Substack

We are currently posting two series of articles on Substack, one covering the principles of reporting and analytics and the other walking through a basic example of creating an interactive report in Excel. Feel free to follow along with those and provide your feedback.

Principles of Reporting

This series of articles looks at the challenges that businesses of all sizes face with getting access to timely and flexible reporting and analysis, and it presents practical solutions to streamline the process and leverage the powerful tools available in today’s data-driven landscape.

Principles of Reporting

The Reporting Request Cycle

The Problem with Rogue Business Groups

A Better Solution for Reporting and Analytics

From Ad Hoc to Standardized Reporting – A Business Scenario

Where Did the Rigid IT Guidelines Come From?

Maintaining a Flexible and Sustainable Reporting Environment

Microsoft Excel as a Reporting Tool

Google Sheets as an Alternative to Excel

Power BI, Tableau, and Other Reporting Tools

What Is the Best Reporting Tool?

The Wrong Way to Do Reporting

Is AI a Good Option for Reporting and Analytics?

How Do You Create a Good Environment for Reporting and Analytics?

Interactive Reporting Example

This series of articles provides a step-by-step example of building a simple, interactive report in Microsoft Excel.  You can find the data files and sample reports at this link.

Microsoft Excel as a Reporting Tool

Setting Up the Data

UNIQUE and SORT Formulas

Creating Drop Down Boxes for Report Parameters

The VLOOKUP Formula and Its Pitfalls

The Advantages of the SUMIFS Formula

Calculations with SUMIFS

FasTrak Data can help your business with its data, reporting, and analytic needs. More information and sample reports are available at this link.