What is enhanced reporting?
A business relies on reports to extract information from data and in turn assess if the performance is going in the right direction. Establishing which types of report are right for a specific business is essential in maximising efficiency. The most commonly used are management account reports which incorporate a profit & loss, balance sheet and cash flow projection. A company will benefit from deeper level reports to track and analyse the performance in specific sectors. Deeper level reporting in targeted areas means the company can assess its overall health while identifying opportunities for growth and highlight areas for improvement.
Many reports are generated because they always have been and offer no value to the user. Alternatively they need to be manually input into spreadsheets for the data to become coherent and relevant. Data held in a variety of systems needs to be manually collated before it can be analysed. Sirius B.I. make it possible to have all the reporting in one place and deliver one version of the truth that’s been analysed and the critical information bought to the attention of decision-makers.
In a sales driven business, enhanced reporting is used to create monthly sales report packs. The data is compiled for analysis by the sales team, trends and performance can be monitored and the best course of action is implemented. Positive trends in sales, products and customer demographics are highlighted to enable the sales team to pro actively formulate a targeted sales strategy. Alternatively any areas for concern can be identified and dealt with before becoming detrimental to the business.
The Sirius B.I. enhanced reporting approach:
1. Review existing report usage
Analysing which reports are currently used to drive the business, the staff that use them, when they are used and why allows a company to identify if the reports are useful. Reviewing the reports also enables content to be assessed in terms of its relevance. Any information missing from the reports is identified. The analysis also highlights situations where more than one report is used to make decisions and the compiled information is then keyed into a spreadsheet for further analysis.
2. Deepen the focus into sales figures.
Gaining a deeper understanding of what drives the sales figures vital. For example, sales split by country, salesperson, customer type and product type will help identify what is growing and shrinking in the business currently. A more specific analysis shows where a company should concentrate its efforts going forward. It is beneficial to know when key customers show a decline in performance before they reach the point of being a lost customer. More intense focus highlights how much is known about sales mix, which type of customers buy which product, what their average order value is and their frequency of spending. By having this information the opportunities within the existing customer base can be maximised.
3. Deepen the focus into the products or services
It is essential to review stockholding/resources against the products or services sold. Analysing the products and services that are the fastest moving and those most profitable allows a core product portfolio to be created. Ensuring sufficient resources are on hand to meet demand in the fast movers and profitable items allows customer needs to be met with a higher level of efficiency. Identifying the slow movers mitigates the risk of obsolete stock by allowing a route to market to be found for excess stock before it becomes unsalable.
4. Deepen the focus into the financials.
A more in-depth insight into the financial performance of the business may assist in identifying where cash is tied up in excess stock, or there has been an increase in debtor days. Early intervention in addressing the working capital cycle constraints will enable the business to focus on where to act quickly to make the most significant gains.
5. Create and monitor key performance indicators (KPI) to support business critical success factors (CSF).
The CSFs of the company should be measured using KPIs to ensure the business is on track to meet its overall objectives. These should be monitored and reviewed often as they are the early warning indicators that something is going wrong in the business and further investigation is required.
Why choose Sirius B.I?
Working with a range of systems, Sirius B.I. has the ability to breakdown silos within data. For example, the Sirius B.I. enhanced reporting service enables a company to monitor the effect of website traffic on sales and the conversion rates of specific sales people in relation to products and market types. Sirius B.I. is expert in Sage, Xero, Kashflow, Dynamics GP and a range of other accounting software. This knowledge base allows underlying business data to be accessed and the opportunities it presents to be maximised. Crystal and Sage reporting are used to make bespoke changes to existing reports and SQL querying is employed to create insights in data enabling appropriate action to be taken.
To find out more about the enhanced reporting service take a look at the “case studies” section or contact Sirius B.I. for more information.