| Business reporting software reads data from the systems a company already runs and turns it into figures, reports and scheduled packs without manual exporting. The choice of product turns on where the data lives and who will maintain the definitions behind each number. |
Every month the same job comes round. Somebody exports three files, pastes them into a spreadsheet that has been handed down twice, repairs the formulas that broke on the way, and emails a PDF to the management meeting.
By the time the pack lands, the month it describes finished a fortnight ago. The meeting discusses it anyway.
Business reporting software exists to end that job. It reads the systems the business already runs, applies the same definitions every cycle, and produces the figure without anyone rebuilding anything.
The harder question comes before the tool. Should reporting sit on top of the business as a separate layer, or inside the system where the data already lives?
Price the current process before shopping for a replacement. Take an illustrative 12-person firm where the finance manager spends eight hours on the monthly pack and two operations managers spend three hours each. At a loaded cost of $65 an hour, those 14 hours a month come to about $10,900 a year spent assembling figures that are already out of date.
What Is Business Reporting Software?
Business reporting software takes the numbers out of the systems a company already uses and publishes them on a schedule, with nobody exporting or reformatting in between. It takes ownership of three things: what each number means, how often it updates, and who is allowed to see it.
The idea is older than the phrase. Managers in the 1990s called it a management information system, or MIS, and plenty of people still search that name. Those systems reported on a month that had already closed, and the useful change since then is that the figures arrive in time to act on.
Management reporting is the visible part, the monthly pack that goes to owners and directors. Underneath it sits operational reporting, the daily figures a supervisor uses to run a shift. Financial reporting software is the narrower term for the part that works off the ledger alone.
What can reporting software do that a spreadsheet cannot?
Three jobs a spreadsheet cannot do on its own.
- Refresh without a person. Automated reporting pulls from the source on a schedule, and it raises an alert when a refresh fails overnight.
- Hold one definition of each measure. Gross margin means the same thing in the board pack and in the branch report, and people call that a single source of truth.
- Trace a figure back to its transaction. Click the number and see the invoices behind it, which ends the argument about whose spreadsheet is right.
Access control belongs on that list too. A branch manager sees the branch, a director sees the group, and nobody emails a workbook full of payroll to the wrong address.
Who reads a management report each month?
Fewer people than the pack assumes, and each wants a different slice of it. An owner turns straight to cash and margin, and a department manager needs the handful of figures that can still be changed before Friday.
That gap explains why monthly packs grow. Every request adds a page and nothing is ever removed, so a 40-page document circulates to answer four questions.
Reporting software answers it with separate views. The owner opens one screen, the branch manager opens another, and the same underlying figures feed both.
What counts as reporting software and what is only an export?
If a person has to touch the data between the system and the report, the business has an export. Reporting software owns the whole path from source to published figure.
A scheduled email containing a CSV file, short for comma separated values, is an export. So is a macro that reformats last month’s extract into the layout the board prefers.
Why Does the Same Report Get Rebuilt Every Month?
Because the numbers live in several places and nobody has agreed what they mean, so a person reconciles them by hand every cycle. Each month repeats that reconciliation, because the disagreement underneath it was never settled.
The job scheduling system records what was done. Billing sits in the accounting system and hours sit in payroll. No two of the three draw the boundary of a month in the same place.
So somebody becomes the bridge. In most small firms one person does it, and the business does not notice how far it leans on them until they take annual leave.
People stop believing the pack. Once two versions of one figure have circulated, the meeting spends its first ten minutes deciding which to trust, and the decision it was called to make waits.
The budget has no line for it. It shows up as decisions taken late, or taken on the version whoever argued hardest was holding.
Where does the month-end time go?
Most of it goes on collecting the data and squaring it up. In a typical monthly pack about four hours of that precede every hour spent thinking about what the numbers mean.
That work is exporting, matching, correcting and formatting. It has to be finished before the meeting can start, and it tells the business only what its systems already held.
Month-end reporting also lands at the worst moment for the people producing it. The payroll run, the GST return and the supplier payments all fall in the same week.
What breaks when one person owns the monthly pack?
The reporting stops when they do. A spreadsheet built over four years carries assumptions nobody wrote down, and the person who leaves takes the only copy of them.
Ask somebody else to produce the pack for one cycle. The result shows how exposed the business is, and it takes one month to find out.
Should Reporting Sit on Top of Your Systems or Inside Them?
It depends on where the data lives. One dominant operational system is best reported from inside that system. Data spread across several systems needs a layer above them, and a business intelligence tool handles that job well.
Business intelligence, usually shortened to BI, describes tools that connect to several sources, hold a shared data model and publish reports from it. Power BI is the common choice in New Zealand small business, because it arrives alongside Microsoft 365. Our guide to Power BI for Business covers how to connect it and what it costs to run.
Tableau, Qlik, Looker and Domo sit in the same category and turn up in larger tenders. Smaller New Zealand firms running Xero more often reach for an accounting-reporting add-on such as Fathom, which reads the ledger and builds a board pack without touching the wider systems.
