Report scope and filters: defining what a number includes

A report answers a question about a selected set of records. The source, date basis, status and filters define that set. Two reports can be individually correct and still differ because they answer different questions.

“Sales this month” might mean orders received, invoices issued or cash collected. Those are different events. A clear report question names the event, period and population before selecting a total.

Reports in DNA

DNA's Report Center presents available reports and custom reports, with category, search, favourite and recent-report views. Access controls influence which reports a user can open. Failure to see a report is therefore not proof that the underlying business activity does not exist.

The report viewer uses configured filters and applied search values in report requests. Custom-report filters can also ask for a value when the report runs. Those answers form part of the report's meaning and should be retained when results are discussed.

Report filtering and table searching

DNA also supports searching within loaded table data. This is different from defining the full report request. A local table search narrows the data already available in the viewer; it should not be treated as proof that every matching record in the wider database has been retrieved.

Grouped reports add another distinction: the number of groups is not the number of detail rows. Five customers may contain many invoice lines. A reviewer should identify which count is shown before using it to estimate transaction volume.

A fair comparison

Northstar compares this month's invoiced sales with last month's. The comparison should use the same event, status treatment and currency basis, with any credit adjustments understood. Comparing one month's orders with another month's invoices would mix demand and billing.

Before explaining a difference, check the scope. A concise description such as “invoices in the selected date range, for the selected customer population” is more useful than an unexplained total copied into a presentation.