Report Automation: How to Optimize Your Business Intelligence | Coupler.io Blog (2023)

Reporting as a concept is about presenting information in a way that gives decision makers important information. This type of report allows you to summarize data broken down by specific metrics. The business reports can include data integration, aggregation, transformation and even visualization of information if needed. Once a report has been generated, you must keep your information up to date. I'm sure you'll agree that doing all this manually is time-consuming and tedious, right?

As an alternative to manual reporting, you can automate the creation of reports or the updating of data. By automating the reporting process, you can improve accuracy, save time, and gain real-time insights. So what is report automation? We'll cover this and more in this in-depth guide.

What is report automation?

Report automation is a process of generating reports or automatically updating reports created without human intervention. Automation is usually done with the help of a software solution that automates repetitive tasks such as data integration, transformation, and visualization.

Automated reporting is common as a built-in feature in various applications dealing with data analysis. For example, tools like Mailchimp, HubSpot, Facebook Ads, QuickBooks, and many more offer built-in features to automate reporting.

On the other hand, report automation also includes automatic updating of custom reports. This means you can create a report and automate its data refresh so that the information in the report is up-to-date.

Types of report automation you can benefit from

As mentioned earlier, report automation is often implemented as built-in functionality of various applications. However, this is not the only way to find it. Here are other types of automation you can use to generate reports:

• Custom Reports – Reports designed for specific business needs, using custom data extraction and reporting solutions. This is an example of a custom product funnel report.

• Dashboards - The automation of reporting data in a dashboard format when the data is visualized using tables and charts. This is an example of a sales dashboard.

• Interactive Reports: Reports that contain built-in data manipulation functions such as filtering or sorting. This is an example of an interactive marketing report on ad performance.

• Self-Service Reporting - Report automation that allows end users to design reports themselves using built-in capabilities. This is an example of a self-service report that you can run in Facebook Ads Manager.

• Scheduled Reports - Report automation to set a report to run at specified intervals, e.g. B. daily or hourly. Scheduled reports can be generated automatically, or you can schedule manually generated custom reports to automatically refresh. You can schedule almost any report with a specialized solution like Coupler.io. This is an example of what the scheduling function would look like.

Top 3 benefits of report automation backed by examples

The main benefit of reporting automation is the increased speed and quality of decision making. Because the data is automatically processed and entered into reports, you can gain insight without delay. Minimized manual processing of records for reporting, or lack thereof, leads to less human error. This makes their analysis faster and more efficient, allowing business leaders to make smarter decisions faster than ever. When we break down this core benefit of report automation, we get three key components: accuracy, efficiency, and time. Let's back up each of these benefits with a real-world use case.

increased efficiency

Report automation streamlines the reporting process, making it faster and more efficient. This can result in cost savings for businesses by reducing the need for labor and freeing employees to focus on other tasks. Additionally, automated reports can be provided in real-time, allowing organizations to stay on top of key metrics and make adjustments as needed.

The increase in efficiency wasMain advantage for Terminal1, a recruitment platform. They urgently needed to automate the export process of the daily QuickBooks reports to further combine this data with the records stored in Airtable. Each of these activities and steps created a lot of manual and tedious work for the team. The solution they chose was Coupler.io, which allowed them to automate their reporting to get a clear view of the company's finances instantly.

better accuracy

When reports are created manually, there is an increased risk of errors due to data entry errors, calculation errors, limitations, or other issues. Report automation ensures that data is collected and analyzed in a consistent manner, which can result in greater reporting accuracy. By automating reporting, organizations can reduce the risk of errors or avoid throttling, leading to better decision-making based on more accurate business data.

Answear, a multi-brand online store, faced the challenge of sampling and reporting limitations in Google Analytics. In addition, they had to collect data on website user behavior, advertising costs, returns and margins as these were stored in different systems. Answear found the solution to their challenge by using OWOX BI tools to automate their reporting. As a result, they created an efficient and almost completely automated reporting and analysis system that contributed to their business performance.

to save time

Report automation significantly reduces the time it takes to create and update reports. This allows employees to focus on other tasks that require their attention. Automated reports can be generated instantly or scheduled to run at specific times, making it easy to ensure they're always up to date.

