Want Better Results? Start with Better Data

Stuart Patch
Feb 27
2 min read

Understand 7 Essential Steps for Creating a Reporting-Ready Data Structure

1. Establish Reporting Requirements Up Front

Start by defining exactly what decisions the business needs to make and what insights each report must provide.

Include:

Financial statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, Cash Flow)
Profitability reporting
- Profit by Customer
- Profit by Product / SKU / Category
- Profit by Channel, Region, Sales Rep, etc.
Operational reporting
- Jobs / WBS / work orders
- Stock movements
- Production performance
Compliance and audit requirements (BAS, payroll, assets)

Outcome: A clear list of reporting dimensions and drivers.

2. Define the Core Financial Coding Structure (Chart of Accounts + Segments)

Build your coding so it supports both statutory and management reporting.

Minimum required:

GL Account – What type of cost/revenue/assets/liabilities?
Cost Centre – Where in the business? (department, team, region)
WBS / Job / Work Order – Which project, contract, production batch, or customer job?

Rules of thumb:

Keep GL accounts clean (avoid duplicating departments inside GLs).
Use cost centres for business structure, not for jobs.
Use jobs/WBS for events, programs, or production activities.

Tip: Limit the number of combinations but make each one meaningful.

3. Design Master Data with Clear Ownership and Standards

Master data drives reporting accuracy.

Key master files to design:

Customer master (industry, region, channel, ABN, credit terms, groupings)
Product master (SKU, category, margin class, cost model, units of measure)
Supplier master (industry, region, channel, ABN, credit terms, groupings)
Employee master (Employee ID, cost centre, cost rate, billing rate)

Set rules for:

Naming conventions (eg: use an ABN to prevent duplicate suppliers / customers)
Data validation
Hierarchies (e.g., Product → Category → Group)

This is crucial for profit by customer, profit by product, and margin analysis.

4. Create a Consistent Set of Reporting Dimensions and Hierarchies

For each dimension, define:

The primary key (e.g., Customer ID)
Sub‑groupings (e.g., Customer Order → Product Category)
Reporting hierarchies needed (e.g., Summary reporting → cascading levels → detail)

Examples:

Cost Centre hierarchy: Division → Department → Team
Product hierarchy: Product Line → Category → SKU
Customer hierarchy: Group → Customer → Branch/Outlet

Consistent hierarchies allow roll‑up and drill‑down reporting.

5. Map the Business Processes to the Data Structure

Ensure your source systems capture the needed data.

Examples:

Sales orders must capture Customer, Product, Cost Centre (if relevant), Project/Job.
Production orders must capture WBS/Job and product details.
Timesheets must capture WBS/Job and Cost Centre.
Purchasing must capture Cost Centre and Job/Project (if applicable).

If it’s not captured at the transaction level, you cannot report on it later.

6. Enforce Data Quality Controls and Validation

To ensure accurate reporting:

Mandatory fields (e.g., WBS on all job-related costs)
Drop‑down lists (avoid free-text)
Prevent posting to obsolete accounts/cost centres
Automated rules (e.g., all revenue must have a Customer and Product ID)

Data quality is usually the biggest cause of reporting inaccuracies.

7. Establish Governance: Ownership, Maintenance, and Review Cycles

Data structures will degrade unless actively managed.

Assign owners for:

Chart of Accounts
Cost Centres
Customer and Product masters
Project/Job setup

Also include:

Quarterly reviews of structures
Processes for adding/changing master data
Version control for hierarchical reporting structures