Key Takeaway
- Salesforce uses folder-based sharing, not direct report sharing. Reports inherit access from the folders they live in, so users must be granted access to the correct folder—not the report itself—to view or edit reports.
- Understanding folder types and access levels is critical. Personal, public, and shared folders control visibility, while Viewer, Editor, and Manager access levels determine what users can do with reports.
- Proper permissions and role hierarchy determine who can share reports. Only admins, report owners, or users higher in the role hierarchy can manage sharing, making permission design a key governance consideration.
- Lightning and Classic follow the same principles with different workflows. While the interfaces differ, sharing reports in both environments relies on folder access, recipient selection, and clearly defined permission levels.
- Strong governance and structure prevent access issues and data risk. Clear folder naming, documented sharing policies, regular access reviews, and complementary tools like subscriptions ensure secure, scalable report sharing.
Your marketing manager just created a brilliant pipeline analysis that perfectly visualizes conversion rates across every stage. The sales director needs it for tomorrow’s board meeting. Three account executives want to use it for territory planning. And your CEO wants it in her monthly executive dashboard. But when everyone tries to access it, they hit a wall: “Insufficient privileges.”
This scenario plays out in organizations every day. A critical report exists, but the people who need it can’t access it. Sales teams make decisions with incomplete data. Marketing can’t see which campaigns drive conversions. Leadership lacks visibility into key metrics that drive strategic planning.
Report sharing in Salesforce seems like it should be simple—just click a “share” button and you’re done. But the reality is more complex. Salesforce uses a folder-based sharing model rather than direct report sharing. Access levels vary from viewing to editing to managing. And the interplay between folder permissions, user profiles, and object-level security creates a maze that frustrates even experienced administrators.
This guide walks you through exactly how report sharing works in Salesforce—from understanding the fundamental architecture to executing step-by-step sharing in both Lightning and Classic interfaces. You’ll learn how to navigate common roadblocks, implement security best practices, and create a sustainable sharing strategy that balances accessibility with proper governance.
Understanding Salesforce Report Sharing Fundamentals
The most important principle to understand about Salesforce report sharing is this: you don’t share reports directly with users. Instead, you share the folders that contain those reports.
This folder-based approach creates a hierarchy where reports inherit permissions from their parent folders. When you want to share a report with someone, you’re actually giving them access to view, edit, or manage the folder containing that report. This distinction shapes everything about how you organize and distribute reports throughout your organization.
Salesforce organizes reports into three types of folders:
- Personal folders – Private spaces like “My Personal Custom Reports” that only you (and administrators) can access
- Public folders – Open to everyone in your organization based on their permissions
- Shared folders – Accessible only to specific users, groups, roles, or territories you designate
Understanding these folder types is crucial because the path to sharing a report differs depending on where it currently lives. A report in your personal folder must be moved or copied to a shared or public folder before others can access it.
The sharing system in Salesforce uses enhanced folder sharing, which provides granular control over who sees what. This system allows you to share a folder with up to 25 users, groups, roles, or territories through the user interface—or up to 500 recipients when using the folder sharing API.
Preparing for Integration
Before You Begin
Before diving into report sharing, ensure you have the right permissions. At minimum, you’ll need:
- Read access on accounts to view potential reports
- Delete permission on the Account object (for moving reports between folders)
- Edit access for related records
Beyond these object-level permissions, you must either:
- Be a system administrator
- Own the report
- Sit above the report owner in the role hierarchy
Rather than giving admin access to everyone who needs to share reports, create a focused permission set that grants only what’s needed: Delete on accounts, Edit on related objects, and API access if you’re using automated tools.
Step-by-Step Guide to Sharing Reports in Salesforce
Sharing Reports in Salesforce Lightning Experience
- Navigate to the Reports tab – Click the app launcher and select Reports
- Locate your report – Find the report you want to share in its current folder
- Check the folder – If the report is in a private folder, you’ll need to move it to a shared folder first
- Share the folder – Click the dropdown arrow next to the folder name and select “Share”
- Add recipients – From the “Share With” dropdown, select User, Group, Role, or Territory
- Set access level – Choose View, Edit, or Manage access for each recipient
- Confirm sharing – Click “Share” to apply the settings
The sharing dialog allows you to build complex configurations by adding multiple entries for different users or groups. If you make a mistake, you can delete an entry by clicking the X button or modify access levels using the dropdown menu for each entry.
One important note specific to Lightning: the Analytics tab doesn’t support sharing with partner roles, even though the Reports and Dashboards tabs do. If you need to share with partner portal users, access the sharing dialog from the Reports tab instead.