Plantronics, the leading designer, manufacturer and marketer of lightweight headsets, needed a solution to ensure compliance and reduce reporting time and effort. They chose TIBCO LogLogic, which proved very effective in accelerating report creation and delivery. Report creation processes that used to take two hours or more now take just 15 minutes.

How to automate reporting for your business

In most cases, report automation is a complex process consisting of multiple steps, such as: B. data identification, designing a report template, automating report creation, etc. However, the complexity of automating reports depends on what you want to get as a result.

For example, if you just need to share a standard QuickBooks Online profit and loss report, you can do it with literally no effort. You can use a QuickBooks integration to schedule exports of this report to a spreadsheet like Google Sheets that can be easily shared with stakeholders.

At the same time, if your goal is to aggregate data from Facebook, Google and LinkedIn advertising campaigns, refreshing the report with some visualizations and filtering options requires specific skills and time.

Anyhow, these are the basic steps required to set up report automation.

Step 1: Choose a reporting tool

Choose the base for your report, the place where all the magic happens. This can be a regular spreadsheet application like Excel or Google Sheets, a BI tool like Looker Studio or Tableau, or even a dedicated report-focused solution like Dashthis or Whatagraph.

Step 2: Design a report layout

Do you remember the dashboard of your car where you see different gauges and gauges? Your report should be similarly informative. Some performance metrics should be easy to see, use graphs to demonstrate comparisons, and othersBest practices for data visualization.

Step 3: Feed data into the report

Since we're talking about report automation, you can't just copy and paste data for your report. You need to connect your chosen reporting tool to a data source. Some tools offer built-in connectors to common data sources. Alternatively, you can also connect to the data source via the web API. For this you can useein API-Connectoror write a custom solution, e.g. in Python.

If your report is based on data from multiple sources, it makes sense to store this dataset in a repository, such as B. a data warehouse to collect. You can then connect this repository to the reporting tool.

Step 4: Automate your report

The report automation defines here a schedule or an event that triggers the execution of the report, e.g. H. updated the data it contains. You can automate your report on time like every minute, hour, etc. Or you can trigger the report refresh on a specific event, e.g. B. when adding new records to the data source.

Step 5 - Refine your report

This step is about verifying that your report contains the required information. This means reconsidering the metrics used, updating visualizations, adding additional KPIs to the report, etc.

By following these steps, you can efficiently streamline processes, set up a data analytics infrastructure, and develop custom dashboards that help you get the most value from your data. This will also help make your business more data-driven.

Top 5 Tools to Build an Automated Reporting System

Let's look at some examples of tools that not only automate reporting, but also create an automated reporting system. Although there are many options to choose from, we have selected the 5 best solutions for you.

acoplador.io

acoplador.iois a data automation and analytics platform that can be used for both basic and advanced report automation. Provides an ETL tool that allows you to schedule data exports from 60+ data sources. Your report can be updated monthly to every 15 minutes! If you want to trigger the data update on a specific event, this can also be implemented using webhooks.

For more complex report automation tasks, Coupler.io offers aData Expert Servicethat you can set up an automated reporting system from scratch.

view study

Google has rebranded its famous Data Studio and is now called Looker... Looker Studio. This is a free reporting tool for creating custom reports and dashboards. Looker Studio supports a variety of connectors for pulling data from various sources including Google Ads, Google Analytics, and non-Google sources. The main feature of this reporting platform is a wide range of display options to create amazing dashboards.

diagram

In short, Tableau is a Looker Studio with a twist :) Jokes aside, this is a business intelligence platform for creating interactive dashboards and reports. Tableau offers several products like Tableau Public, Tableau Online, etc. All of these are designed to streamline your report automation experience and share your findings with stakeholders.

Domo

Domo is a low-code business intelligence and analytics platform. It claims to take the power of BI to the next level by connecting to multiple sources, creating custom reports, and collaborating with stakeholders in real time. In addition to a wide range of visualization options, Domo offers data applications to solve business problems and offers advanced security for analysis sharing.

Owox

We already mentioned Owox and included it in our top 5 reporting automation tools. It is a company that offers various products designed to help companies streamline their data management processes, including by automating reports. Owox BI is the product you need for advanced analysis and reporting. However, other products such as Smart Data and Attribution can greatly contribute to your data management processes.

More options to automate your reports

Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets provide basic automation features like macros and PivotTables that can automate data analysis and report generation.

