Services Reporting and insight
Reports that build themselves.
Automated reporting pulls numbers from the systems you already use, builds the same report on a schedule, and points out what changed. BurmLabs sets up the report your owners and managers read, and checks it before it goes out so a number that looks wrong is held back.
Delivers
One report, on schedule, in the inbox before the meeting.
A person keeps
The decisions, and any number the check has held.
Starts with
The one report someone rebuilds by hand every week.
What it is
In many businesses one person spends hours each week exporting files and rebuilding the same report. By the time it is ready it is already old, and mistakes in it surface in the meeting.
We build the report once so it assembles itself. It reads the source systems directly, lays the numbers out the same way every time, and compares them with earlier periods. A second check looks for anything out of line before it is sent.
When it fits
A good fit when
- A report is rebuilt by hand. The same exports and the same spreadsheet, every week or month.
- The numbers live in systems. A register, scheduler, accounting, or payroll tool holds them.
- Someone acts on it. The report changes a decision when it arrives.
- The layout is settled. People agree on what it should show.
Not the right tool when
- Nobody reads the report today. Automating it will not change that.
- The numbers are kept on paper or in people's heads.
- Each report answers a new, one-time question.
- The software you already use has this report built in. We will show you where.
Illustrative example, not a client project
The weekly report
Input
Last week's sales from the register, jobs from scheduling, and hours from payroll.
Action
Pull the three sources early on Monday. Build the one-page report and compare each figure with the week before.
Output
The report in the owner's inbox before the morning meeting, with the biggest changes listed at the top.
Exceptions
A figure far outside its usual range is held back. A two-line note tells a named person what looks wrong and where it came from.
How we build and run it
Start from the real report
We take the report you use now and the files it is built from.
Agree on the definitions
What counts as a sale, a job, or an hour is written down, so the numbers mean the same thing each week.
Rebuild and reconcile
We build it from the source systems and match it against several past reports, figure by figure.
Add the checks
Rules for what is unusual are set with the person who knows the business.
Schedule and watch
It runs on its timetable. A missing source or held number alerts a named owner.
What changes the scope
- How many systems the numbers come from, and how they connect.
- Whether everyone already agrees on the definitions.
- How much history is needed for comparisons.
- How many versions of the report different people need.
- Whether it is a page in an inbox or a live dashboard.
Any reporting tool or connector fees are named before you decide.
Questions
What is automated reporting?
A report that builds itself on a schedule from the systems that hold the numbers, so nobody exports files or updates a spreadsheet by hand.
Do we need a dashboard?
Not always. Many owners are better served by one page in their inbox before the meeting. We build a live dashboard when people need to explore the numbers themselves.
How do we know the numbers are right?
Before launch we rebuild several past reports and match them figure by figure. After launch, a check compares each number with its usual range and holds anything that looks wrong.
Can it explain why a number changed?
It can point to what moved, such as which customer, job, or week drove a change. Why it moved is still a question for someone who knows the business.
What if a source system changes?
The run reports the problem to a named owner and does not send a report with a gap in it.
Related services
Integrations
Connect the apps, files, and data you already use, including older systems.
Custom AI agents
Agents that draft follow-ups, read and sort documents, and assemble reports, inside limits you set.
Workflow automation
Route email, create tasks, collect information, and move data between systems without anyone retyping it.
Still rebuilding a report by hand?
Send us the report and tell us where its numbers come from. We will say what it takes to make it build itself.