The daily reservation report is the sheet group sales staff print each morning so the floor knows which school buses, tour groups, and private events are coming in. It works until someone asks for one more column. Maybe it’s an allergy note, the chaperone count, a bus company, a teacher’s cell phone, or whether the deposit has cleared. That’s when you find out the report has a fixed layout.
The short answer is that you usually can’t add a field to a standard Altru report the way you’d add a column to a spreadsheet. You can still get that information onto a daily sheet. Here are the realistic options, from least effort to most.
Why the standard report won’t take new columns
Altru’s built-in reports are designed and maintained by Blackbaud. You can choose parameters such as the date or date range, and sometimes filters, but end users can’t change which fields appear or how the page is laid out. That’s what keeps the reports consistent across updates. It’s also why “just add the field” turns into a bigger project than it sounds.
Before you build anything, confirm two things in your own database. Run the report and check every parameter, since some reports have options that show or hide sections, and the detail you want might already be there. Then search Blackbaud’s knowledge base or ask Blackbaud support whether the field is available in a newer version of the report. Report contents change over time, and your version may differ from what a colleague at another site has.
Option 1: Build a reservation query that becomes your daily sheet
For most organizations, this is the fix. Altru’s ad-hoc queries can pull reservation and group sales data along with linked constituent information, which means you choose the columns. A typical “daily arrivals” query might include:
- Arrival date and time, and the event or program booked
- Group or organization name, plus the main contact and phone
- Number of guests, broken out by price type if you need it
- Itinerary or resource details, if your setup uses them
- Payment status or balance due
- Notes or attributes that hold the extra details staff keep asking for
Add a date filter you can prompt for at run time, or one set relative to today, so the same query works every morning without editing. Sort by arrival time. Save it somewhere shared so the group sales team and the front desk run the same version.
From there you can export to Excel, apply some light formatting, and print. It’s not as polished as a designed report, but it has the right information, and staff tend to prefer that.
One honest caveat: which reservation fields show up in the query designer depends on the query view you start from, and on whether the data is stored as a standard field, an attribute, or free-text notes. If you can’t find a field, check where staff actually enter it before assuming Altru doesn’t store it.
Option 2: Store the missing detail somewhere a query can see it
Often the real problem is that the detail isn’t stored consistently in the first place. A bus arrival time typed into a long comment field might say “10ish,” “10:15,” or “bus @ 10” depending on who booked it. You can’t filter or sort on that reliably.
If a detail matters every day, consider giving it a proper home:
- Attributes on the reservation or the group’s constituent record for structured values such as a yes/no flag, a code table pick, or a number
- Constituent fields for details about the organization or contact that don’t change from visit to visit, like a school’s district or a standing accessibility need
- A short booking checklist so every reservation captures the same items in the same place
Test new attributes in a non-production environment first if you have one, and decide who owns the code table values so the list doesn’t keep growing.
Option 3: A custom report
If the sheet has to look like a finished document, with grouping by time slot, page breaks per group, and a header with your logo, a query export won’t get you there. In that case you’re looking at a custom report. Altru supports adding custom reports, but building one takes report development skills and usually involves Blackbaud’s services team or an outside consultant who knows the Altru data model.
Before you commit, write a one-page spec: every field, where it lives in Altru, how it should be sorted and grouped, and who uses the printout. A clear spec keeps the cost down and the result accurate. Also ask how the custom report will be maintained after Altru updates.
Choosing between them
- One or two missing fields, staff are fine with a spreadsheet: use a query.
- The data is messy or inconsistent: fix how it’s captured first, then use a query.
- Printed output goes to volunteers, educators, or outside partners and has to look finished: a custom report is worth scoping.
- You only need the extra details for a few large groups: keep the standard report and attach a short supplemental list from a query.
Quick answers
Can I edit the standard daily reservation report myself?
Generally no. You can set its parameters but not change its fields or layout. Confirm with Blackbaud support whether your version offers any options you haven’t tried.
Will a query show the same reservations the report does?
It should if your filters match, but check. Run both for the same day and compare counts before you retire the original report. Differences usually come from status filters such as canceled or tentative reservations.