Business intelligence (BI) tools: Power BI and QlikView provide advanced data analysis and report automation capabilities. These tools allow users to create interactive dashboards, automated reports, and alerts based on specific data conditions.

ETL and data integration tools – ETL and data integration tools like Coupler.io, Zapier or Talend can automate the collection and aggregation of data from different sources. These tools can help create a continuous flow of data into reporting systems and automate the preparation of data for analysis and reporting.

Custom Programming – Custom programming using languages ​​like Python or R can be used to automate data analysis and reporting.

Choosing the option to automate your reports depends on your specific needs and requirements. Spreadsheet software and BI tools may suffice for smaller businesses with basic reporting needs. Conversely, larger organizations with more complex reporting needs may require more advanced tools such as custom scheduling or report automation software.

Report automation challenges you may be facing

While automating reporting can bring many benefits to organizations, be aware of the following potential challenges:

costs and initial setup: The initial setup and cost of implementing reporting automation can be high. It can require software tools, hardware, and investment in training, which can be a significant cost for small businesses.

Over-reliance on technology: Report automation can lead to over-reliance on technology, which can be problematic if the technology fails or needs to be repaired. This can lead to delays in reporting and affect decision-making processes.

Human monitoring and interpretation: When using BI tools and dashboards, a human typically creates a layout and report in a readable, business-oriented format. Unfortunately, Tableau and Looker Studio do not generate reports themselves. So this would require some human supervision and knowledge to get the job done.

Additionally, automated reports may require more capacity for human understanding and analysis, which can limit insights and the ability to identify trends or outliers, which can be significant.

inaccurate data: While report automation can reduce human error, it can also introduce data inaccuracies if automated reporting tools are improperly configured or timed.

limited flexibility: Automated reports can be limited compared to manually generated reports. This can limit customization options and make it difficult to create reports that meet specific needs or requirements.

In general, report automation can bring many benefits to organizations, but it's important to consider these potential downsides and weigh them against the benefits before implementing report automation.

Best practices for efficiently automating reports

Let's look at some best practices you can use to automate your reporting process and create valuable visualizations.

Identify key metrics- Before setting up report automation, identify the metrics you want to track and report on. This helps you focus your efforts and ensure the reports provide valuable information.

Use the right tools: Choose reporting automation tools that are easy to use and integrate with your existing systems. Look for tools that offer data visualization and other features that make data analysis and interpretation easier.

Configure notifications- To stay on top of important metrics, set up alerts to receive notifications when specific events occur or thresholds are met. This will help you quickly take action and make necessary adjustments.

Keep reports simple: Focus on the metrics that matter most and keep the reports simple and easy to understand. Avoid overloading reports with too much data or information as this can make interpretation difficult.

test and refine- Test your reports over time to ensure they deliver valuable information. Get feedback from key stakeholders to ensure the reports meet their needs and provide the information they need to make informed decisions.

Preserve data quality: To ensure that reports are accurate and reliable, it is important to maintain the quality of the underlying data. This means regularly cleaning and updating data and ensuring data is entered correctly and consistently.

By following these best practices, you can improve the accuracy and efficiency of your reports, save time, and provide valuable information for business decisions.

What is the best way to set up report automation?

So what options do we have to automate reporting?

Built-in reporting capabilities are offered for many applications and platforms. They allow you to create and automate reports using data from the platform itself. It works pretty well, but for the most part you are limited to the functionality of that particular platform. Another issue is sharing, as not all tools allow you to easily share your report. As a result, you have to export it manually and then share it with stakeholders.

Third-party automated reporting tools that allow you to create and automate custom reports seem like a pretty viable option. They offer a range of data visualization capabilities, scheduling and activation options, and other benefits for analysis and reporting. They also typically support a number of sources from which you can load data directly into your report. The main disadvantage of this option is that it is quite expensive.

The third option you can consider and which we won't cover in this article is custom solutions. This means companies with more complex reporting needs can opt for custom code or scripts to automate reporting processes. This is the perfect option if you have an in-house data analyst or data engineer who can set up a full infrastructure to automate reporting. However, if you don't, you can always hire a data expert service like Coupler.io to do the job.

Ultimately, the best option from these three pillars is the one that best meets all of your needs in terms of budget, level of customization, and available resources. Choose wisely and good luck!

back to the blog