Native reporting means the reports are built into the operational system itself. A vertical platform already holds the records, so the reporting inside Lending Software lets the loan book report on itself.
Size the decision honestly. A firm with one operational system and 15 staff seldom needs a separate layer at all, and switching on what the platform already offers costs a morning of configuration.
Once four systems are in play and each holds part of the answer, you need the layer above them.
Zinform reporting, built and supported by Exodesk, sits in that second category. It reports natively on the operational data it holds, and it also reads other systems where a business needs figures from more than one place.
When is a business intelligence layer the right answer?
When the numbers a manager needs come from three or more systems that will stay separate. A BI layer also wins when the question needs modelling, forecasting or a comparison across years that no single operational system holds.
Getting those systems to hand data to each other is a separate piece of work, and Business Software Integration sets out what it involves. Commissioning a bespoke build is a different decision again, covered in Custom Software Development.
When does reporting inside the operational system win?
When one system already holds most of the data and the questions are operational. Reporting native to that system refreshes as the transaction is entered, needs no separate model to maintain, and cannot disagree with the system it came from.
Most firms end up running both. Operational reporting runs daily inside the platform, and a BI layer assembles the board pack once a month.
| Approach | Fits when | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Reporting built into the operational system | One system holds most of the data and the questions are operational | Limited to what that system knows, and awkward to extend to an outside source |
| Integration layer plus a BI tool | Data sits in three or more systems that will stay separate | Somebody has to own the data model and every connection into it |
| Dedicated BI platform with a data warehouse | Modelling, forecasting or multi-year comparison is required | Highest cost and the longest build, and it needs a specialist to keep running |
What Should You Ask a Reporting Vendor Before Signing?
Six questions, and get the answers in writing before signing. Between them they cover how business reporting software refreshes, who can change a report, who owns the data model, what it costs per person, where the data sits, and what survives a change of system.
- Does it refresh without anyone touching it? Ask for the refresh schedule and what the system does when a refresh fails overnight.
- Can a manager change a filter unaided? Self-service reporting stops being self-service when every change needs a consultant and a purchase order.
- Who maintains the data model? Get a name on both sides, yours and the vendor’s.
- What is the cost per person per month? Ask for the figure at your expected headcount in three years, including the people who only read reports.
- Where does the data physically sit? Ask for the country and the provider, and whether tax records held there carry Inland Revenue approval.
- What happens to reports if we change systems? Get that answer before the reports exist, because it is unanswerable afterwards.
Ask a reference customer the same questions. A vendor who will put you on the phone with a business of similar size deserves more attention than one who sends a case study.
Who should own the data model?
One named person inside the business, with the provider as backup. A data model is the set of definitions and relationships deciding what gross margin means and which transactions belong to which month.
Vendors will offer to hold it for you. Accept only if the definitions are documented and exportable, because that model carries the business logic.
How Much Does Business Reporting Software Cost?
Expect $15 to $70 per user per month for licences, plus a setup project of $4,000 to $20,000 depending on how many systems are connected. The licence is the smaller number. Maintaining the model behind it takes the ongoing time.
| What you are paying for | What it covers | Indicative range |
|---|---|---|
| Per-user reporting licence | A named person who can open, filter and share reports | $15 to $70 per user per month |
| Capacity or platform fee | Shared compute that runs the refreshes for everybody | $0 to $700 per month |
| Setup and data model build | Connecting sources, agreeing measures, building the first reports | $4,000 to $20,000 one-off |
| Ongoing model maintenance | Changes when the business or a source system changes | $150 to $600 per month |
| Reporting inside an operational system | Usually bundled into the platform subscription already paid for | Often no separate charge |
Per-user licensing catches owners out because the readers count too. Microsoft’s own Power BI licensing guide sets out that using the service requires both a per-user licence and a capacity, and that sharing content outside the organisation requires the sender to hold a Pro or Premium Per User licence.
What costs do owners miss?
Three of them. The licence for everyone who only reads a report, the salary time of whoever maintains the model, and the rebuild that follows a change of source system.
Return to the illustrative 12-person firm from the start of this article. The manual pack costs about $10,900 a year in salary time. Reporting that refreshes on its own might run $180 a month in licences with a $6,000 setup, which is $8,160 in year one and $2,160 a year afterwards.
That nets out at roughly $2,700 saved in the first year and roughly $8,700 a year from the second onwards. The arithmetic matters more than the sticker price, because a cheap tool that still needs a person every month leaves that $10,900 exactly where it was.
What Happens to Your Reports When You Change Systems?
They break, unless the reporting was built to survive it. Reports written against one system’s tables stop working the day that system is replaced, and the replacement seldom arrives with the history attached.
Protect the business two ways. Keep the definition of every measure in a document held outside the tool, and keep the underlying data in a form somebody can read without the vendor.
