What does creating subtotals in a report help with?

Creating subtotals in a report primarily helps with summarizing data across different categories. When subtotals are included, they provide a concise summary of the data in each category, making it easier for users to comprehend the overall trends and totals without having to analyze every individual data point. This function is particularly useful in financial reporting, sales analysis, or any dataset that requires analysis across categories.

By summarizing the data in this way, stakeholders can quickly assess performance metrics and draw insights from the summarized figures, facilitating better decision-making. The subtotals highlight key information and allow users to focus on significant data points derived from the overall dataset.

In contrast, compacting data into fewer rows organizes the data visually but does not inherently clarify the information’s relationships or provide summarization. Understanding data relationships involves deeper analysis of how different data points interact rather than summarization alone. Establishing static values refers to fixed numbers that don’t change or summarize dynamic data and does not relate directly to the intuitive summary provided by subtotals.