Two reports that disagree on the same number
They may be counting different things.
Two reports show the same number, and they do not match.
Not every business has this problem, and some should leave it alone.
Most of these can be handled better. Whether it's worth doing is a separate question. What follows is one common form of the problem, described in general terms, because your version will differ. These are possible challenges, not a description of your business, and some should be left exactly as they are. If it sounds like your week, that's worth a conversation.
Sound familiar?
- The sales figure in one report never matches the other.
- Meetings start with an argument about which number is right.
- Somebody spends hours reconciling reports every month.
- Nobody can say what each report actually counts.
What it looks like
One report says sales for the month were one figure. Another report, from a different system or a different person, says something else. Both claim to show the same thing.
Often the difference is in what each one counts, though either can also contain a mistake. One counts when the order was taken, the other when it was paid. One includes returns, the other does not. The difference is in the definition, and the definition is not written on either report.
What it costs
Time goes into the argument, not the decision. A meeting that should be about what to do spends its time on which number to believe.
The reconciliation is repeated. Somebody works out the difference each month, and the explanation is not kept.
Trust drains out of both. When two numbers disagree often enough, people stop using either.
Where it goes wrong
- Definitions are not written down. Each report's meaning lives with whoever built it.
- The same word means different things. Sales, revenue, jobs completed: each system uses its own meaning.
- Timing differs. One report is run on the first of the month, the other a week later after corrections.
- The explanation is not kept. Last month's reconciliation is lost by next month.
What a better version looks like
Each report carries a short line saying what it counts, from where, and as of when. Where two reports should agree, a check compares them and shows the difference with its known causes. What is left over is the part worth looking at.
What still needs a person
A person decides which definition the business will use for decisions. A person investigates any difference that the known causes do not explain.
Questions worth asking about your own operation
- Which two reports in your business should agree, and do not?
- Does each report say what it counts?
- Who explains the difference, and is the explanation kept?
- Which number do decisions actually use?
If this sounds familiar
Bring me the version you actually have. I'll learn how the process really works before I suggest anything. If it isn't worth changing, or isn't a fit for me, I'll say so. Talk through a problem