Customize Your Reports: Branding, Layout and PDF Options

In the dashboard: Business Tools → Report Customization

What Report Customization does

Report Customization is where you decide how every report from your company looks to clients: the digital report they open in a browser and the PDF they download. One change here applies to all of your inspectors and all of your templates.

The Report Customization page with the title Tailor how your digital reports and PDFs look for clients and three tabs: Both Formats with 13 settings, Digital Report with 8 and PDF Report with 7

The settings are split into three tabs, by where they apply:

Tab	Applies to	Settings
Both Formats	The digital report and the PDF	Theme color, category names, the defects heading, the defects summary, the status table, comment grouping, the Repair Addendum button and the annotation color
Digital Report	Only the report clients open in a browser	Banner design, charts and comment layout
PDF Report	Only the PDF	Cover page, table of contents, section tabs, Compact PDF, photos per row and the logo watermark

Some settings can also be changed for a single template or a single report. Those are in Template Tools and Report Tools. See Template Tools and Report Tools.

Open the page and save your changes

Open Report Customization

The Report Customization card on the Business Tools page, with a palette icon and the line Customize digital and PDF reports

Click Business Tools in the sidebar.
Click Report Customization. You can also type “report” in the Search tools box.

Change the settings you want

Pick a tab: Both Formats, Digital Report or PDF Report.
Change as many settings as you like, on any tab. Some settings appear only after you turn on the setting above them.

Click Save

A dark bar at the bottom of the page with an amber dot, the text You have unsaved changes and a blue Save button

A bar with Save appears at the bottom of the page as soon as you change something. One click saves every tab.
Changed your mind? Click Discard changes at the top right to go back to your last saved settings.

Leaving the page without clicking Save loses your changes. The page doesn’t warn you first.

Team members can open Report Customization if they have the Business Tools permission. Account owners and admins always can. You set permissions in Teams.

When your changes show up

Digital report
PDF

The next time anyone opens a report, it uses your new settings. This includes reports you already published, so a client who refreshes sees the change.Two exceptions:

Category names are copied onto each report when it is created, so a change shows on new reports only. See Category names.
Default annotation color only sets the starting color of new photo annotations.

Both Formats tab

These settings change the digital report and the PDF.

Report Theme Color

The accent color of your PDF. Pick it with the color picker, or type a 6-digit hex code like #0176DF. Reset to default brings back Hive blue. Today the color is used in the PDF only:

the accents on the cover page, such as the contact details on the Classic cover, the initials circles and the Modern cover’s title underline
the current section’s tab when Clickable Section Tabs is on
the Cost to Cure table and the extra contacts page

PDF section headings and the digital report keep Hive’s standard blue.

Two PDF pages built with a teal theme color: a Modern cover page with a teal title underline and initials circle, and a report page whose active Exterior section tab is filled teal

Category names

Your three defect categories, from lowest to highest severity:

Setting	Default	Color
Blue Category Name	Maintenance Items	Blue
Orange Category Name	Recommendations	Orange
Red Category Name	Safety Concerns	Red

Names can be up to 60 characters and can’t be empty. They show everywhere a client sees a category: on each defect, in the legends, in the summary and in the PDF. How these names reach your reports:

Each template has its own names. A new template starts with the names on this page. After that, it keeps its own copy.
Each report has its own names. A report copies its template’s names when it is created and keeps them.
So a change on this page shows up in templates you create from now on, and in reports made from them.

To rename the categories in a template you already have, use Templates → Template Tools → Category Names. To rename them in one report, use Report Tools → Category Names. See Template Tools and Report Tools.

The mobile app always shows the standard category names while you write. Your custom names are what your clients see.

Defects heading

Comment Type Header for Defects/ Deficiencies is the heading for the defects group in every section. The default is Defects/ Deficiencies. Some inspectors use Observations or Deficiencies instead.

