number formats and timezone
Real-time data including your Shopify Orders, Draft Orders, Sales, Financial Data, Customers, Sessions, Products, and more.
We recently launched into the app store and have been getting great feedback. If you haven't tried the most powerful app available for Shopify merchants, try it out!
Shopify Basic Reports
Shopify has a number of plans to choose from, with the most popular for smaller shops being Basic Shopify. This plan comes with 19 very basic reports and excludes what they term "professional reports". A summary can be found below:
Basic Shopify reports does include some nice features, including the ability to modify filters, add/remove report columns, and export to CSV.
Feature Breakdown
Both Report Toaster and Basic Shopify reports have some great features. Let's dig a bit deeper.
Edit Columns
Basic Shopify allows columns to be added or removed from a default report. There is a good selection of columns and they are well organized, which makes them easy to find. For reports with many possible columns, scrolling to find them can be a chore.
Report Toaster also allows columns to be added or removed from any of its reports. The selection of possible columns is extensive and also well organized. An additional plus is Report Toaster's type-ahead searching, which limits the list of selectable columns. This is a massive time saver when trying to locate specific columns.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Filters
Basic Shopify allows reports to be filtered using an array of column and operator choices. The list of attributes can be limited using type-ahead search, which is nice. You can even combine filters to further refine reports - see below:
Report Toaster includes similar basic filtering features: extensive attribute list, multiple operators, and type-ahead search. One area where Report Toaster has an advantage is the ability to combine and group filter attributes.
Above you see the power of combining multiple filters into groups and using AND/OR operators to limit data. Watch our Filters Tutorial for more information.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Export and Download
Basic Shopify provides the ability to export reports to a CSV file for download. CSV files are great for opening in Excel or importing into 3rd-party systems. Shopify lacks the ability to export a report to PDF. Printing reports is allowed, which can be used to create a PDF. But the resulting output is poorly formatted and relies on the nuances fo the web browser being used.
Report Toaster allows export and download to CSV or PDF format. These formats allow for maximum flexibility for printing, importing or delivery via email. A major differentiator in Report Toaster is the ability to view the 'Download History' for a report. Here a merchant can download a report again or share the link. Watch our Export and Download Tutorial to learn more.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Custom Reports
While Basic Shopify allows reports to be modified, they cannot be saved. Shopify calls this feature 'Advanced report builder' and it is only included with their Advanced Shopify and Shopify Plus plans.
Report Toaster enables custom reports via the 'My Reports' feature. This allows merchants to customize any aspect of a report and save into the 'My Reports' list for later access.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Drill-Down
Basic Shopify reports are simply data listings. There are no opportunities for merchants to click on data elements to explore in more detail.
Report Toaster includes drill-down capabilities on all data list reports. Most reports provide multiple attributes that can be clicked to view a deeper level of detail.
As you can see above, some drill-downs can include multiple levels of additional detail. Watch our Drill-Down Tutorial for more information.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Test Data
Basic Shopify does not include test data on any of their reports. Test transactions can be created, but there is no visibility to see how they reflect on sales and financials. This is a point of frustration when bringing a new shop online or trying to introduce new shop elements.
Report Toaster allows merchants to toggle between 'Test' and 'Live' modes. When in test mode, all reports will reflect only test orders. While live mode reflects only a shop's real orders. Meaning that never the two shall meet.
ADVANTAGE: Report Toaster
Conclusion
The answer is clear when seeking a solution for Shopify reports and Shopify Analytics. While Basic Shopify includes some nice reporting features, it is just that, basic. Merchants have access to limited reporting with minimal accompanying functionality.
Report Toaster provides superior reporting with a far more advanced set of features. All of that and the app is free for Shopify merchants! Get started by installing the app.