03 / REPORTING & DATA HYGIENE
Build dashboards you can trace to the source.
Audit the data, define the measures, and build focused dashboards with documented calculations, refresh timing, and limitations.
THE WORK IN PRACTICE
Define the outcome.
Account for the details.
A useful dashboard starts with a question and a reliable definition. We identify the records behind each measure, review their quality, and agree on how dates, statuses, exclusions, and missing values should be treated. Dashboard builds include a data audit and validation against available source records. Access methods, storage location, and retention must be permitted by the vendor and agreed with the client. Client data is kept separate; there is no cross-client pooling.
Where this fits
Useful when staff reconcile competing totals, important fields are inconsistent, or managers need a small set of clearly defined reports for recurring decisions.
A CONCRETE HANDOFF
What you get.
Deliverables are selected and confirmed in a written scope of work.
Our integration model- A reporting brief identifying the audience, business questions, reporting cadence, and decisions each dashboard supports.
- A source and data quality audit covering missing values, inconsistent categories, duplicate records, available history, and supported access.
- A CRM field and metric dictionary documenting definitions, formulas, source fields, date rules, filters, exclusions, and treatment of incomplete records.
- A cleanup plan separating proposed corrections from changes requiring client review, with recovery considerations for approved source edits.
- Agreed dashboard builds or recurring reports, with refresh timestamps, clear labels, relevant filters, and documented data limitations.
- Reconciliation checks, an approved data location and retention record, and handoff guidance for interpreting results and investigating discrepancies.
PLANNING THE ENGAGEMENT
A typical project shape.
Historical cleanup, restricted exports, multiple sources, and unsettled metric definitions can require additional scope.
Audit and define
Review supported sources, data quality, metric definitions, permitted storage location, retention, and access requirements before agreeing on the dashboard scope.
Prepare and build
Prepare permitted data, apply agreed transformations, and build the selected dashboard views. Substantial historical cleanup may require a separate workstream.
Reconcile and hand over
Compare sample records and totals with source reports, resolve definition differences, and document refresh behavior and interpretation limits.
These are illustrative planning ranges, not delivery commitments or claims about past engagements. We confirm timing after reviewing scope, access, vendor requirements, data quality, and testing dependencies.
PRACTICAL QUESTIONS
Before we start.
No. The audit identifies issues and how they affect proposed measures. Some reports can proceed with documented exclusions; others need corrections or a narrower scope before their results are useful.
Refresh timing depends on supported source access, application limits, and the reporting setup. We agree on a practical schedule and make the last successful refresh visible where the chosen tools support it.
Date fields, time zones, status filters, exclusions, and calculation rules can produce different totals. Validation compares those definitions and records any differences that cannot be resolved within the available data.
The scope records the agreed location, access permissions, and retention period, subject to vendor permissions. Data is not pooled across clients. The handoff identifies who manages deletion and ongoing access.
The audit and cleanup recommendations do not automatically authorize source changes. Any approved corrections need a defined scope, review rules, and an appropriate recovery approach before execution.
DEFINE THE WORK BEFORE THE BUILD
Start with one workflow.
Tell us which systems are involved, where the handoff breaks down, and what your office needs to happen next.