Data·2 min read
A data quality checklist before starting a BI project
The checks that prevent a dashboard from failing after launch: ownership, definitions, completeness, duplicates, and reconciliation.
Articles
Practical notes on BI, reporting, and data operations.
112 practical guides on dashboards, automation, data quality, and running a simpler business. Search by topic, tool, or question.
Try “cash flow”, “Power BI”, or “VLOOKUP”.
112 of 112 guides
Data·3 min read
When to move from spreadsheets to a database
The signals that a spreadsheet has become a database, and the simplest path to a more reliable system.
Power BI/Data Modeling·5 min read
Power BI star schema: a practical data model checklist
A practical checklist for designing a Power BI star schema: grain, keys, dimensions, date tables, relationships, and validation.
Automation·5 min read
Google Sheets automation workflows that save time
Sheets automation works best when the trigger and failure path are designed first. Formulas, notifications, and Apps Script cover different parts of the workflow.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI bookmarks and navigation patterns
Practical Power BI bookmark and navigation patterns: page switchers, view resets, drillthrough, button states, and the testing that keeps them usable.
Excel·5 min read
Excel data validation for reliable inputs
Data validation prevents many input errors, but only if the rules match the real work. Design lists, ranges, and custom checks that survive paste and handover.
Excel·5 min read
Building a pricing calculator in Excel
A pricing calculator is a small model with large consequences. Separate cost, margin, discount, and quote logic so every price can be explained and checked.
Digital Marketing/Insights·5 min read
Digital marketing KPIs tied to business outcomes
How to connect marketing metrics to revenue, margin, and retention, and which KPIs deserve a place on the dashboard.
Excel·5 min read
Why Excel formulas break when rows move
Rows move, references follow, and a total quietly changes. Learn how Excel stores cell addresses, then design ranges that survive routine edits.
Power BI/Data Visualization·5 min read
Power BI vs Looker Studio for small businesses
A practical comparison of Power BI and Looker Studio for small businesses, covering data sources, modelling, governance, cost, and skills.
BI Analyst/Data Analyst·5 min read
BI analyst vs data analyst: roles, skills, and hiring
What separates a BI analyst from a data analyst, where the roles overlap, and how to hire for the work you actually need.
Dashboards·3 min read
KPI dashboard design: how to choose metrics that matter
A good KPI dashboard starts with decisions, not charts. Learn how to choose, define, and present metrics people will actually use.
HR·2 min read
HR reporting for SMBs: headcount, attrition, and cost
A practical HR dashboard for small businesses: headcount, turnover, hiring, cost, and workforce capacity.
Accounts Receivable·6 min read
Accounts receivable aging: reading the report
How to read an AR aging report: bucket definitions, DSO, reconciliation to the ledger, and exception rules that turn overdue invoices into actions.
Google Sheets·6 min read
Google Sheets data validation and protection
Data validation shapes what users enter; protection limits what they can change. Together they prevent most spreadsheet accidents, but neither is security.
Reporting·4 min read
Variance analysis: price, volume, and mix
Price, volume, and mix explain most revenue and margin gaps. A worked example shows how to split the variance and reconcile it to the total.
Ecommerce·5 min read
Ecommerce returns reporting
Return rate is easy to misdefine. Build a returns report by product, variant, and reason, then price the true cost of each return into margin.
Sales·3 min read
Sales pipeline reporting: the metrics that actually help
Track pipeline value, stage conversion, sales cycle, and forecast accuracy without turning the CRM into a reporting maze.
Working together·2 min read
How to write a reporting scope that prevents scope creep
A clear reporting scope protects both the client and the analyst. Here is a practical structure for a one-page SOW.
SQL·5 min read
SQL window functions for running totals
How to calculate running totals with SUM OVER, choose the right window frame, reset by partition, and check ties and gaps.
Power BI·3 min read
Power BI dashboard checklist for small businesses
A practical checklist for building a Power BI dashboard that is trusted, fast, and easy to hand over.
