## How Often Should I Check Reports?

The frequency of checking reports depends on your business stage, size, and goals. This guide provides recommended review schedules for different scenarios.

### Recommended Review Schedule

#### Daily (5-10 minutes)

Reports to check:

1. - Yesterday's revenue and profit
   - Comparison to previous day
   - Any major changes or anomalies
2. - Any negative profit orders?
   - Order volume on track?
   - Any unusual patterns?

Best practice: Check first thing each morning, set up daily summary email to save time

#### Weekly (20-30 minutes)

Reports to review:

1. - Is revenue growing or declining?
   - Profit margins stable?
   - Order volume meeting targets?
2. - Top 10 profitable products
   - Any products with negative profit?
   - Stock levels on best sellers
3. - ROAS by campaign
   - Pause underperforming campaigns
   - Scale winning campaigns
4. - Which sources driving profit?
   - Conversion rates by source
   - Budget allocation optimization

Best day: Monday morning to review prior week and plan current week

#### Monthly (1-2 hours)

Comprehensive review session:

1. - Month-over-month comparison
   - Year-over-year if available
   - Share with accountant/team
2. - Product profitability ranking
   - Identify products to discontinue
   - Plan inventory for next month
   - New product performance
3. - New vs returning customer ratio
   - Customer lifetime value trends
   - Top customer identification
   - Retention rates
4. - Expense by category
   - Compare to budget
   - Identify cost-cutting opportunities
   - Verify recurring expenses still needed
5. - ROAS by platform
   - Customer acquisition cost
   - Organic vs paid performance
   - Budget allocation for next month

Best day: Last day or first day of month

### Quarterly (Half day)

Strategic review:

1. - Revenue growth trajectory
   - Margin evolution
   - Seasonal patterns emerging
2. - Revenue goals
   - Profit goals
   - Customer acquisition goals
3. - Budget allocation
   - Product launches
   - Marketing campaigns
   - Hiring or infrastructure needs
4. - Same quarter last year vs this year
   - Growth rates
   - Improvements or declines

Best time: Last week of quarter with leadership team

### Frequency by Business Size

#### Small Store (< $10k/month)

- Daily: Dashboard only (5 min)
- Weekly: Full review (30 min)
- Monthly: Financial review (1 hour)

#### Medium Store ($10k-$100k/month)

- Daily: Dashboard + recent orders (10 min)
- 2-3x Weekly: Sales and product review (20 min)
- Weekly: Marketing and campaigns (30 min)
- Monthly: Comprehensive review (2 hours)

#### Large Store ($100k+/month)

- Multiple daily: Realtime dashboard checks
- Daily: Sales, products, campaigns (30 min)
- Weekly: Full review with team (1 hour)
- Monthly: Strategic review (half day)

#### Frequency by Business Type

### Growth-Focused

- Daily monitoring essential
- Rapid iteration on campaigns
- Real-time decision making

#### Stable/Mature Business

- Weekly reviews sufficient
- Monthly strategic planning
- Focus on optimization over growth

### Seasonal Business

- Peak season: Daily monitoring
- Off-season: Weekly checks
- Pre-season: Planning and forecasting

#### Automated Monitoring

### Set Up Alerts

Instead of manual checking, get notified:

1. Daily Summary Email: Automatic overview each morning
2. Low Profit Alerts: Notified if profit drops below threshold
3. Negative Profit Alerts: Immediate notification for unprofitable orders
4. Goal Achievement: Celebrated when hitting targets

See Email Notifications Guide

### Scheduled Reports

Automate regular reports:

- Weekly performance report every Monday
- Monthly P&L first of each month
- Friday campaign review

See Scheduling Guide

#### Time-Saving Tips

### Use Favorites

- Star your daily/weekly reports
- Quick access from top of Reports page
- No searching through full list

#### Set Default Date Ranges

- Configure reports to open with your preferred date range
- No manual date selection each time

### Create Dashboard Views

- One comprehensive dashboard with all key metrics
- Single page to check everything
- Combine metric cards, charts, tables

#### Mobile Access

- Alpha Insights reports are mobile-responsive
- Check dashboard from phone
- Quick review anywhere, anytime

### Review Meeting Structure

#### Daily Standup (5 min)

1. Open Store Dashboard
2. Review key metrics card
3. Any red flags? Address immediately
4. No issues? Move on with day

#### Weekly Team Meeting (30 min)

1. Sales Overview presentation (10 min)
2. Product performance review (10 min)
3. Campaign results and next week plans (10 min)

#### Monthly Business Review (1-2 hours)

1. P&L review (20 min)
2. Trend analysis (20 min)
3. Goal progress (15 min)
4. Strategic planning (30 min)
5. Action items and assignments (10 min)

### What to Look For

#### Daily Checks

- Major deviations from normal (revenue up/down 30%+)
- Negative profit orders requiring attention
- Campaign performance issues

#### Weekly Reviews

- Trending patterns (3+ days same direction)
- Product performance changes
- Marketing ROI shifts
- Competitor activity impact

#### Monthly Analysis

- Overall business health
- Progress toward goals
- Long-term trends
- Strategic opportunities or threats

### Signs You're Checking Too Often

- Refreshing reports every hour
- Making daily decisions based on hourly fluctuations
- Feeling anxious about minor changes
- Spending more time in reports than working on business

Solution: Set specific review times, stick to schedule, trust your automated alerts

### Signs You're Not Checking Enough

- Surprised by month-end results
- Unprofitable campaigns running for weeks
- Not noticing trend changes until too late
- Making decisions without data

Solution: Increase frequency, set up automated reports, enable alerts

#### Building a Review Habit

### Start Small

- Week 1-2: Daily dashboard checks only
- Week 3-4: Add weekly deep dive
- Month 2: Add monthly comprehensive review

#### Calendar Blocking

- Schedule report review time on calendar
- Treat it like important meeting
- Don't skip or reschedule

### Create Checklist

Standardize what you check:

- Daily checklist (3-5 items)
- Weekly checklist (8-10 items)
- Monthly checklist (15-20 items)