For a step-by-step walkthrough of building a report end to end, see Building a report with Flexible Columns.

Before we get into the column types, let's talk about the base column. When you select a report type, the report loads with one column already in place: your base column. It uses the period and settings from the Editor panel and acts as the anchor for the rest of your report.

Each column in the Columns list carries a colour-coded tag showing its type, and Metric columns also show the metric they're using. That means you can rename columns to whatever suits the report and still tell at a glance what each one actually is — handy at org level, where one template gets reused across a lot of farms.

What it is: a column that shows data for a specific period of time.

When to use it: any time you want to show numbers for a particular month, quarter, or year. Period columns are the bread and butter of most reports.

Example: show this year's actuals next to this year's forecast next to last year's actuals. That's three Period columns. Here I compared 2025 actuals to 2026.

What it is: a column that aggregates values across other columns.

When to use it: at the end of a report when you want a season-to-date or year-to-date total alongside your individual periods.

Example: a monthly P&L showing each month of the season, with a Total column on the right summing everything up. Here I did a total of the past two years.

What it is: a column that shows the difference between two other columns. When to use it: any time you want to compare performance. For example, actual vs forecast, this year vs last year, or budget vs actual.

Example: set your actuals column as the Base Column and your forecast column as the Comparative Column to see how the year is tracking against plan. Here I did the percentage of variance between 2025 and 2026.

Good to know: a Variance column needs at least two other columns to compare. If you only have your base column on the report, add a Period column first, then come back to add the Variance.

Comparing two Metric columns: Variance isn't limited to period columns. You can set a Variance between two Metric columns — for example 2025 $/kgMS against 2026 $/kgMS, or Corn 2026 against Corn 2025. This works on Gross Margin widgets as well as Report widgets, and it carries through to PDF export and to templates copied down to farms.

Good to know: Metric variance displays to 2 decimal places for currency and 1 for percentages. It's calculated from the values as they're displayed, not the full underlying figures. So if two metrics display as $0.02 and $0.03, the variance shows as −$0.01 — which matches what you'd get doing the sum by hand off the report in front of you.

At org level on Gross Margin reports you can't yet choose which trackers or years you're comparing, so for now metric variance is best set up at farm level.

What it is: a column that divides another column by a metric from your Formula Library.

When to use it: when you want to express financial numbers on a per-unit basis ($/kgMS, $/ha, $/SU, $/DSE) to make conversations with farmers more relatable.

Example: show your operating expenses Period column divided by kgMS to give you a $/kgMS view of costs. Here I did 2026 divided by Direct costs.

Good to know: the metric you want to divide by needs to already exist in your Formula Library. If it's not there, head to the Formula Library to set it up first.

What it is: a column that calculates an average across previous periods.

When to use it: when you want to show how the current year compares to a rolling average. Useful for spotting whether numbers are tracking with long-term trends. Example: show this year's actuals next to a 3-year average of the same line items. Here I did the average of 2025 and 2026.

Every column in the Columns list has an eye icon next to it. Click it to hide that column from the report while keeping it in your setup. This is useful when a column only exists to feed a Variance, Total or Historical Average and you don't want it taking up space on the page — the calculation still works, the column just isn't shown.

This works on the base date column too. Click the eye again to bring a column back.