Report Basics
Expired Reports
Reports will expire 72 hours after creation. To view older reports, the report must be refreshed. You can refresh a report by clicking on the circling arrows button on your report list.
Data Storage for Reports and Exports
The system uses the information in the household at the time of the visit for reporting and exporting. This includes all demographic information for all individuals selected in the “‘Who from the household is receiving services for this visit” section on the visit page.
Data Storage Example
Household 1 visits on January 5 and their address is in "City A", then visits on January 10 and their address is in "City B":
Visit 1 (Jan 5): City A
Visit 2 (Jan 10): City B
If a report is run from January 1 to January 8, Household 1 would be included in the count for "City A".
If a report is run from January 9 to January 11, Household 1 would be included in the count for "City B".
If a report is run from January 1 to January 11, Household 1 would be included in the Duplicate count for both "City A" and "City B", but would only be included in “City B” in the Unique count. For more information, see “Unique and Duplicated Counts” below.
Data Storage Analogy
You can picture the system as taking a photo of the household whenever they visit and filing it. If everyone in the household was wearing a hat on their first visit, the system remembers that when it's time to run a report, even if they didn't have on hats the second time they come.
Unique and Duplicated Counts
Unique/Duplicated Definition
Unique: The household/individual is counted only once regardless of the number of times they have visited during the reporting period. The demographic data is pulled from the most recent visit of the household/individual. A "Unique" count is the same as "De-duplicating" data or having an “unduplicated” count.
Duplicated: The household/individual is counted each time they have visited during the reporting period. The demographic data is pulled from each visit. A duplicated count is the same as number of visits.
Unique/Duplicated Examples
Example 1- Unique and Duplicated Counts for Total
An agency has six visits in the month of January (see table below). In this time period, all clients visit once, with the exception of Bob Jones, who visits three times (see green rows).
A report is run from January 1 to January 10
Duplicated Count= 6 (as there were six visits)
Unique Count= 4 (as these visits were only from 4 different people)
Visit # | Client Name | Visit Date |
|---|---|---|
1 | Bob Jones | January 4 |
2 | Mary Smith | January 4 |
3 | Bob Jones | January 6 |
4 | Amy Green | January 6 |
5 | Linda Simpson | January 9 |
6 | Bob Jones | January 10 |
Example 2- Unique and Duplicated Counts with Changing Demographic Information
A household contains Client 1 and Client 2.
Their first visit is on January 1. At the time of this visit, Client 1 is twelve years old and Client 2 is fifteen years old.
Their second visit is on January 2. At the time of this visit, Client 1 is thirteen years old and Client 2 is fifteen years old.
Visits | Client | Age |
|---|---|---|
January 1 | Client 1 | 12 |
Client 2 | 15 | |
January 2 | Client 1 | 13 |
Client 2 | 15 |
A report is run from January 1 to January 3 and these are the only two visits recorded during the reporting period. The following would be the Unique and Duplicated counts for Age Group for the table above:
Unique | 0-12 0 | For the Unique count each individual is only counted once, regardless of the number of times they visited during the report period. Client 1 was 13 at the time of their second visit, so they are only counted in the 13-15 grouping, because Unique counts take demographic data from the most recent visit. |
13-15 2 | ||
Total 2 | ||
Duplicated | 0-12 1 | For the Duplicated count each individual is counted each time they visited. Because each visit is counted, Client 1's first visit is included in the 0-12 grouping and their second visit is included in the 13-15 grouping. Both of Client 2's visits are included in the 13-15 grouping. |
13-15 3 | ||
Total 4 |
Aggregated/Not Aggregated- Network Reports
Network reports are for organizations with multiple agencies (such as food banks). Please note: The use of the “Aggregate Across” features mentioned in this section are only relevant for networks and do not apply to single (standalone) agencies.
One Row Per Organization/One Row Total Definition
You can further define how you want the data de-duplicated, by selecting “One Row Per Organization” or “One Row Total”.
One Row Total: This displays all Unique report sections as one unique count by de-duplicating across the organizations selected. This option is selected by clicking “One row total” in the "Organizations" section of the report setup.
One Row Total by Organization by Name: This will produce a single network count for all organizations selected.
One Row Per Organization: This displays all Unique report sections as a count for each agency by de-duplicating within each agency selected.
One Row Per Organization by Name: This will produce one row for each organization.
One Row Per Organization by County/City/Organization Tag: This will produce one row for each county/city/tag selected.
This de-duplicates across the organizations within each individual city/county/tag selected.
NOTE: "One Row Per Organization" reports will not show a "total" row or graphs for the Unique report sections as they are not a true Unique total (the data is not de-duplicated across the agencies, so clients are counted at each agency they visit).
