How to Create Custom Reports and Dashboards in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?

Quick Summary

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is a powerful IT Service Management (ITSM) platform that helps organizations track incidents, manage assets, and streamline IT operations. One of its most valuable features is the ability to build custom reports and dashboards — giving IT teams clear visibility into performance, trends, and service delivery metrics. This article walks you through the full process of creating, customizing, and sharing reports and dashboards in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus, so your team can make data-driven decisions with confidence.

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What Is ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus and Why Does Reporting Matter?

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ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus is a comprehensive ITSM solution that combines help desk ticketing, asset management, change management, and project tracking in a single platform. Beyond day-to-day ticket handling, it provides robust reporting capabilities that let IT managers and service desk leads measure what matters most.

Effective reporting in ITSM serves several critical purposes:

• Performance monitoring — Track how quickly technicians resolve tickets and identify bottlenecks.
• SLA compliance — Measure whether your team meets agreed service level targets.
• Trend analysis — Spot recurring issues before they become larger problems.
• Resource planning — Understand workload distribution across your team.

Without reliable reporting, IT leaders operate on gut feeling rather than facts. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus solves this by offering both pre-built report templates and a flexible custom report builder — making it straightforward to surface exactly the data your organization needs.

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How Do You Access the Reports Module in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?

Before you start building, you need to navigate to the right area of the platform. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus organizes its reporting tools under a dedicated Reports module, which you can access from the main navigation menu.

What permissions do you need to create reports?

To create and manage reports, your user account needs the appropriate role assigned by your administrator. Typically, roles such as SDAdmin, SDSeniorTechnician, or custom roles with report access rights allow full report creation. Standard technicians may only view shared reports unless specifically granted edit permissions.

To verify your access:

1. Log in to your ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus instance.
2. Click Reports in the top navigation bar.
3. If you see the New Report button, you have the required permissions.

If you do not see the Reports option, contact your ServiceDesk Plus administrator to adjust your role settings under Admin → Roles.

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How Do You Create a Custom Report in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?

Creating a custom report involves choosing a data source, defining filters, selecting display columns, and configuring grouping or sorting options. Fortunately, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus makes this process intuitive through a guided wizard.

How Do You Start the Custom Report Builder?

Follow these steps to open the report builder:

1. Navigate to Reports in the top navigation menu.
2. Click New Report in the upper-right corner.
3. Choose the report type — options include Tabular, Summary, Matrix, or Audit reports.
4. Select your module (e.g., Requests, Assets, Changes, Problems, or Contracts).
5. Click Next to proceed to the column selection step.

What Report Types Are Available?

Report Type	Best Used For
Tabular Report	Listing individual records with selected fields in rows
Summary Report	Aggregating data with counts, sums, or averages
Matrix Report	Cross-tabulating two dimensions (e.g., category vs. technician)
Audit Report	Tracking changes and actions performed on records

Choosing the right type from the start saves significant time — a tabular report works well for ticket listings, while a summary report suits monthly performance overviews.

How Do You Select Columns and Configure Filters?

Once you choose the report type and module, you move to the column selection and filter configuration steps.

Adding columns:

• From the Available Columns list on the left, drag fields into the Selected Columns area on the right.
• Common fields include: Request ID, Subject, Status, Priority, Assigned Technician, Created Time, Resolved Time, and SLA Violated.
• You can reorder columns by dragging them up or down in the selected list.

Setting filters:

Filters narrow down which records appear in the report. For example:

• Filter by Status = Resolved to see only closed tickets.
• Filter by Priority = High OR Critical to focus on urgent items.
• Filter by Created Time within a specific date range for period-based reporting.

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus supports both AND and OR logic between filter conditions, giving you precise control over the data set.

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How Do You Group, Sort, and Format Your Custom Report?

After selecting columns and filters, the next step is to organize how the data displays. Grouping and sorting transform a raw data dump into a readable, actionable report.

How Does Grouping Work in Reports?

Grouping clusters records by a common field value. For instance, grouping by Assigned Technician shows all tickets under each technician’s name, making workload comparison immediate.

To add grouping:

1. In the Group By section, select a field from the dropdown (e.g., Category, Technician, Priority).
2. Choose whether to show group subtotals.
3. You can add a secondary group for more detailed breakdowns.

How Do You Sort and Schedule Reports?

Sorting controls the order records appear within each group. Sort by Created Time (Descending) to see the newest tickets first, or by Resolution Time (Ascending) to identify the fastest resolutions.