Excel·5 min read
How to audit a spreadsheet you inherited
An inherited workbook can look healthy and still be wrong. Map the inputs, trace one number to source, test the edges, and record what you find before editing.
Power BI·6 min read
Power BI date tables: why they matter
Why a dedicated date table is required for reliable time intelligence in Power BI, how to build one, and how to handle fiscal years and multiple date roles.
Reporting·4 min read
Reporting calendar: keeping packs on schedule
A reporting calendar is a dependency map. Build it backwards from the review date, set cut-offs, and measure every miss to keep packs on schedule.
Careers·5 min read
A data portfolio that shows business thinking
How to build a data portfolio that demonstrates business judgement: decision-led projects, clear assumptions, defensible recommendations, and clean write-ups.
Dashboards·5 min read
Accessible dashboards: colour, labels, and focus
Design dashboards that stay readable without colour: contrast, redundant encoding, direct labels, keyboard focus, and screen reader structure.
Dashboards·5 min read
Why dashboards get slow and how to fix them
A diagnostic guide to slow dashboards: separating query, transfer, and render time, then fixing data volume, model design, and page weight in order.
Reporting·5 min read
How to structure a management accounts pack
How to build a management accounts pack that answers the questions a management team actually asks, in a running order they can follow.
Python·5 min read
Git for analysts: versioning SQL and scripts
How analysts can use Git to version SQL, Python, and reporting logic: repositories, commits, branches, review, and secrets.
Marketing·3 min read
Marketing measurement for small businesses without a data team
A simple measurement framework for SMB marketing: spend, leads, cost per lead, conversion, and channel contribution.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI row-level security: a practical setup
A practical Power BI row-level security setup: choose roles, build a mapping table, write the DAX, test with View as role, and avoid common gaps.
Data Quality·5 min read
How to build a useful data dictionary
How to document datasets so people can find, trust, and use them: scope, definitions, grain, keys, ownership, and maintenance.
Spreadsheets·3 min read
Fix the spreadsheet or replace it? A simple guide
A spreadsheet is often the right tool. Here is how to decide whether to fix it, automate it, or replace it.
Data Visualization/Insights·5 min read
Data visualization mistakes that hide the insight
Common charting mistakes that obscure the message, from misleading axes and crowded pages to titles that describe instead of explain.
Tools·3 min read
Excel vs Power BI vs Looker Studio: which tool fits the job?
A practical comparison of Excel, Power BI, and Looker Studio for small-business reporting, with clear use cases.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Google Sheets dashboards with pivot tables
A pivot dashboard is a data source, a pivot layer, and a presentation sheet. Get the source clean, keep the pivot stable, and make refresh an explicit step.
Marketing·5 min read
Campaign ROI reporting without perfect tracking
Attribution will never be perfect. Here is how to report campaign ROI with blended metrics, control groups, and honest confidence labels.
Data Wrangling·5 min read
Data wrangling vs data cleaning: a practical workflow
Cleaning fixes data quality; wrangling changes its shape. A practical workflow for both, with validation at each stage.
Dashboards·5 min read
Dashboard requirements: questions before you build
A set of questions that turns a vague dashboard request into a buildable brief covering decisions, definitions, freshness, access, and ownership.
Python·5 min read
Reading Excel files with pandas and openpyxl
How to read Excel files reliably with pandas and openpyxl: choose the engine, target the right sheet and header, protect types, and validate.
Tools·5 min read
Excel vs Google Sheets for business reporting
Excel and Google Sheets solve different reporting problems. The choice turns on collaboration, control, and scale, not on which spreadsheet looks more familiar.
Google Sheets·5 min read
ARRAYFORMULA patterns for reporting sheets
ARRAYFORMULA replaces a column of filled-down formulas with one spill. Use it for row-level work, guard blanks, and keep grouping in QUERY or a pivot.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI incremental refresh for large tables
How Power BI incremental refresh works, what it needs from the source, how to choose the window, and why a refresh can still process every partition.
Data Analyst/Python·5 min read
SQL vs Python for data analysis: which should you use?