Sharing Reports in Salesforce Classic
- Access the Reports tab – Click on Reports in the main navigation menu
- Open the folder – Click on the folder containing your report
- Access sharing settings – Click the folder’s dropdown menu and select “Share”
- Select recipients – Choose users, roles, or groups to share with
- Assign access levels – Specify View, Edit, or Manage permissions
- Confirm changes – Save your sharing configuration
The Classic interface requires more scrolling and navigation through nested menus compared to Lightning, but the core principles remain the same. After completing your sharing configuration, the changes take effect immediately, though recipients may need to refresh their view to see the shared folder.
Advanced Integration Features
Understanding Access Levels
The three primary access levels for report folders create a permission spectrum that accommodates different user roles:
- Viewer access – Users can view and run reports but cannot save changes
- Editor access – Users can view, run, and save modifications to reports
- Manager access – Users can view, run, save, share, rename, and delete reports
These access levels operate independently from object-level permissions. For example, a user with Viewer access to a folder but who also has “Create and Customize Reports” permission could rename reports despite having only Viewer folder access. This interplay between folder-level and object-level permissions requires administrators to think holistically about their permission architecture.
Salesforce implements a “most permissive access wins” principle. If a user qualifies for access through multiple pathways (such as being in two different groups with different access levels), they receive the higher permission level.
Sharing Private Reports
One common challenge involves sharing a specific private report without moving it to a broader shared folder. Since Salesforce doesn’t allow direct report sharing, you have several options:
- Create dedicated shared folders – Make a folder specifically for reports that certain users need, with a descriptive name indicating its purpose
- Use filtered report versions – Create variations of reports that show only appropriate data for specific audiences
- Leverage Salesforce reporting tools – Utilize specialized tools that enhance sharing capabilities
Sharing with Non-Licensed Users
Sharing reports with stakeholders who don’t have Salesforce licenses presents a significant challenge. Several solutions exist:
- Export reports – Export to Excel (.XLSX) or CSV files and distribute through other channels
- Use third-party integrations – Synchronize report data with Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel using tools like Coefficient
- Schedule email delivery – Set up automatic report delivery via email on a defined schedule
- Implement Salesforce integration – Connect Salesforce with other systems your external users already access
For users who need regular updates without real-time access, report subscriptions provide particular value. Recipients can configure conditions that must be met before the report is sent, adding conditional delivery capability.
Troubleshooting and Support
Common Issues and Solutions
When users report being unable to access reports, investigate these common causes:
- Missing folder access – Verify the user has been granted appropriate folder sharing permissions
- Lacking object permissions – Check if the user has “View Reports in Public Folders” and “Run Reports” permissions
- Restrictive org-wide defaults – Ensure organization-wide sharing settings aren’t blocking access
- Role hierarchy issues – Confirm the user’s position in the role hierarchy allows access
The Sharing Hierarchy view provides transparency into why a user has or lacks access. While typically used for record-level access, similar logic applies to folder access.
If something looks wrong after sharing, Salesforce gives you a recovery window. Non-master folders sit in the Recycle Bin for 15 days, allowing restoration if needed.
Best Practices for Effective Report Sharing
Establish Clear Folder Structures
Successful report sharing begins with well-organized folder structures and naming conventions. Consider organizing folders by:
- Department (Sales Reports, Marketing Reports, Finance Reports)
- Function (Pipeline Reports, Forecast Reports, Performance Reports)
- Audience (Executive Reports, Team Reports, Partner Reports)
Use meaningful folder names that clearly indicate purpose and intended audience. A folder named “Executive Dashboard – Confidential” signals that sharing should be restricted, while “Sales Team Reports” clearly indicates who should have access.
Document Sharing Policies
Create documented policies specifying who should have access to which reports and under what circumstances. These policies provide clear guidance and enable consistent implementation. Include processes for:
- Requesting new report access
- Removing access when users change roles
- Reviewing existing shares regularly
When granting access to sensitive reports, document why that user needs access, what business purpose it serves, and when the access should be reviewed or removed.
Conduct Regular Access Reviews
Sharing configurations require periodic review to ensure they remain aligned with current organizational structures. Many organizations conduct quarterly reviews of report sharing, examining all shares and verifying they remain appropriate.
Create reports or queries that list all current folder shares, showing who has access to what and at what permission level. Managers or data owners can review this information and indicate which shares should be modified or removed.
Implement processes for removing access when users transition between roles. Include access removal as a step in the offboarding process to ensure departing employees’ access is systematically revoked.
