Year-on-year summary report¶

In short: Open Reports, then Year-on-year summary under the Donations panel. The report compares eight key figures for a chosen Period against an earlier year, with a month-by-month breakdown. It defaults to This calendar year. You need the View Reports permission.

Overview¶

The Year-over-Year Summary report is a quick way to see whether you are ahead of or behind where you were last year. The page is titled Year-over-Year Summary. It shows eight headline KPIs side by side with the comparison period, a monthly breakdown, and a plain-language Highlights block.

Before you start¶

You'll need:

The View Reports permission.

Running the report¶

Step 1: Open the report¶

Open Reports from the main navigation, then click Year-on-year summary in the Donations panel.

Step 2: Choose the period and comparison¶

Choose the Period from the dropdown in the sidebar, then choose what to Compare to (prior year, two years ago or three years ago).

Step 3: Set filters and apply¶

Set any other filters and click Apply Filters.

The summary cards¶

Eight cards summarise the period:

Total Raised — total income for the period.
Receipts — number of receipts.
Active Donors — donors who gave in the period.
New Donors — first-time donors in the period.
Avg Gift — average gift size.
Donor Retention — the percentage of prior-period donors who gave again.
18A Certificates — number of Section 18A certificates issued.
Lapsed Donors — donors who gave previously but not in the period.

The monthly breakdown table¶

Below the cards, a table breaks the period down by month with these columns:

Month — the calendar month.
{period} — the figure for the selected period (the header shows the period name).
{prior} — the figure for the comparison period (the header shows the comparison name).
Δ Amount — the difference in amount between the two.
Δ % — the percentage change between the two.

The Highlights block¶

A Highlights block calls out the most notable movements (for example the strongest and weakest months, or the biggest year-on-year swings) in plain language.

Exporting to Excel¶

Use the Excel export on the page to download the KPIs and monthly breakdown as a spreadsheet. The file downloads as ad_yoy_summary_report_<date>.xlsx.

How the tax year is defined¶

The South African tax year runs 1 March to the end of February, so the tax-year period options use those boundaries.

Field reference¶

Filter	Where	Values
Period	Sidebar	"This calendar year" (default), "Last calendar year", "This tax year" or "Last tax year".
Compare to	Sidebar	"Prior year" (default), "Two years ago" or "Three years ago".
Project	Sidebar	Limit to receipts allocated to a specific project.
Donor Type	Sidebar	Individual, Company, Company (Public), CC, NPC, Trust, Association, Estate. Leave blank for all.

Common issues & solutions¶

What you see	What it means	How to fix it
Every figure shows a large drop versus prior.	The comparison period had more activity, or your current period is incomplete (for example "this tax year" is only part-way through).	Check the Period and Compare to settings; compare like-for-like complete periods where possible.
The Excel export hovers/spins and won't download.	The export is still building, or the page lost its connection.	Wait a few seconds; if it doesn't finish, refresh and try again. If it keeps failing, contact support.

FAQ¶

Are we ahead of last year? Open Year-on-year summary. The eight cards compare this period with the prior one, and the Highlights block summarises the movements.

Can I compare against two or three years ago? Yes — set Compare to to "Two years ago" or "Three years ago".

Can I export the year-on-year figures? Yes — use the Excel export. The file downloads as ad_yoy_summary_report_<date>.xlsx.

How do I choose the tax year instead of the calendar year? Set Period to "This tax year" or "Last tax year". The SA tax year runs 1 March to the end of February.

Payment methods report
New donors report
Donor retention report
Receipts report
The Reports dashboard