Data in one warehouse
Automatic data loads from the ERP, CRM, banks, e-commerce platforms, and Excel, daily or hourly. Data is cleaned and mapped to shared master data.
BI and reporting
Financial Reporting and BI Automation
Join.To.IT automates management reporting for owners and CFOs who wait every month for reports assembled by hand from the ERP, CRM, banks, and Excel. We bring that data into one place and build reports that refresh on their own. We start with an audit and launch the first dashboard in 3–6 weeks.
- Reports refresh daily, not once a month
- A first working dashboard in 3–6 weeks
- Built on data from the systems you already use
- 01 Reporting audit
- 02 Pilot on one report
- 03 Rollout of other reports
- 04 Support and improvement
Decisions are made on numbers that are a month old
In most companies management reporting works like this: after month-end close, finance exports data from the ERP, bank statements, and sales spreadsheets, spends several days combining them in Excel, and allocates costs by business line by hand. The owner sees the P&L in the third week, when it is too late to change anything.
Every manual workbook is a risk of error and a dependency on the one person who knows how it works. When that person is on vacation, the report is not ready.
Changing this does not require a new ERP or a large analytics team. It takes automated data collection and agreed rules that turn the data into management reports. You can start with one report, such as cash flow, and add others over time.
What reporting and BI automation covers
We do not sell a ready-made BI product. We set up reporting around your business structure and accounting policies.
P&L, cash flow, and balance sheet
Management reports by your rules: cost allocation by business line, intercompany transfers, FX differences. The report is ready the day after the period closes.
Budgeting and plan vs actual
Budgets by department, automatic comparison with actuals, and alerts when spending goes over the limit.
Dashboards for owners and managers
Key metrics on one screen: sales, margin, inventory, receivables, cash. With drill-down to the underlying transaction.
Sales, inventory, and production analytics
Margin by customer and product, inventory turnover, unit cost, plan attainment. Business analytics for operating decisions, not only for the financial report.
Scheduled reports and alerts
Reports delivered to email, Slack, or Teams on a schedule, and alerts on deviations: a drop in sales, growing receivables, a cash shortfall.
How we work
Each stage ends with a working result, and you decide whether to continue.
- 01
Process audit
With your finance team we work out which reports are needed, where the data comes from, and where it diverges. We document allocation rules and report structure. Usually 1–2 weeks.
Outcome A management report structure and a map of data sources
- 02
Pilot on one process
We automate one report, such as cash flow or P&L by business line, and reconcile it with the manual version until the numbers match. Usually 3–6 weeks.
Outcome A self-refreshing report and a validated methodology
- 03
Rollout
We add more reports and data sources, set up access for managers, and train the team on the dashboards. Usually 1–4 months.
Outcome Complete management reporting in one system
- 04
Support
We monitor data refreshes and adjust reports when the business structure or accounting policies change. Billed monthly.
Outcome Reporting you can still trust a year later
How much it costs
The price depends on the number of data sources, the complexity of allocation rules, and how clean the data in your ERP is.
| Option | Pilot | One process | End-to-end program |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it covers | Audit plus one report or dashboard from one or two data sources | Management reporting for one area: P&L, cash flow, or plan vs actual | Full management reporting and BI for all departments, with support |
| Timeline | 3–6 weeks | 1–3 months | 3–6 months, in phases |
| Good fit when | You want to see what an automated report looks like | One report takes most of the finance team’s time | You need one system for all management reporting |
| Typical budget | $8,000–$16,000 | $16,000–$45,000 | From $45,000 |
These are indicative ranges; you get an exact estimate after the audit. BI tool licences, if needed, are paid separately. You do not have to automate all reporting at once: start with one report and add the next in phases.
Data sources and tools
We connect ERPs, CRMs, and banks through APIs, exports, or direct database access. The dashboard tool is chosen to fit your budget and team.
- NetSuite
- SAP Business One
- Odoo
- QuickBooks
- Xero
- 1C and BAS
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- Shopify
- Stripe
- Plaid and bank APIs
- Excel and Google Sheets
- Power BI
- Looker Studio
- PostgreSQL
- BigQuery and Snowflake
Example
What a reporting pilot can look like
Take a building materials distributor with three branches. The books are in the ERP, accounts are at two banks, and the sales plan is a spreadsheet. The CFO spends eight to ten days each month assembling the management P&L by hand and updates the cash forecast once a week.
The pilot covers cash flow only. Data from the ERP and banks lands in the warehouse every morning, payments are categorized by agreed rules, and the dashboard shows balances, expected receipts, and payments four weeks ahead. The P&L stays manual for now and becomes the next stage.
Frequently asked questions
How much does reporting automation cost?
A pilot with one report or dashboard usually costs $8,000–$16,000 and takes 3–6 weeks. Automating one area, such as P&L or cash flow, is typically $16,000–$45,000. Full management reporting for all departments starts around $45,000. BI tool licences are paid separately. We give an exact estimate after the audit.
Can management reporting be done inside the ERP?
Partly. Most ERPs, including NetSuite and SAP Business One, have built-in reports, and for a smaller company they may be enough. Problems start when data is spread across several entities, banks, and a CRM, or when cost allocation rules do not fit the standard setup. Then it is easier to collect data in a separate warehouse and report from there without overloading the ERP.
What is a BI system, and does a mid-size company need one?
A BI system pulls data from different sources and presents it as reports and dashboards that refresh automatically. A mid-size company needs one when decisions are made on outdated numbers or when reports take days of finance time. You can start with one dashboard and an inexpensive tool such as Power BI or Looker Studio and scale later.
How do you automate reporting from the ERP, CRM, and banks?
Set up regular data loads from each system through APIs or file exchange, map them to shared customer, product, and account lists, and then define the rules that turn the data into a report. After that the report refreshes daily or hourly. The hardest part is usually not technical but agreeing the methodology with finance.
How long does a management reporting project take?
The audit takes 1–2 weeks, and the first working report takes 3–6 weeks, including reconciliation with the manual version. Full management reporting with P&L, cash flow, and plan vs actual usually takes 3–6 months and is split into stages. Each stage ends with a report you can already use, so you do not wait for the end of the project.