Benefits of Multipurpose Business Reporting Software
Published: 03/11/2019
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This article will guide you in making your reports more comprehensive and filled with actionable insights. It serves as a concise yet informative resource for both business owners and operations staff. We aim to enlighten you about aspects of reporting that you may not have previously considered. Additionally, we hope to steer you in the right direction by introducing you to business reporting software.
Running a business involves a significant amount of administrative work. Regardless of your company's size or nature, you’re required to handle a continuous stream of administrative tasks each day, whether that means sorting payroll, generating invoices, paying suppliers, or managing employee absences and leave.
Naturally, every business has KPIs and targets to achieve; otherwise, it would cease to exist. Every action taken should contribute to reaching these milestones, both directly and through supporting other progress-driven tasks. This is why you need reporting - to monitor whether the requirements have been met. But how can one evaluate the contribution of each daily task toward that goal, especially if the contribution is indirect? Business software with reporting features provides the solution.
Business reporting enables you to examine the historical data of actions taken and the results they’ve brought. A thorough analysis then allows you to identify trends and patterns.
Based on this, you can make future forecasts, plan ahead, and focus on practices that have a proven track record of success.
You would be correct to think that reporting is a complex process. The areas of analysis to include in a comprehensive summary (that is a report) are virtually endless and highly dependent on your goals and KPIs. Collecting all the necessary data manually can be very time-consuming, just like the processes of segmenting and analysing it later. This issue has been recognised, and thus business reporting software has been developed. Its purpose is to streamline the process and support your growth.
It’s humanly impossible to assess each component of your business in a timely manner. Specialised software, on the other hand, can collect, analyse, and visualise the data you need within minutes. One thing left for you to do is to analyse the findings and decide how you will use them. Budget allocation, process optimisation, the pursuit of new opportunities, and many other decisions should be based on data reports. The more thorough they are, the better choices you’ll make.
Depending on the solution you use, you are generally in control of which metrics your report should include. Some platforms come with built-in templates, while others allow you to customise to your specific needs. Either way, the automation of reporting enables you to access areas of the business that you might not have realised could be analysed.
If you regularly carry out business monitoring and reporting, it will be much easier to identify problems before they escalate. If you only report annually, issues can easily be overlooked. These could drain your time and resources for months without your notice. Monitor a problematic area by collecting and comparing data on the issue over time. This will help you identify its root cause. You can then determine how to resolve the issue and improve.
Additionally, this allows you to anticipate the kinds of troubles that may arise in the future, based on historical data. You will also be better prepared to address potential issues. Not only will you have the time to develop a solution, but you will also be equipped with actionable data insights.
While reporting focuses on analysing past initiatives and their impact on your business, it serves as the foundation for the future. We’ve discussed how rich data enables you to forecast potential threats. It also allows you to design the path your organisation takes.
While reporting can help flag issues, it can also identify opportunities for expansion. Reports are useful for recording past activities when an expansion has proven successful. The data can then be used to pinpoint future growth opportunities, to understand what worked well, and to determine what more can be done in the future. Regularly monitoring and reviewing competitors will also aid in this effort.
Treat reports like road signs and allow them to guide you. By consistently monitoring your numbers, you will begin to notice patterns. Then, you will start to see the gaps. This is often where your opportunities can be found.
If you report on company performance, you can compare it over different time periods. The reporting objectives should align with your KPIs, as they indicate whether they’ve been met or exceeded. Regardless of the results, identifying performance trends and the company's current position can help in setting future goals.
It’s important for your goals to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely - SMART. Many goals fail because they lack one or more of these components. Reporting provides you with data to base your goals on, as well as a way to track your progress. In other words, the two go hand in hand, guiding you toward business success.
One of the key selling points of SaaS technology is its visual reporting dashboards. Most solutions allow you to customise them to meet your specific needs, including relevant metrics, time periods, and visual representations. Instead of entering data to generate charts or summaries, they are presented to you on demand within seconds.
If you’re seeking a comprehensive, all-in-one solution to enhance and accelerate your business reporting, your search ends here. Timesheet Portal includes over 60 built-in reports, simplifying the process of finding the data you require in the appropriate format and structure. Some of the reports you can generate include:
Absenteeism reports. Calculate Bradford factor score, absence rates, etc.
Employee utilisation reports for accounts that are project-based.
Project budget over time. Track budget spend per week and month
Consecutive days worked. Identify employees who have worked more than X days in a row
Employee project matrix. All of your projects and staff in one simple matrix grid
Reporting is crucial for any business. It enables you to have a 360-degree view of how your actions affect different parts of your company, as well as highlights which processes are less effective than others and where the opportunities lie. Reporting can also assist you in making more accurate forecasts and managing risks by compiling historical data in an easy-to-analyse visual format.
Consistent and thorough reporting habits drive business growth by creating a data-driven foundation for future goals. However, in-depth reporting can be time-consuming and prone to human error, which diminishes its effectiveness. For this reason, we offer multipurpose business reporting software to provide you with comprehensive, actionable, and accurate data to support your future success.
If you would like to learn more about the features of Timesheet Portal and the benefits it can offer your business, we would be delighted to chat. Please get in touch today.