Additionally, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus lets you schedule reports to run automatically and deliver via email:

Schedule Option	Description
Daily	Sends the report every day at a defined time
Weekly	Delivers every chosen day of the week
Monthly	Runs on a specific date each month
Custom	Defined by a cron-style interval

Scheduling is especially useful for management dashboards where stakeholders expect regular updates without manually running reports.

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How Do You Build a Custom Dashboard in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?

Dashboards in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus display multiple report widgets on a single screen, giving you a real-time snapshot of IT operations. Unlike static reports, dashboards refresh automatically and support interactive filtering.

How Do You Create a New Dashboard?

1. Go to the Home module or Reports → Dashboards.
2. Click New Dashboard and give it a meaningful name (e.g., “Weekly Help Desk KPIs”).
3. Choose the layout — single column, two columns, or a custom grid.
4. Click Add Widget to begin populating the dashboard.

What Widget Types Can You Add to a Dashboard?

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus offers several widget types to visualize different data:

Widget Type	Use Case
Chart Widget	Bar, pie, line, or donut charts for visual trends
Tabular Widget	A compact table of recent or filtered records
Summary Widget	Single-number KPIs (e.g., “Open Tickets: 47”)
Gauge Widget	Shows progress toward a target (e.g., SLA compliance %)

How Do You Configure and Arrange Dashboard Widgets?

Each widget links to an existing report or uses a built-in data query. To configure a widget:

1. Click Add Widget and choose the widget type.
2. Select the report or data source the widget will display.
3. Set the chart type (bar, pie, line) if applicable.
4. Adjust the time range using the filter (today, last 7 days, last 30 days, custom).
5. Click Save to add the widget to the dashboard.

Once added, you can drag and resize widgets freely to arrange the layout that makes the most sense for your team’s workflow.

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How Do You Share Reports and Dashboards with Your Team?

Creating a great report or dashboard is only valuable if the right people can access it. ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus provides flexible sharing options to distribute insights across your organization.

How Do You Share a Report?

To share a report:

1. Open the report from the Reports list.
2. Click the Share icon or go to Edit → Sharing Settings.
3. Choose one of the following sharing levels:

Sharing Level	Who Can Access
Private	Only the report creator
Shared with specific users	Selected technicians or groups
Shared with all technicians	Everyone with technician access
Public	All users including requester portal

How Do You Export Reports in Different Formats?

Beyond sharing within the platform, ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus supports exporting reports for presentations or archives:

• PDF — Best for static snapshots to share with leadership.
• XLS / CSV — Ideal for further data analysis in Excel or BI tools.
• HTML — Useful for embedding in internal wikis or intranet pages.

To export, open any report and click the Export button in the top-right toolbar, then select the format.

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What Are the Best Practices for Reports and Dashboards in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus?

Building reports is one thing — building useful reports is another. These best practices help you get consistent, reliable insights from ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus.

• Define the audience first. A dashboard for technicians should show open ticket queues and SLA timers. A dashboard for IT directors should highlight trend charts and resolution rates.
• Keep dashboards focused. Limit each dashboard to 5–8 widgets. Too many widgets slow performance and overwhelm viewers.
• Use naming conventions. Name reports clearly — “Q2 2025 Incident Volume by Category” is far more useful than “Report 1.”
• Schedule critical reports. Automate delivery of weekly and monthly reports so stakeholders receive them without anyone remembering to run them manually.
• Review and archive outdated reports. Periodically audit your report library and remove or archive reports no longer in use to keep the list manageable.
• Combine filters with date ranges. Adding a rolling date filter (e.g., “last 30 days”) ensures reports always reflect current data rather than a fixed historical snapshot.

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Conclusion

ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus gives IT teams everything they need to turn raw service desk data into clear, actionable intelligence. By mastering the custom report builder and dashboard tools, you gain full visibility into ticket volumes, technician performance, SLA compliance, and long-term trends — all without relying on spreadsheets or manual data pulls.

Furthermore, the platform’s scheduling, sharing, and export features ensure the right insights reach the right people at the right time. Whether you manage a small internal help desk or a large enterprise ITSM operation, building a solid reporting framework in ManageEngine ServiceDesk Plus directly improves both team efficiency and service quality.

As a next step, start with one or two high-priority reports — such as open tickets by priority and monthly SLA compliance — and build your dashboard library incrementally. Over time, your reports will become indispensable tools for continuous improvement.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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