Client Name | Agency Visited | Visit Date |
|---|---|---|
Bob Jones | Agency A | January 4 |
Mary Smith | Agency C | January 4 |
Bob Jones | Agency B | January 6 |
Amy Green | Agency B | January 6 |
Linda Simpson | Agency A | January 9 |
Bob Jones | Agency A | January 10 |
A report is run from January 1 to January 10 with "Aggregate Across" selected:
Unique Count | Explanation | |
|---|---|---|
Network | 4 | We are only counting Bob Jones ONCE across all of the agencies he’s visited. |
A report is run from January 1 to January 10 without "Aggregate Across" selected:
Organization | Unique Count | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
Agency A | 2 | Bob Jones visited Agency A twice along with one other person (Linda Simpson) so the unique count for Agency A is 2. |
Agency B | 2 | Bob Jones visited Agency B once along with one other person (Amy Green) so the unique count for Agency B is 2. |
Agency C | 1 | Only Mary Smith visited Agency C, so the unique count for Agency C is one. |
Total* | 5 | If you were to add up the unique counts in this example it would show the total as 5, because in this example Bob Jones is counted under both Agency A’s unique count and Agency B’s Unique Count. *The total row here is to illustrate how this works. The actual reports in Link2Feed do not show a total for Unique counts when "Aggregate Across" is not selected. |
Reports and Aggregate Options
The following reports contain the option to have "One Row Total" because they may need to be viewed as unique counts by agency OR one unique count across the network:
Client Status Report
Hunger Count, Regional Version (Canada Only)
Statistics Report
The following reports automatically calculate with "One Row Total" because they can only be presented as one unique count across the network:
Heat Map Report
Hunger Count, Network Version (Canada Only)
Interactive Household Report
Referrals Report
Time Series Report
CSFP Case Load Report (US Only)
CSFP Ethnicity Report- Duplicated, CSFP Ethnicity Report- Unique (US Only)
The following reports do not have the option for "One Row Total" because they must be presented as unique counts by agency:
Monitoring Report
Agency Report
School Pantry Report
Visits to Other Agencies Report
Social Services Outcomes Report (US Only)
The following reports do not have the option for "One Row Total" because they do not deal with standard "Visit" data:
Bulk Program Report (uses a mix of bulk data and known generic program data)
Survey: Answer Frequencies Report (uses survey data)
Survey: Non-Response Report deals (uses survey data)
Assessment Reports (uses assessment data)
Aggregated/Not Aggregated- Regional Reports
Regional reports are for organizations with multiple networks (such as a state/provincial or national organization). Please note: The use of the “One Row Per Organization” and “One Row Total” features at the regional level are only relevant for organizations setup as regional and do not apply to networks or single (standalone) agencies.
At the regional level, users see all of their networks listed, with the option to expand the list and select specific agencies within each network.
In these reports, “One Row Total” is de-duplicating across agencies within networks (not between different networks). The results from the de-duplicated count for a network run at the regional level will be the same as the de-duplicated if it were run at the network level.
Regional reports can be selected to de-duplicate across a) particular organizations within a network or b) all organizations within a network.
One Row Total: This displays all Unique report sections as one unique count per network by de-duplicating across the organizations selected for each network. This option is included by clicking “One Row Per Organization” in the "Organizations" section of the report setup.
One Row Total by Name: This will produce a single network count labeled with the name of each network.
One Row Total by County/City/Organization Tag: This will produce a single network count for each network that has agencies that fall under that county/city/tag.
Not Aggregated: This displays data as a count for each agency organization selected. For report sections that say (Unique) it will de-duplicate the count within each agency selected.
One Row Per Organization by Name: This will show one row for each organization selected.
One Row Per Organization by County/City/Organization Tag: This will show one row for each county/city/tag and include non-aggregated data for all organizations with that county/city/tag.
NOTE: "One Row Per Organization" reports will not show a "total" row or graphs for the Unique report sections as they are not a true Unique total (the data is not de-duplicated across the agencies, so clients are counted at each agency they visit).
Including Multiple Programs- Agency, Network and Regional
When including multiple programs under “For the following program types”, Unique counts will only count clients, households and individuals once even if they had visits for multiple Program Types.
Including Anonymous Visits- Network and Regional
Anonymous Visits will be included in reports by selecting "Include Anonymous Visits" in the "Additional Options" section of the report setup.
Anonymous with "One Row Total”: Anonymous visits will show as a final column labeled as "Anonymous". This will include anonymous visits recorded at any organization selected for the report.
Anonymous with "One Row Per Organization": Anonymous visits from each agency will show as a final column labeled as "Anonymous".