2 to 40 characters.
It also renames the heading in the defects summary, the status table column, the chart titles and the Summary view.
It changes existing reports too: the digital report the next time it’s opened, and the PDF the next time it’s built.
It also shows in the template editor. The Web Editor and the mobile app keep showing Defects/ Deficiencies while you write.

Defects summary

The Summary group with Summary for Defects / Deficiencies turned on, Summary Placement set to Top of Report, and Detailed Summary Items

Turn on Summary for Defects / Deficiencies to add a summary that lists every defect in the report, grouped by section. Default: off.

The Defects/ Deficiencies Summary card in a digital report with a legend for Safety Concerns, Recommendations and Maintenance Items, then the defects grouped under Exterior and Interior, each with a colored category icon, its item number and its name

Each line shows the defect’s number, its category icon and its name. Clicking a line jumps to that defect.
It is in the full report and the Summary view, in the digital report and in both PDFs.
Use Show Defect categories in the summary in Template Tools or Report Tools to leave a category out. See Template Tools and Report Tools.
Reinspection reports don’t show it.

Summary Placement appears once the summary is on:

Option	Where the summary goes
Top of Report (default)	After the introduction, before the first section. If the Cost to Cure table is on, it comes first.
Bottom of Report	After the last section. In the PDF it starts on a new page.

Detailed Summary Items

Show the full details of each defect in the summary instead of one line. Default: off.

Off: one line per defect
On: full details

The defects summary with one line per defect: a category icon, the item number and the defect name

With details on, each defect shows its location, its full description, the recommended service, and the estimated cost and timeline if you entered them. This setting only changes the defects summary above, so turn on Summary for Defects / Deficiencies too.

Show Section Status Grid in Reports

A Status Overview table at the top of every section. It lists each subsection with the number of defects in it, colored by category. If your template uses ratings, they get a column too. Default: on.

A Status Overview table at the top of the Exterior section, listing subsections such as Foundation, Vegetation and Eaves, Soffits and Fascia, each with a count of defects in a colored circle or a dash when there are none

Turning it off removes the table from every section, in the digital report and the PDF.

With the table off, subsections that have only a rating and no comments are left out of the report, and the subsections after them are numbered one lower.

Section-Level Field Grouping

How comments are grouped inside each section. Default: on.

On: one set of groups per section
Off: groups in every subsection

The Exterior section with grouping on: one Information group for the whole section, numbered 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and so on, where each comment carries the name of its subsection, such as Foundation or Grading and Drainage

On: each section shows its Information, Limitation and defect comments as three groups, numbered 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 and so on through the section. Each comment is labeled with the subsection it came from.
Off: each subsection has its own three groups, numbered 2.1.1, 2.1.2 and so on.

The numbers in the defects summary and the Cost to Cure table follow the same scheme. Reinspection PDFs always group by subsection.

Repair Addendum

Choose who sees the Repair Addendum button in the digital report. Both are on by default.

Setting	Hides the button from
Show Repair Addendum to Customers	Your client
Show Repair Addendum to Buyer’s Agent	The buyer’s agent and the transaction coordinator

Listing agents always see the button. These settings only hide the button: they don’t change the PDF. See Repair addendum.

Use a Default Annotation Color

The color a new photo annotation starts with. Default: off.

Off: new annotations pick a color by comment type: green for Information, mustard for Limitations, and blue, orange or red for each defect category.
On: every new annotation starts with the color you choose here.

Either way, you can still pick any color on a photo. Existing annotations keep their colors. This is one setting for your whole company, and it is also in the mobile app under Profile → Annotation Settings.

Digital Report tab

These settings change the report clients open in a browser. The PDF ignores them.

The Banner Design group with three design cards, Hero, Grid and Headline, with Hero selected, plus a More designs coming soon card

How the property photo, the address and the contacts appear at the top of the report. Click a design to select it. Default: Hero.

Hero
Grid
Headline

A full-width photo with the date and address over it, and the contacts in a row below.

