NATELEIGH / PRACTICAL BUSINESS SYSTEMS
Is your monthly report ready for automation?
Before changing a spreadsheet, make the reporting job clear. Use this checklist to identify what can become repeatable and what still needs a decision from your team.
1. Define the decision
Write down who reads the report, the decision it supports and when it is needed. Name each measure and its definition. For example, decide whether revenue means invoiced work, cash received or another agreed measure before combining data.
2. Inventory the inputs
List each export, who supplies it, the date range, key identifier and expected columns. Check whether the same file structure is available every month. Note any manual adjustments and who approves them.
3. Establish a check total
Choose a total from each source that the output must reconcile to. Decide how duplicates, missing identifiers, canceled items and late records should be handled. Unexplained differences need review, not silent removal.
4. Walk through a refresh
Use a representative reporting period. Record the sequence: receive files, check structure, transform records, reconcile totals, review exceptions and publish. A step that depends on judgment should have an owner and a written rule.
5. Decide whether to build
Ready: definitions are agreed, inputs are accessible and discrepancies have an owner. Clarify first: definitions differ or important records are missing. Keep manual for now: the report is a one-off and repeatable setup would add more work than it removes.
Your scoping note
Prepare a short outline containing the audience, reporting frequency, source count, time currently spent, recurring errors and desired output. Share that outline first; agree a suitable way to transfer actual business data later.