A practical guide to choosing SQL or Python for data work, based on where the data lives, its scale, and the workflow around it.
Data Modeling·5 min read
Star schema vs snowflake schema
A practical comparison of star and snowflake schemas: joins, redundancy, change management, and which shape suits a reporting layer.
Python/Data Cleanup·5 min read
Python pandas recipes for cleaning business data
Practical pandas patterns for loading, standardising, deduplicating, and validating business data without hiding problems.
Working together·5 min read
Excel expert or data analyst: which do you need?
The two titles overlap, but they solve different problems. An Excel expert improves the workbook; a data analyst improves the decision and the data behind it.
Excel·5 min read
Dynamic arrays in Excel: FILTER, SORT, and UNIQUE
Dynamic arrays turn one formula into a resizable block of results. FILTER, SORT, and UNIQUE reward a clear spill design and punish leftovers in the output area.
Working together·5 min read
Working with stakeholders who change requirements
How to handle changing requirements on reporting work: separate needs from requests, price the trade-off, version definitions, and keep trust.
Pricing·5 min read
Discount leakage: reporting pricing discipline
Discount leakage is the gap between list price and what customers pay. Measure it with a price waterfall, then control it with approval bands and reason codes.
Finance·5 min read
Gross margin analysis by product
A practical product margin report: what belongs in cost of goods sold, how to handle landed cost, and how to read price, volume, and mix effects.
Hiring·5 min read
Analyst interview questions that reveal judgement
Interview questions that reveal analytical judgement: ambiguity, data quality, disagreement, communication, and ownership, with signals to listen for.
Dashboards·5 min read
Dashboard drill-down without losing the plot
How to design dashboard drill-down that moves from signal to cause without losing filters, context, or the viewer's place in the analysis.
Python·3 min read
Python for finance teams: practical use cases that save time
Where Python genuinely helps finance and operations teams: file consolidation, reconciliation, validation, and recurring reports.
Reporting·5 min read
Excel formulas every reporting analyst should know
Reporting formulas are not a test of cleverness. The useful ones turn messy source data into consistent totals, clear exceptions, and a report that reconciles.
Reporting·5 min read
Building a sales forecast without data scientists
A practical sales forecasting method for small teams: use the pipeline you have, weight it by stage, and test assumptions against actual closes.
Reporting·5 min read
Rolling forecasts vs annual budgets
Annual budgets and rolling forecasts do different jobs. Keep the budget as a fixed baseline and refresh the forecast on a constant horizon.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI report performance checklist
A practical Power BI performance checklist covering the model, DAX, visuals, refresh, and the measurements that tell you whether a change helped.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Google Sheets QUERY function for reporting
QUERY turns a Sheet range into a filtered, grouped report with one formula. Learn the clause order, header rules, and when FILTER is safer.
Ecommerce·3 min read
Ecommerce reporting: sales, margin, and stock in one view
A practical ecommerce reporting model for Shopify and similar stores: revenue, contribution margin, product performance, and stock risk.
Excel·5 min read
Excel macros: error handling and logging
Macros fail in the middle of a job, often after changing half the workbook. Error handlers and a run log turn that silent damage into a visible, recoverable event.
Dashboards·5 min read
Dashboard refresh schedules and data freshness
How to choose a refresh schedule from the decision cycle, map the latency chain, and make data freshness visible instead of assumed.
Dashboards·3 min read
What makes a dashboard useful?
A useful dashboard answers a specific question, uses numbers people trust, and leads to a decision.
Dashboards·5 min read
When to retire a dashboard
A decision framework for retiring dashboards: spotting dead reports, weighing maintenance cost, and closing access without losing the history.
SQL·5 min read
SQL joins explained for business analysts
How inner and left joins behave, how to choose the right key, and how to stop row multiplication from inflating a report total.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Moving an Excel report to Google Sheets
A migration plan for rebuilding an Excel report in Google Sheets without breaking formulas, totals, or the people who rely on the file.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI measures vs calculated columns
A practical guide to when a Power BI measure is the right tool and when a calculated column earns its storage, with formula patterns and trade-offs.