Combine Report Sharing with Complementary Tools
While folder sharing addresses many needs, consider complementary approaches:
- Dynamic dashboards – Provide personalized views based on user permissions
- Scheduled delivery – Automate report distribution via email
- Workflow automation – Trigger report delivery based on specific events
- Business intelligence integration – Connect with advanced visualization tools
These approaches complement folder sharing to create complete information architectures serving diverse stakeholder needs.
Cost and Pricing
Understanding the Costs
Basic report sharing functionality is included in all Salesforce editions, but advanced features vary by edition:
- Professional Edition – Basic folder sharing with limited dynamic dashboards
- Enterprise Edition – Enhanced folder sharing with up to 5 dynamic dashboards
- Unlimited/Performance Edition – Enhanced folder sharing with up to 10 dynamic dashboards
The real cost of report sharing isn’t in licensing but in administration time. Organizations that invest in proper folder structures, clear naming conventions, and documented sharing policies save significant time and resources in the long run.
Additional Resources
Related Resources
To deepen your understanding of Salesforce reporting capabilities, explore these additional resources:
- Introduction to Salesforce Reports
- How to Create Reports in Salesforce
- Salesforce Reporting Tools
- Salesforce Leads vs Opportunities
- Salesforce Email Templates
For integration with other systems, consider these guides:
Conclusion
Make the Most of Your Report Sharing
Sharing reports in Salesforce represents a critical intersection of collaboration, data governance, and security management. The folder-based sharing model, while initially more complex than direct sharing approaches, provides the flexibility and control necessary for sophisticated organizational requirements.
By understanding the architectural principles underlying Salesforce sharing, implementing clear folder structures, carefully assigning access levels, and maintaining ongoing governance, administrators can create reporting environments that serve organizational information needs while protecting sensitive data.
The challenge lies not in executing the technical steps but in making thoughtful decisions about who needs access to what information and at what level. Organizations that dedicate time to designing sharing strategies find that report sharing becomes a source of competitive advantage, enabling rapid information dissemination and data-driven decision-making.
Revenue Grid brings intelligence to your data quality efforts with AI-driven insights, automatic activity capture, and relationship intelligence that keep your CRM clean and your reports accurate. Your teams get a single, accurate view of every account, and your leaders gain confidence in the numbers they use to make decisions.
Book a demo to see how Revenue Grid can help you maintain clean, consolidated Salesforce data and build a CRM your entire revenue team can trust.
How do I ensure my Salesforce report sharing is secure?
Implement the principle of least privilege by granting users only the minimum access levels they need. Use dedicated folders for sensitive reports with restricted sharing. Conduct regular audits of who has access to which reports and at what level. Document sharing justifications, especially for sensitive data. Remove access promptly when users change roles or leave the organization. Consider using dynamic dashboards that automatically filter data based on user permissions rather than sharing full reports.
What are the limitations when sharing Salesforce reports with non-licensed users?
Non-licensed users cannot access Salesforce directly, regardless of folder sharing configurations. Reports can be exported to Excel or CSV and distributed manually, but this provides only point-in-time data. Scheduled report delivery via email works but lacks interactivity. Third-party integrations with Google Sheets or Excel can provide near-real-time data access without licenses. External users cannot run their own report variations or apply filters unless using integrated tools. Data volume limitations apply when exporting large reports for external sharing.
Can I automate the sharing of Salesforce reports?
Yes, through several methods. Scheduled report subscriptions automatically deliver reports via email on defined schedules. The Salesforce REST API enables programmatic sharing with up to 500 users, groups, or roles at once. Workflow automation can trigger report delivery based on specific events or criteria. Third-party tools can extend automation capabilities beyond native Salesforce features. For large organizations, custom Apex code can implement sophisticated sharing logic based on business rules.
What are the best practices for maintaining report accuracy in Salesforce?
Establish clear data entry standards to ensure consistent information. Create validation rules that enforce data quality at entry. Schedule regular data cleansing processes to identify and correct inconsistencies. Use report descriptions to document data sources and calculation methods. Implement version control for reports by including last modified dates in report names. Create a review cycle where report owners validate accuracy on a regular schedule. Document field dependencies so reports can be updated when underlying fields change.
How can I integrate Salesforce report sharing with other tools?
Connect Salesforce with business intelligence platforms like Tableau, Power BI, or Looker for advanced visualization. Use Salesforce integration tools to sync report data with spreadsheet applications. Implement API connections to push Salesforce report data to external dashboards or portals. Consider Revenue Grid’s integration capabilities to connect Salesforce with email systems and other productivity tools. For custom needs, Salesforce Connect allows integration with external data sources that can be incorporated into reports.
