Building InstaReports
Zach N. avatar
Written by Zach N.
Updated over a week ago

Step-By-Step Guide to Building InstaReports

1. Access Applications Menu:

Hover over the navigation bar to the left of the dashboard and select ‘InstaReports’.

2. Create New InstaReport:

In the 'My InstaReports' tab, press on '+ New InstaReport' at the top of the page.

3. Choosing a Data Source

Your initial task is picking a Data Source. The InstaReport software collects necessary data from your business contacts via this source. You can select from two options:

  • Business Contacts - Contact information will be sourced directly from the Contacts app.

  • Upload CSV - You can upload a CSV file directly.

Ensure your CSV file is appropriately formatted if you choose this option. To successfully create your InstaReport, your file must include these data points:

  • Business name

  • Business phone

  • Business email

  • Business city

  • Business state

  • Person name

  • Person email

  • Person phone

The above entries are mandatory. You can also input Business street, Business suite, Business zip, and Business country if needed. You can download a CSV template from the dashboard if the 'Upload CSV' option is selected.

Note: An asterisk next to the field in the template file signifies it's required. However, don't include these asterisks when uploading your data.

Select your preferred option and click 'Continue' at the top of the page.

3. Selecting Your Contacts:

Regardless of your Data Source, you'll be redirected to a new screen showcasing your available contacts.

If you're facing any issues, ensure your CSV file is formatted correctly. If you chose Business Contacts but have no contacts in your account, the list will be empty.

Find the contact for which you want to build the InstaReport. Scroll to find the business or use the search function at the top of the page.

Check the box to the left of the business name, then click 'Continue' at the top of the page. Now, proceed to 'Notifying Your Contacts'.

Note: By selecting multiple contacts, you can build InstaReports in bulk opposed to one single InstaReport.

Take note that all required information should be available in the Business contact. This includes the Business Name, Phone Number, Email, State, and City.

If the business contact doesn't exist in your account, follow the steps below to add a new one.

4. Adding a New Business:

You can add a new business to your account without leaving this process. Click '+ New Business' at the top right of the table to do so.

Then, use the panel that pops up to perform the following steps:

  1. Input the Business Name in the provided field. An asterisk next to the field indicates it's a requirement.

  2. As you start typing the Business Name, the panel will automatically expand to reveal fields for more details. The only mandatory fields are Business Name, Email Address, Phone Number, City, and State/Province. InstaReports uses this data to personalize the report for your client.

  3. After filling out the mandatory fields, click 'Submit' at the bottom of the page. If you want to add more business contacts, click 'Create and Add Another' instead.

Your new business contact should now appear in the previous table. Tick the box to the left of the name. When ready to move on to the next step, click 'Continue' at the top of the page.

5. Notifying Your Contacts:

You have an option to send notifications about the report to your business contacts.

If you don't want to send notifications, click 'No Notifications', then click 'Continue' at the top of the page. You can then review 'Summary' section.

If you want to create notifications, select the option you wish to use, then click 'Continue' at the top of the page.

To create notifications, you first need to select individual contacts affiliated with the business. If you currently don't have any contacts affiliated with the Business, you must add one to send notifications.

6. Setting Up Your Email Notification:

Select the contact to send the email to.

Compose your message and test the message by entering an email in the bottom field and select 'Send Test'. If you're ready, click 'Continue' at the top of the page.

7. Setting Up Your SMS Notification

Select the contact to send the SMS to.

Compose your message. SMS notifications don't include a Subject field and don't support attachments. Please note that SMS notifications are charged differently than emails.

After you complete these steps, click 'Continue' at the top of the page.

8. Summary Review:

After selecting our contacts and creating our notifications, you will reach the Summary screen. Here, you'll get a summary of your InstaReport builds and the credits you can expect to use. If everything looks fine, click 'Continue' to finalize your InstaReport build.

Your InstaReports are now in the build queue. Go back to the 'My InstaReports' tab to find your report in the table.

Note: The time to build reports can vary, but it should only take a few minutes. If a report is stuck on the "Queued" status longer than that, it's possible that there's an issue with the servers and you can check back later or attempt to build the report again.

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