Excel·5 min read
Excel structured references without the confusion
Structured references make table formulas readable and resilient, until the syntax or the table structure is misunderstood. Learn the brackets and the @ sign.
SQL·3 min read
SQL for business analysts: five query patterns worth knowing
Five practical SQL patterns for reporting: aggregation, joins, date filtering, window functions, and data quality checks.
Python·5 min read
Scheduling Python scripts safely
How to schedule Python reporting scripts safely: pick a scheduler, make runs repeatable, lock against overlaps, log failures, and test.
Dashboards·5 min read
Choosing the right chart for the question
A practical guide to matching chart types to analytical questions, with sensible defaults, common failure modes, and a decision table for dashboard views.
Data Modeling·5 min read
Fact tables and dimension tables explained
What belongs in a fact table, what belongs in a dimension, and how grain and keys keep a reporting model predictable and reliable.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Collaborative spreadsheets without version chaos
Shared spreadsheets fail when ownership, input rules, and version history are left implicit. A practical control model for teams editing the same file.
Finance·5 min read
Customer profitability reporting
Revenue ranking hides unprofitable accounts. Build a customer P&L, allocate cost to serve with real drivers, and set service tiers that protect margin.
SQL·5 min read
SQL date functions for monthly reporting
Group dates into reporting months, filter with half-open ranges, handle missing periods, and avoid time-zone mistakes that shift totals.
Excel·5 min read
XLOOKUP vs VLOOKUP: choosing the right lookup
XLOOKUP and VLOOKUP solve the same lookup problem with different failure modes. Choose by compatibility, layout stability, and missing-key behaviour.
Dashboards·5 min read
Dashboard QA: reconciling totals before launch
A reconciliation workflow for dashboard launch: choosing the source of truth, testing at three levels, and signing off totals with evidence.
Reporting·5 min read
Board reporting: what belongs in the pack
What a board pack should contain, how it differs from management reporting, and how to keep it short enough to be read before the meeting.
Spreadsheets·4 min read
Excel to web app: when a spreadsheet should become software
A spreadsheet becomes a web app problem when several people write to it at once, access must be role-based, or a process needs a reliable audit trail.
Data Mining/Data Analytics·5 min read
Data mining for small business: practical use cases
Practical data mining use cases for small businesses, from customer segmentation and basket analysis to churn signals and anomaly checks.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI star schema mistakes to avoid
Common star schema mistakes in Power BI, from mixed grain and bidirectional relationships to missing date tables, with fixes you can apply to an existing model.
Working together·3 min read
What to prepare before hiring a data analyst
A clear question, access to the right data, and one decision-maker will make the project faster and cheaper.
Google Sheets·5 min read
IMPORTRANGE: reliable cross-file reporting
IMPORTRANGE is a live feed between files, not a one-off copy. Set it up once, keep the source stable, and know why permission errors appear.
Spreadsheets·5 min read
How to design a reusable Excel template
A reusable Excel template is a controlled input surface, not a formatted worksheet. Inputs, validation, and documentation decide whether it survives users.
Business Intelligence/BI Analysis·5 min read
Business intelligence without an in-house data team
How a small business can build useful BI with existing staff, selective outside help, and a clear plan for ownership and continuity.
Power BI·5 min read
CALCULATE and filter context in plain English
Filter context explains why a measure returns different numbers in different cells. Learn how CALCULATE changes it, with accurate patterns and common pitfalls.
Data Quality·5 min read
Data quality dimensions with practical checks
A practical guide to the six data quality dimensions, the checks that test each one, and how to decide which failures should stop a report.
Power BI·5 min read
Power BI vs Tableau for business reporting
A practical comparison of Power BI and Tableau for business reporting, covering modelling, analysis, governance, cost, and how to run a fair pilot.
Dashboards/Insights·5 min read
Leading vs lagging KPIs: build a balanced dashboard
How to pair leading and lagging KPIs on a dashboard so teams can see outcomes and the signals that tend to precede them.
