Scheduled reports automatically deliver report results to users or groups on whatever frequency you set. You'll have a working automated report delivery that runs in the background without any manual intervention.
Why scheduled reports matter
Before scheduled reports, teams relied on someone remembering to run and email reports manually — which meant reports got forgotten during busy periods, arrived inconsistently, and consumed admin time for routine tasks. Business stakeholders need regular visibility into metrics like open incidents, pending approvals, or asset compliance, but they shouldn't need ServiceNow access just to see summary data. Platform admins and report creators get stuck doing the same report exports and email distributions week after week.
How report scheduling works
ServiceNow runs scheduled reports using the report creator's security context — the recipients see exactly what you'd see if you ran the report manually, regardless of their own roles or data access. The system generates the report on schedule, formats it as PDF, Excel, or inline HTML, and emails it to whatever users or groups you specify. You set this up once in the Schedule tab of any report, picking frequency (daily, weekly, monthly) and format. The key insight: this isn't user-specific reporting — it's broadcast reporting using one person's data view.
Making scheduled reports production-ready
Basic scheduled reports work fine for small teams, but production implementations need refinements. Add descriptive email subject lines so recipients can filter and organize the emails. Set up separate reports for different audiences instead of sending everything to everyone. Consider who should own the reports long-term — if the creator leaves, their user context affects what data gets included. For high-visibility reports, test the schedule and format thoroughly before going live.
Before you start
- •report_admin role or admin role
- •Valid email addresses configured on recipient user records
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Step by step
Open your target report
Navigate to Reports > View / Run and find the report you want to schedule. Open it and make sure it returns the data you expect — scheduled reports use whatever filters and formatting you see here.
Run the report manually first to verify the results before setting up scheduling.
Access the Schedule tab
Click the Schedule tab in the report interface. This opens the scheduling configuration where you'll set frequency, recipients, and delivery format.
Configure the schedule frequency
Set the Frequency field to Daily, Weekly, or Monthly based on how often recipients need the data. For weekly reports, pick the specific day of week. For monthly reports, choose whether you want it on a specific date (like the 15th) or relative day (like first Monday).
Weekly reports on Monday morning work well for most business stakeholders who want weekend processing included.
Add recipients and groups
In the Recipients section, add individual users or groups who should receive the report. Use the search icon to find users by name — the system validates that each recipient has a valid email address. Groups work well for consistent distribution lists that others can manage.
Choose the delivery format
Set Format to PDF for formal reports that won't change, Excel for data that recipients need to manipulate, or Inline to embed the results directly in the email body. PDF preserves formatting but isn't editable. Excel allows sorting and filtering but may not display exactly like the ServiceNow report.
Set email details and activate
Fill in a descriptive Subject line so recipients can identify and filter these emails. Add any context in the Body field that recipients need to interpret the results. Check the Active checkbox to enable the schedule, then click Update to save the configuration.
Best practices
Recipients see data based on the report creator's roles and access — if you leave the company or lose access, the scheduled report breaks or returns limited data.
Use groups instead of individual users for recipients when possible — group membership changes don't require updating every scheduled report.
Test scheduled reports with a daily frequency first, then change to the production schedule once you've verified the format and content work correctly.
Include the report name and date range in the email subject line so recipients can organize and archive the emails effectively.
Avoid scheduling resource-intensive reports during peak business hours — large reports can impact system performance when they run.
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