The questions each screen must answer, written down first
Each dashboard is specified as the questions its reader asks — what sold today, who owes us, which jobs are late — and the one figure that answers each, before anything is drawn.
PLATE P.6.1 — DASHBOARDS AND REPORTING
Custom dashboards and reporting from the systems you already run
A dashboard is a screen that answers one question the moment you open it — what sold today, what is owed, which jobs are late — with figures read live from the systems you already run. A report is the same answer laid out to print, send or file. Ozwebnet writes both from scratch in Adelaide, South Australia, for businesses across Australia: one fixed quote staged against milestones, and the source code handed over with the IP assigned to you.
DETAIL OF SHEET 06 — DATA PLATFORMS →
GENERAL NOTES
02 / 07
What is the difference between a dashboard and a report?
A dashboard is read on a screen and changes as the figures change: open it and the numbers are as they stand now, drawn from your sales, job, stock or accounts system. A report is the same figures fixed at a moment and laid out to print, email or file — the month's sales by branch, the debtors list at close of business. We write both from the questions you actually ask, put every figure one click from the records behind it, and show each reader only the screens their role needs.
SECTION A–A
03 / 07
Who should have custom dashboards built, rather than use the reports in their software?
- BUILT FOR
- Owners who open three systems each morning to know how the day stands; managers who want one screen per branch, crew or job; anyone whose accounting, job or sales software reports what it stores but not what you ask.
- REPLACES
- The built-in report screens of each system, read one at a time; the spreadsheet with a chart tab that someone updates by hand; the whiteboard in the office that is a day behind.
- NOT FOR
- A business that wants one existing report sent on a schedule (that is automated reporting), or whose figures from several systems still disagree and need a data warehouse first — we will say so.
SCHEDULE OF WORKS
04 / 07
What is included in a dashboards and reporting build?
Live figures read from the systems you already run
Each figure is read from the system that holds it — Xero, MYOB, simPRO, ServiceM8, Cin7, your own database — at the moment the screen is opened, or from your data warehouse where one exists. Nothing is re-entered and nothing goes stale.
One set of screens per reader, not one screen for everyone
The owner, operations and finance see different figures at different depths; each person signs in and sees only the screens their role needs.
Click any figure to see the records behind it
A total is never a dead end: click it and the sales, jobs or invoices that make it up are listed, so a number that looks wrong can be checked on the spot.
Printed and exported reports, produced on demand
The same figures fixed at a date and laid out as a PDF or spreadsheet — the month's sales by branch, the debtors list, the job profitability sheet — ready to print, email or hand to the accountant.
Figures flagged when they cross a line you set
Debtors over a limit, a job past its quoted hours, stock below the reorder point — the screen marks the figure so it is seen before it becomes a problem.
Readable on a phone, a desk screen and the workshop wall
The same dashboards are laid out to read on a phone in the ute, at a desk, and on a television in the workshop, without a separate build for each.
TYPICAL SCOPE FOR THIS KIND OF SYSTEM — YOUR EXACT SCOPE IS FIXED IN WRITING AT THE SPECIFICATION STAGE.
Not sure which? Ten minutes on 1300 699 321 tells you — Mon–Fri 9–5 ACST.
STAGES
05 / 07
How are dashboards and reports built and priced?
One fixed quote, set in writing at the specification stage (02 Blueprint) and staged against the five milestones below. Each milestone ends with a working system; stop at any milestone and keep what has been built.
SEE THE FIVE STAGES ANIMATED →- 01 SURVEY
Discovery
We sit with each reader and list the questions their screen must answer, and which system holds the figure that answers each one.
- 02 BLUEPRINT
Specification
Every screen, figure, filter and report layout is specified in writing; the fixed quote is set here, staged against milestones.
- 03 FORGE
Build
Built one screen at a time, reading live from your systems; each milestone ends with dashboards you can open and use.
- 04 TEMPER
Testing
Every figure on every screen is checked against the system it was read from, on desktop and phone, before launch.
- 05 DEPLOY
Launch
The dashboards go live for each reader, and you receive the source code with the IP assigned to you.
REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION
06 / 07
Questions before you call
RFI-01Can a dashboard read live from Xero, MYOB, simPRO or ServiceM8?
Yes — each figure is read from the system that holds it at the moment the screen is opened, so nothing is re-entered and the dashboard is never a copy that has gone stale.
RFI-02Do we need a data warehouse before we can have dashboards?
Not always. If your figures come from one system, or from systems whose numbers already agree, the dashboards read from them directly. If figures from several systems disagree, they need reconciling first — that is a data warehouse, and we will say so.
RFI-03How much does a custom dashboard cost?
One fixed quote, set in writing before the build and staged against milestones.
RFI-04Do we own the dashboards and reports?
Yes — source code delivered, IP assigned to you.
RFI-05Do you build dashboards for businesses outside Adelaide?
Yes — Adelaide first, Australia-wide. The dashboards are written in Adelaide and read from your systems wherever your office is.
RFQ — REQUEST FOR QUOTE
07 / 07
Get a fixed quote for dashboards and reporting.
Call, or answer a few short questions — what you run, what breaks, when you need it working — and we reply within one business day. The quote is fixed in writing before any build starts.