Inland Revenue requires business records, including electronic ones, to be kept for at least seven tax years, and requires approval before tax records are stored offshore. A reporting tool holding the only copy of a figure becomes a records problem when the subscription lapses.
Ask for that exit path at the contract stage, while the vendor still wants the deal. Most vendors will agree to an annual export of the model definitions and the underlying tables when it is written in before signing. Store that export somewhere the finance team can reach it without opening the reporting tool.
How do you keep reports portable?
Write the definitions down and keep the source data. Definitions held in a document can be rebuilt in any tool inside a day.
A measure existing only inside a vendor’s model has to be reverse engineered from its output, usually during a migration when nobody has the time.
How Do You Move Off a Manual Monthly Pack?
In five steps, starting with the five numbers the management meeting relies on and working backwards to where each one comes from. Only the fifth step needs a vendor in the room.
- Write down the five numbers the management meeting relies on, with the exact definition of each. business.govt.nz notes that which key performance indicators to follow depends on the industry and the business model, so the list is a management decision before it is a software one.
- Trace each number to the system that creates it. Most firms find two or three of the five come out of the same place, which shrinks the problem.
- Time the current process for one cycle. Record who touches it and for how long, so there is a baseline to measure the change against.
- Ask your operational system vendor what its own reporting already covers. The answer is free and it often removes half the requirement.
- Run a pilot on one report using real data. A demonstration built on sample data proves nothing about your ledger.
A business that has done those five things can brief any vendor on one page, and judge every quote that comes back on the same basis.
Book a Reporting Review
Exodesk has supported South Island businesses since 1989 and works with clients across Canterbury, Otago and Southland from offices in Christchurch and Dunedin. We build and support business reporting software, including Zinform reporting, and we maintain the reporting layers our clients already run. Our Business Software team starts by sitting with whoever produces the monthly pack and timing the job.
Contact us today to discuss how we can help your business or connect with us on LinkedIn to stay updated with more insights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is reporting software the same thing as business intelligence?
No. Business intelligence covers the wider discipline of modelling and analysing data across an organisation. Reporting software covers producing and distributing the figures managers rely on each week and month. Many products now do both, so judge each one on what it delivers at your own scale rather than on its category label.
How long does a reporting implementation take?
A single-source implementation reading one operational system usually runs two to six weeks. A multi-system build with an integration layer takes two to four months, and most of that time goes on agreeing definitions. Ask any vendor which of the two your project is before accepting a timeline.
Can a small business use reporting software?
Yes, and for less than owners expect. A ten-person firm running one operational system can usually switch on reporting it already pays for, at no extra licence cost. Agreeing what each number means takes longer than switching the reporting on, and it still only costs an afternoon.
What is a data model in reporting?
A data model is the layer defining what each measure means and how the tables relate, so gross margin is calculated the same way in every report. It needs a named owner, because business rules change and somebody has to keep it current.
Is per-user pricing cheaper than a platform fee?
Yes, below roughly fifteen readers. Above that number a platform or capacity fee usually wins. Work out the crossover at your expected headcount in three years, because vendors quote whichever option looks cheaper at your size today.
Do we need a data warehouse to report across several systems?
Not always. Modern BI tools read several sources directly and hold the joins in their own model, which suits a business with three or four systems and modest volumes. Build a data warehouse when the sources are large, the history is long, or several tools need the same cleaned data. Below that threshold a warehouse adds cost and a second thing to maintain.
Who should be responsible for reporting in a small business?
One person inside the business should own the definitions and one provider should own the platform. In firms under about thirty staff this usually falls to the finance manager or the operations manager, with the IT partner maintaining the connections and refreshes. Write both roles into the contract so neither is assumed.
Will reporting software work with our accounting system?
Yes, in almost every case. Reporting tools connect to Xero, MYOB and the major enterprise resource planning platforms through supported connectors. Ask for the connector by name, and ask whether the reporting vendor built it or a third party did, because third-party connectors break when either side updates. Test it against a copy of your own ledger before signing.
Is Excel a reporting tool?
Yes, and for many small businesses it is the only one in use. Excel handles modelling and one-off analysis well, and it turns into a liability when a single staff member rebuilds the same workbook every month. Move the repeating work into software and keep Excel for the exploratory questions.
Can we keep our spreadsheets once reporting software is in?
Yes, and most businesses do for a long while. Keep spreadsheets for one-off modelling and ad hoc analysis, and move anything produced on a repeating schedule into the tool.
What is the first step towards replacing a manual monthly pack?
List the five numbers the management meeting uses and write down the definition of each. That single page tells a vendor more than a requirements document does.
Who sets up business reporting software in Christchurch and Dunedin?
Exodesk builds and supports reporting platforms for clients across Canterbury, Otago and Southland, working from offices in Christchurch and Dunedin. That includes Zinform reporting, which Exodesk builds, and reporting layers running on platforms a client already owns. A review starts by timing the current monthly process on site.