The Hero banner: a wide property photo with January 15, 2024, 123 Sample Street and Demo City over its bottom edge, then a row with the client, inspector, buyer's agent and listing agent

The banner needs a cover photo on the report. Without one, no banner shows, whichever design you pick.

Charts

Add up to two charts that summarize the findings. Default: off.

Turn on Show Chart(s) on Report.
Pick a chart for Chart Slot 1 and Chart Slot 2. The two slots can’t hold the same chart.
Under Show Charts On, choose Full Report, Summary or Both.

Chart	What it shows
Donut: By Comment Type	How many Information, Limitation and defect comments the report has
Donut: By Defect Categories	The share of defects in each category
Bar: Defects by Section	Which sections have the most defects
Bar: Count by Defect Categories	The number of defects in each category

Two chart cards in a digital report: Comments by Type, a donut with 149 Information and 63 Defects/ Deficiencies out of 212, and Defects/ Deficiencies by Section, a bar chart led by Interior with 22 and Exterior with 16. Each card has a View details link

The two category charts: a donut of defects by category and a bar chart counting the defects in each category, with Safety Concerns in red, Recommendations in orange and Maintenance Items in blue

The charts sit just below the contacts in the full report, and below the summary text in the Summary view.
View details on a chart lists the comments behind it, with links to each one.
If a report has no data for a chart, the chart is skipped.
The two category charts are hidden on reports that hide category names.

Field layout

How comment cards are arranged on a wide screen. On a phone, comments are always in one column. Single-Column Field Layout (Desktop). Default: off.

Off: defects two across
On: one full-width column

Defect cards in two columns, each with an orange header, the description, a Hive Context box, the recommended service, the estimated cost and timeline and photos

With it off, defects sit two across and Information and Limitation comments three across. With it on, every comment uses the full width. Adaptive Layout for Information & Limitations. Default: off. This setting is hidden while Single-Column is on, because every comment is already full width.

Off: three even columns
On: long comments get the full row

Information comments in three even columns, with long text cut off behind a Read more fade

With it on, comments with photos, videos or long text use the full row, with all their photos shown. Short comments still sit three across. Subtle Color Background for Information and Limitation Comments. Default: off. Turn it on to put each subsection’s Information comments in a pale green card and its Limitation comments in a pale yellow card.

The Information comments of the Exterior section inside a pale green card

To show Information and Limitation comments in tabs instead, use Show Information and Limitation comments in tabs in Template Tools or Report Tools. See Template Tools and Report Tools.

PDF Report tab

These settings change the PDF only. They apply to the full report PDF and the summary PDF. Remember to regenerate a report’s PDF to see a change.

State-specific forms, such as the TREC form itself, keep their own fixed layout. A form’s summary PDF does follow these settings, and the cover page design also applies to most form covers.

Cover Page Design

The Cover Page group with two design cards, Classic and Modern, each with a preview image, and Classic selected

The design of the PDF’s first page. Default: Classic.

Classic
Modern

Both designs use your logo, your company details, the report’s cover photo and the people on the inspection. With more than three people, the rest go on an Additional Contacts page after the cover.

Table of Contents Page

A page after the cover that lists every section with a link to it. Default: on.

Turn it off to start the report right after the cover. Links inside the report keep working.

Clickable Section Tabs

A row of tabs at the top of every PDF page, one per section. Readers tap a tab to jump to that section. Default: off.

The top of a PDF page under the address header, with a row of section tabs, EXTERIOR, INTERIOR and ELECTRICAL, where the current section's tab is filled blue

Every page except the cover gets the tabs. A SUMMARY tab comes first when the PDF has summary text or a defects summary.
The current section’s tab is filled with your theme color.
Long tab rows wrap onto up to three lines.

Compact PDF

A denser PDF with about 20% fewer pages. Default: off.