NOTE on Totals: When anonymous visits are included in reports, the Unique totals are not accurate as Anonymous visits cannot be de-duplicated.
NOTE: Some Anonymous Will Show as Rows: If a data table contains columns with distinct data points (example. Households AND Individuals in one table), anonymous will show as an additional row. The Hunger Count Report (Canada Only) also shows anonymous data as rows.
Presentation of Data Not Being Collected
Disabled Fields
If a network has disabled particular fields, the option to report on those fields will still appear. However, all data will show as "Unknown".
If a network has previously tracked a field and then disables it, the data recorded in that field will still be reported on for visits recorded when that field was tracked.
Fields Required for "Client" Only
The following fields are only required for the "Client." See Report Definitions- Household, Client, Partner, Individuals, Adult, Child.
Marital Status
Country of Birth (Canada only)
Highest Education Level Completed
Country of Education (Canada only)
Employment Type (US Only)
CSFP Tab (US only)
All fields that are mandatory for "Client" only, can be collected for all individuals in the household. In households where the information has not been gathered for all household members, missing data will show as "Unknown".
Fields Required for "Household" Only
The following fields are collected at the "Household" level. See Report Definitions- Household, Client, Partner, Individuals, Adult, Child.
Consent
Address (including Street, City, County, State, Zip/Postal Code)
Housing Type
Expenses
Dietary Considerations
TEFAP Tab (US only)
In report sections labelled as "Individuals" for fields that are collected at the "Household" level, one count as been applied for each household member. For example, if Bob, Mary and Linda live in the same household, and their household is in "City A" they would be counted as one household in the "City: Households" report section and three individuals in the "City: Individuals" report section.
New vs. Existing Sections
Where is the system pulling the first food bank visit date from?
The system checks if there are other agencies in the network other than the organization between reported on.
Single Agency Network
It will take the first food bank visit recorded on the Services page of the client's profile.
If no, then pulls from first food bank visit
If you'd like it to check the first food bank visit date on the Personal page, add another agency in your network. It doesn't have to have any programs attached to it, but when using it in your reports, the system will recognize it as the "Multi-Agency Network" below.
Multi-Agency Network
It will check the first food bank visit date on the Personal page of the client's profile.
Comparing Report Sections Across Reports
Statistics Report and Interactive Household Report
The Statistics and Interactive Household Report sections will match for Unique counts if the statistics report has "One Row Total" selected, because the Interactive Report is set to automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Total".
There are NO duplicated or non-aggregated sections of the Interactive Household Report.
Statistics Report and Agency Report
The Statistics and Agency Report sections will match for Unique and Duplicate counts if the Statistics Report is set as "One Row Per Agency", because the Agency Report will report on information per organization and does not allow for "One Row Total".
This will only match if the Statistics Report is run for pantry programs only.
Statistics Report and Time Series Report
The Statistics and Time Series Report sections will match for Unique and Duplicated counts if the Statistics Report has "One Row Total" selected, because the Time Series Report is set to automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Total".
CSFP Case Load Report (US Only)
The "Number of Individuals Served (Unique)" from the Statistics Report (with only “CSFP” selected under “For the following program types”) will match the "Served" section from the CSFP Case Load Report if the Statistics Report has "One Row Total" selected, because the CSFP Case Load Report is set to automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Total".
CSFP Ethnicity Report- Duplicated (US Only)
The "Number of Individuals Served (Duplicated)" from the Statistics Report (with only “CSFP” selected under “For the following program types”) will match the "Total" section from the CSFP Ethnicity Report (Duplicated) if the Statistics Report has "One Row Total" selected, because the CSFP Ethnicity Report (Duplicated) is set to automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Total".
CSFP Ethnicity Report- Unique (US Only)
The "Number of Individuals Served (Unique)" from the Statistics Report (with only “CSFP” selected under “For the following program types”) will match the "Total" section from the CSFP Ethnicity Report (Unique) if the Statistics Report has "One Row Total" selected, because the CSFP Ethnicity Report (Unique) is set to automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Total".
School Pantry Report
The Statistics and Agency Report sections will match for Unique and Duplicate counts if the statistics report is set as "One Row Per Agency", because the School Pantry Report automatically generate with the logic of "One Row Per Agency".
NOTE: If it appears two reports "don't match" be sure that they have been set with the same parameters (same date ranges, program types, etc.).
Comparing Report Sections Across Reports and Export
When comparing counts with export data, keep in mind that:
The Unique count only counts clients once, so the total number of rows will not match the unique number of households or individuals served.
The unique count will use demographic data from the most recent visit and demographic variables may change during the time period selected.
Individuals may have lived in multiple households during the reporting period.