Running the same Salesforce report every day or every week and manually sending it to your manager can quickly become repetitive.

Fortunately, Salesforce provides built-in features that allow reports to be emailed automatically on a schedule. Once configured, Salesforce runs the report and delivers the latest results to the required users without any manual effort.

For example, a support manager may want an Open Cases report every Monday morning, or a sales manager may need a weekly Opportunities Pipeline report before a forecast meeting. Instead of manually generating these reports, Salesforce can automatically send them at the right time.

In this article, we will learn:

• How to schedule a Salesforce report email automatically
• How to subscribe to reports in Lightning Experience
• How to schedule reports in Salesforce Classic
• Common issues and troubleshooting tips
• Best practices for report subscriptions

Why Schedule Salesforce Reports?

Many organizations use reports to monitor business performance, track sales activities, review support cases, and analyze important metrics.

Without report scheduling, users must:

1. Open Salesforce.
2. Run the report.
3. Export or share the report.
4. Send it to stakeholders.

This process consumes time and can easily be forgotten.

By scheduling reports, Salesforce automatically delivers updated report results to the required users. This ensures that everyone receives the latest information without manual intervention.

Real-World Examples

1. Sales Team
   • A Sales Manager wants a weekly Opportunities report every Friday before the forecasting meeting.
2. Support Team
   • A Support Manager wants an Open Cases by Owner report every Monday morning.
3. Management Team
   • Executives want a monthly performance report delivered on the first day of each month.

In all these situations, report scheduling helps automate communication and saves valuable time.

Salesforce Report Subscription vs Scheduled Report

Salesforce provides two different methods for automatically emailing reports.

If your organization uses Lightning Experience, Salesforce recommends using Report Subscriptions.

Prerequisites

Before scheduling a report, verify the following:

• The report is already created and saved.
• The report displays the correct data.
• You have access to the report folder.
• You have permission to subscribe to reports or schedule report runs.
• Email deliverability is enabled in your Salesforce organization.

Admin Tip

Always run the report manually before creating the subscription.

Many users accidentally schedule reports with incorrect filters or date ranges, resulting in inaccurate report emails being sent for weeks before anyone notices.

Schedule a Salesforce Report Email in Lightning Experience

In Lightning Experience, report emails are configured using the Subscribe feature.

Step 1: Open the Report

1. Click the App Launcher.
2. Search for Reports.
3. Open the report you want to schedule.

Before proceeding, verify:

• Report filters
• Date range
• Groupings
• Summary fields
• Columns

The report should display exactly the information you want recipients to receive.

Step 2: Click Subscribe

At the top of the report page, click the Subscribe button. The Report Subscription window opens. This is where you define when Salesforce should send the report and who should receive it.

Step 3: Configure the Schedule

Select how frequently Salesforce should send the report.

Available options usually include:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly

Next, select the preferred delivery time.

Common Scheduling Examples:

Choose a schedule that matches your business requirements.

Step 4: Add Recipients

By default, you are added as a recipient.

To add additional users:

1. Click Add Recipients.
2. Search for users, roles, or groups.
3. Select the required recipients.
4. Save your changes.

Important Note:

Recipients must have access to:

• The report folder
• The underlying records returned by the report

Otherwise, they may receive the email but be unable to access the report.

Step 5: Configure Conditions (Optional)

One of the biggest advantages of Lightning subscriptions is the ability to create conditions. Instead of receiving the report every day, Salesforce can send it only when certain conditions are met.

Example Conditions:

• Open Cases greater than 50
• High Priority Cases greater than 10
• Closed Won Amount greater than $100,000

When the condition is satisfied, Salesforce sends the report. If the condition is not met, no email is sent. This helps reduce unnecessary email notifications.

Step 6: Save the Subscription

After configuring:

• Frequency
• Delivery time
• Recipients
• Conditions

Click Save. Your report subscription is now active. Salesforce will automatically send report emails according to the configured schedule.

How to Edit or Delete a Subscription

To modify an existing subscription:

1. Open the report.
2. Click Subscribe.
3. Update the settings.
4. Save your changes.

You can also disable or delete subscriptions if they are no longer required.

Schedule a Report in Salesforce Classic

Organizations still using Salesforce Classic can use the Schedule Future Runs feature.

Step 1: Open the Report

1. Navigate to the Reports tab.
2. Open the required report.
3. Verify that the report returns the correct data.

Step 2: Schedule Future Runs

From the report page:

1. Click the report dropdown menu.
2. Select Schedule Future Runs.

If the report has not been saved, Salesforce will prompt you to save it first.

Step 3: Configure Schedule Settings

Enter:

• Start Date
• End Date
• Frequency
• Preferred Start Time

Available frequencies include:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly

Select a time that aligns with your business processes.

Step 4: Select Email Recipients

Choose the users who should receive the report email. Ensure recipients have the necessary report access permissions.

Step 5: Save the Schedule

Click Save Report Schedule. Salesforce will automatically run the report and email the results according to the schedule.

Common Problems and Solutions

Below, I will explain some common problems and their solutions that occur while scheduling Salesforce reports.

Recipients Are Not Receiving Emails

Possible causes:

• Recipient not added to the subscription
• Invalid email address
• Email deliverability disabled
• Missing report access

Solution: Verify recipient settings, user email addresses, and report folder permissions.

Report Data Looks Incorrect

Possible causes:

• Incorrect report filters
• Incorrect date range
• Changes made after creating the subscription

Solution: Run the report manually and review all filters.

Subscription Is Active, but No Email Is Sent

Possible causes:

• Subscription conditions are not met
• Schedule timing is incorrect

Solution: Review the configured conditions and test the report data.

Users cannot open the Report

Possible causes:

• Missing folder access
• Missing object permissions
• Missing record-level access

Solution: Verify report folder sharing and user permissions.

Best Practices for Salesforce Report Scheduling

Follow these recommendations when scheduling reports:

1. Use Clear Report Names
   • Instead of naming a report: “Open Cases”
   • Use: “Weekly Open Cases by Owner”
2. Keep Reports Simple
   • Avoid adding unnecessary columns.
   • Only include information recipients actually need.
3. Review Scheduled Reports Regularly
   • Over time, many scheduled reports become unused.
   • Review subscriptions every few months and remove unnecessary schedules.
4. Consider Time Zones
   • For global teams, schedule report delivery at a time that works for most users.
5. Use Conditions When Possible
   • Conditions help reduce email clutter and ensure users only receive reports when action is required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Scheduling Salesforce reports is a simple but powerful way to automate report distribution. Instead of manually running reports and emailing them to users, Salesforce can automatically deliver the latest report results on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule.

Whether you are using Lightning Experience or Salesforce Classic, report scheduling helps save time, improve productivity, and ensure stakeholders always have access to the information they need.

You may like to read:

• Clone a Report in Salesforce
• Contains Filter in Salesforce Report
• Filter Out Null Values in Salesforce Report
• Use Date Formula in Salesforce Report

Bijay Kumar

I am Bijay Kumar, the founder of SalesforceFAQs.com. Having over 10 years of experience working in salesforce technologies for clients across the world (Canada, Australia, United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, etc.). I am a certified salesforce administrator and expert with experience in developing salesforce applications and projects. My goal is to make it easy for people to learn and use salesforce technologies by providing simple and easy-to-understand solutions. Check out the complete profile on About us.