How to make a sales report in 5 steps (+ template)

If you've ever wondered how to create a sales report for your online store, you're in the right place. Because yes, reports are not just for big companies: they are also the key for a small e-commerce business to grow intelligently.

In this article, I will guide you step by step on how to create a basic sales report in Excel. We'll see what elements your report should have and the most common types of reports. Additionally, you can download an editable sales report 📊 to record your sales via WhatsApp. 

Thanks to the team at YaVendió!, e-commerce experts, this template has all the most important sales metrics for WhatsApp. A must-have! ⚡

But let's start with the basics:

What is a sales report?

A sales report is a strategic document that collects and analyzes the data of all your sales over a specific period with the aim of understanding the commercial performance, identifying opportunities for improvement, and making real data-based decisions. 

It's not just about knowing how much was sold, but understanding why it was sold, to whom, how, and with what profitability. A good sales report can reveal customer behavior patterns, the impact of marketing campaigns, and the efficiency of the sales team. 

In businesses where every data point counts, the sales report becomes a powerful tool to grow sustainably and with a focus on profitability.

Key elements: What should a sales report include?

Every professional sales report should contain some basic elements, such as:

• Date, month, or reporting period

• Product or service sold

• Quantity in units

• Unit and total price

• Sales channel (online store, WhatsApp, networks, etc.)

• Sales goal or objective 

And if you want an extra level of analysis:

• Conversion rate (I recommend this article on conversion rates in e-commerce)

• Assigned sales agent (if applicable)

• Customer (name, area, type)

• Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

• Profit margin

Having these data well-organized is the first step to understanding the state of your sales.

How to make a sales report in Excel in 5 steps

Now that you know what a sales report is and what it should include, it's time to put it into practice.

Here I explain how to make a sales report in Excel in 5 steps. Each step is designed so that your report is clear, easy to update, and useful for making business decisions.

👉 For this example, let's assume your team is in a Christmas campaign, and there is a certain inventory to sell. Therefore, the goal is to know the quantity of products going out and if the target will be met.

How to make a sales report: Step 1

We are going to create a sales table by product. For this, you should include the name of each product in your inventory, the unit price, units sold, and (super important) your sales goal. 

💡 Tip: The total (S/.) of each product is easily calculated with the formula "=unit price * units sold". Apply it to each cell in that column.

How to make a sales report: Step 2

Now, select all columns with your product information. Make sure to include the table headers. Just like in this image:

How to make a sales report: Step 3

To create the first chart of your sales report, do the following. With your table selected, go to Insert > Recommended Charts. A window like this will open:

In the "All Charts" section, press "Combo" and choose the last chart for a custom combination. Then click "OK"

How to make a sales report: Step 4

A chart with columns and lines will automatically be generated, but it's not the end yet. We must clean the data. For this, select your chart and go to "Select Data" in the "Chart Design" ribbon

💡 Tip: The buttons to edit your chart are only enabled when you select it. If you don't see them, you must click twice on it. 

A window like this will open, where you simply need to uncheck the "Price (S/.)" and "Total (S/.)" boxes

What's the reason? Our goal is to know the quantity of products being sold in the campaign and how much is left to meet the target. 

If you wanted those values in monetary terms, then activate only the (S/.) variables 😉

How to make a sales report: Step 5

Finally, you'll have a clean and fairly easy-to-read chart. If you want, you can change the colors or edit the title to your liking. 

In case you see some extra numbers on one side, follow this optional step:

• Select the chart and go to the "+" icon that appears on the side. Enter Axes > Uncheck the "Secondary Vertical" option and you're done!

Types of sales reports

You should know that there is not just one type of report. You can adapt it according to your goal or what you need to analyze. Here are some examples of common sales reports:

• Daily sales report: Ideal for monitoring progress from one day to the next, especially in campaigns or promotions.

• Weekly or monthly report: The most common. It allows you to see sales behavior by periods.

• Report by product or category: Just like our example! Find out which products generate more income and which have low turnover.

• Sales team report: If you have a sales team, you can see how effective they are per person.

• Report by channel: Compare performance between online store, social networks, WhatsApp, etc.

Template: Sales report on WhatsApp (download for free🎁)

And speaking of reports by channel...if your main sales channel is WhatsApp, you're going to love this template. Get the template to report your sales via WhatsApp here for free:

Includes:

• The sales funnel via WhatsApp (with the key metrics of conversational commerce)

• Record of your conversion rate via WhatsApp

• Detail table of your products to be sold 

• A chart of closed sales per day (to monitor your team's performance)

• And of course, the chart of monthly product sales (the one we saw in our example!)

Take it as the base to develop your own sales report.

Metrics for an effective sales report 

Now, if you want to make your WhatsApp sales reports even more powerful and strategic, you can add these metrics:

• Best-selling product

• Time slot with most sales

• Average response time

• # of unanswered conversations

• Average service rating

• # of returning customers

Include a qualitative section for insights and opportunities with these questions:

• What worked well this week?

• What can be improved?

• What automation opportunities were identified?

Sell more on WhatsApp with a virtual seller 🤖

You already know how to make a sales report that gives you clarity about what works in your business. Now imagine having a sales channel that works for you 24/7, without you having to be glued to your phone.

Meet YaVendió! and our artificial intelligence (AI) for WhatsApp - designed especially for businesses that sell online. With YaVendió! you can have a virtual AI seller that attends to your customers instantly, recommends products, and even closes sales without human intervention. 

Do you want to see how it works? Write to us today on WhatsApp and we'll send you a free demo.