Irked at making reports that would fit into a pre-defined format

I am assuming almost (if not all) programmers here has experienced making reports that would fit into a pre-defined format, I am really irked since I have to do lots of them, what are your usual ways to make this part easier for the developer?

Ask if it is ok if things are moved slightly around the page (by a few pixels say), as it can save hours of headaches trying to get things lined up perfectly to the "template" document.

Also make sure you get a written specification which mentions this, and any other formatting issues that may come up. If you aren't sure about something that isn't specified, make a decision and (before making the report live) ask the requestor for written confirmation that your assumptions/decisions are ok.

I know that sounds a bit over the top, but I would have lost my job about 5 years ago if I hadn't done that - we agreed that a particular number should be shown to 4dp's but rounded to 2; later this turned out to be wrong, at a very large cost to the company. As I could prove that I had "followed orders" I was ok (and so was the other guy, he was too important to lose!).