Finance·5 min read
Cash conversion cycle explained for operators
The cash conversion cycle in days, how to calculate each leg from consistent data, and which operational levers actually shorten it.
Excel·5 min read
A spreadsheet handover checklist
A handover is complete when someone else can run the file without asking the builder. Use this checklist to transfer access, logic, risks, and support deliberately.
Data Analysis/Data Analytics·5 min read
Data analysis vs data analytics: what is the difference?
Data analysis answers a specific question; data analytics is the wider system around it. Here is how the terms differ in practice.
Python·5 min read
Automating CSV cleanup with Python
A practical approach to cleaning CSV files with Python: explicit read settings, standardised names, duplicate rules, rejected rows, and repeatable output.
Financial Analysis·5 min read
Financial ratios every small business owner should understand
A plain-English guide to the profitability, liquidity, leverage, and working capital ratios that reveal how a small business is performing.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Google Sheets FILTER and SORT for live views
How to build live filtered views in Google Sheets with FILTER, SORT, and control cells, including spill errors, blank results, and performance limits.
Data·3 min read
How to clean messy business data before building a report
A practical data-cleaning process for small businesses: source mapping, definitions, duplicates, reconciliation, and documentation.
Finance·2 min read
Cash flow forecasting for small businesses: a practical model
A simple 13-week cash flow forecast for SMBs, including the inputs, assumptions, and review rhythm that make it useful.
Data Quality·5 min read
Deduplicating customer records: matching rules
A practical matching process for customer records: normalisation, deterministic rules, fuzzy scoring, review queues, and survivorship.
Finance·2 min read
AR/AP reconciliation automation: a practical guide
How to reduce manual invoice matching, payment reconciliation, and aging work without losing control of exceptions.
Reporting·5 min read
Budget vs actual reporting that explains variance
A budget vs actual report earns its place when it explains the gap: what moved, why, who owns it, and what happens next.
Inventory·6 min read
Inventory reporting: stock turns and aging
How to calculate stock turns, build an inventory aging report, and use exception rules to find cash trapped in slow moving stock.
Dashboards·5 min read
Mobile dashboards: what to include and cut
A mobile dashboard is a different product, not a narrower one: choose the glanceable job, keep three numbers, and cut density, filters, and decoration.
Python·5 min read
APIs for analysts: reading JSON into a report
How analysts can pull JSON from an API into a reporting table: inspect the shape, authenticate safely, paginate, flatten, and validate.
Database·5 min read
PostgreSQL basics for reporting analysts
The PostgreSQL habits that matter for reporting: read-only access, NULL handling, types, dates, joins, CTEs, and query plans.
Procurement·5 min read
Supplier performance reporting
A supplier scorecard that works: precise OTIF definitions, quality measures, sensible weights, and thresholds that trigger a review rather than an argument.
Google Sheets·5 min read
Google Sheets Apps Script triggers explained
Triggers decide when Apps Script runs, and the wrong type runs too often, too late, or without permission. Choose the event and make runs repeatable.
Automation·5 min read
Excel VBA: which macros are still worth keeping?
VBA is still useful, but not for every repetitive task. Keep macros that fit the desktop workflow and replace those Power Query or Python handles better.
Python·5 min read
Python pandas groupby for business reporting
How to use pandas groupby for reliable business reporting: define the grain, aggregate each measure correctly, and reconcile the output.
Automation·3 min read
How to automate monthly management reports
A practical process for replacing manual report assembly with a reliable monthly reporting workflow.
Reporting·5 min read
A month-end reporting checklist
A working checklist for closing the month on time: cut-offs, reconciliations, variance checks, commentary, and sign-off.
Reporting·4 min read
Five reports every small business should review monthly
A practical monthly reporting pack for small businesses: cash flow, sales and margin, receivables, pipeline, and costs.
Reporting·5 min read
Reporting definitions: writing a metric dictionary
A metric dictionary stops the same number meaning different things. Here is what to record, how to write formulas, and how to keep definitions current.