Make decisions with confidence

The most successful business leaders know what’s happening at their company, recognize trends in the industry and can adapt as needed. They are intelligent about every aspect of their business, both internally and externally.

How do they keep track of all those moving pieces? With a Business Intelligence/reporting solution that allows them to get the full picture so they can position themselves in the right direction for the future.

Why choose business intelligence software?

Most businesses have lots of moving pieces, including multiple software applications. When those applications don’t communicate, compiling the right data to make an informed decision can quickly become a nightmare. A BI solution allows you to streamline data from multiple sources into one warehouse, giving you easy access to real-time information.

Before you select just any solution based on cost or a stellar salesman, take a step back to make sure you know exactly what you need from a BI/reporting solution. We find it helpful to ask these three overarching questions:

1. What types of reports do I want? There are five general types:
   • Transactional — monthly invoices or GL entries
   • Financial — income statements and balance sheets
   • Operational — quantity of inventory on-hand, for example
   • Dashboard — snapshot views based on company role
   • Ad-Hoc — let your team mine the data for themselves
2. How do I want to present the data? This could make a big difference in which solution you select.
3. Where is that data (and do I have access to it)? Make sure the solution you are considering integrates with all the systems that hold your data.