A standard PDF page with photos three across and regular text size

Sections follow each other without starting a new page.
Photos sit four across instead of three, unless you choose 2 or 1 per row below.
Text is about one to two points smaller.

Photos per row in the PDF

How many photos sit side by side in the PDF.

3 per row (default)
2 per row
1 per row

A PDF page with defect photos three across

2 or 1 per row wins over Compact PDF’s four across. Compact PDF still makes the text smaller and removes the page breaks.

Logo watermark

Draw your company logo, faded, behind every page of the PDF except the cover. Default: off.

Logo Watermark on Main Report adds it to the full report PDF.
Logo Watermark on Summary Report adds it to the summary PDF.

The logo is drawn at 8% opacity, centered, and as wide as the page allows.
It uses your Company Logo. Upload it under Profile Settings → Profile → Company Information → Company Logo. A wide logo on a transparent background works best.
If you haven’t uploaded a logo, no watermark is drawn.

All settings at a glance

Setting	Tab	Default	Also in Template Tools or Report Tools
Report Theme Color	Both Formats	`#0176DF`	No
Blue, Orange, Red Category Name	Both Formats	Maintenance Items, Recommendations, Safety Concerns	Yes: Category Names
Comment Type Header for Defects/ Deficiencies	Both Formats	Defects/ Deficiencies	No
Summary for Defects / Deficiencies	Both Formats	Off	Categories in it: yes
Summary Placement	Both Formats	Top of Report	No
Detailed Summary Items	Both Formats	Off	No
Show Section Status Grid in Reports	Both Formats	On	No
Section-Level Field Grouping	Both Formats	On	No
Show Repair Addendum to Customers / Buyer’s Agent	Both Formats	On	No
Use a Default Annotation Color	Both Formats	Off	Mobile app: Annotation Settings
Digital Report Banner Design	Digital Report	Hero	No
Show Chart(s) on Report, Chart Slots, Show Charts On	Digital Report	Off, None, Both	No
Single-Column Field Layout (Desktop)	Digital Report	Off	No
Adaptive Layout for Information & Limitations	Digital Report	Off	No
Subtle Color Background for Information and Limitation Comments	Digital Report	Off	Tabs instead: yes
Cover Page Design	PDF Report	Classic	No
Table of Contents Page	PDF Report	On	No
Clickable Section Tabs	PDF Report	Off	No
Compact PDF	PDF Report	Off	No
Photos per row in the PDF	PDF Report	3 per row	No
Logo Watermark on Main / Summary Report	PDF Report	Off	No

Frequently asked questions

I changed a PDF setting but my client's PDF looks the same. Why?

Existing PDFs aren’t rebuilt when you change a setting. Open the report in the Web Editor, click PDF, then Regenerate. In the mobile app, tap the three dots on the report and choose Regenerate PDF.

I renamed my categories but the reports still show the old names. Why?

Each template keeps its own category names, and each report keeps the names it was created with. Rename them in Template Tools → Category Names for new reports, or in Report Tools → Category Names for one report.

Can I use different settings for different templates?

Some, yes. Category names, hidden category names, hidden services, the categories in the summary, the defects count card, Information and Limitation tabs and the Cost to Cure table can be set per template or per report. Everything else on this page applies to your whole company. See Template Tools and Report Tools.

Do these settings change state-specific forms like TREC?

The form pages keep their fixed layout. A form’s summary PDF follows the PDF settings, and the cover page design applies to the covers of most forms. The online report follows the Both Formats and Digital Report settings.

Where do I change my logo?

Your logo is your Company Logo under Profile Settings → Profile → Company Information. It’s used on the cover page and for the logo watermark.

Template Tools and Report ToolsSettings for one template or one report Disable ratingsTurn ratings off for the templates that should not carry them Add a Cost to Cure tableYour own repair prices on each defect and in one table

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Customize Your Reports: Branding, Layout and PDF Options

What Report Customization does