Analysis
Scheduled report
Also called emailed report.
Scheduled report is a report that runs and is delivered on a calendar, usually by email. It takes the habit of checking out of memory.
How it is measured
A schedule has a report, a recipient list, a frequency, a send time, and a format. The data is read at the time of generation, so the date range should be relative, such as last full week.
Check each run: did it send, is the range correct, and did anyone open it? A report sent to an unread inbox is not a process.
Worked example
A landscaping firm sets a Monday 7 a.m. email with quote-form submissions, phone taps, and top pages for the previous full week. It lands in the owner's inbox with 31 form submissions.
In week five the owner sees 12 and calls the web contractor on Monday morning. A broken form plugin is fixed that day. Before the schedule existed the same fault ran for nine days.
How it differs
A scheduled report is a delivery. A report is the query behind it. A schedule adds timing and a recipient but does not change what the query says.
Common errors
Sending to a whole company list. Using fixed dates so the report goes stale. Sending daily so nobody reads. Not naming an owner. Leaving schedules running for staff who left.
In practice
Set up one weekly email with three numbers for yourself and one other person. Use the previous full week. Review the recipient list every quarter.