Editor's Note: Continuing his look at Analytic and Reporting apps this month, Murph is shining the light on Spotlight Reporting. For an introduction to this month's series, check out his historical perspective on the topic HERE.
Spotlight Reporting is a cloud-based platform offering comprehensive management reporting, customizable dashboards, financial forecasting and KPI (Key Performance Indicator) tracking. It is perfect for presenting financial information to your business clients, banks or company boards.
One impressive quality of this app is its ability to combine report data and graphics into a single presentation, which can be easily customized and rearranged to make the most sense for the target audience, even if that's you.
The example below reflecting a Balance Sheet Analysis is a prime example of the kind of presentation I am talking about.
Spotlight allows you to incorporate report dynamics and analysis as part of the reporting. Your Spotlight reports do not just have to be reports, they also can be detailed breakouts of the data reflected in the way that best illustrates your business performance.
Perhaps you need to highlight key performance measures as they relate to the specific divisions, departments, teams or individuals within your business. That's easy with Spotlight. You can cast the light on the data that illustrates your points and point-of-view, allowing you to build an action plan your team can clearly understand.
Who wouldn’t look at charts like the ones below and immediately see issues related to workflow and performance in terms of clients?
Obviously, you can import your data into Spotlight from QuickBooks or Xero. Spotlight also works with several other data sources including Excel.
In fact, you can import from multiple sources into one Spotlight organization if you need to combine data because it lets you consolidate data from different businesses into one set of reports, even if those companies use different or multi-currency.
Spotlight provides powerful management tools designed to help users make informed decisions to achieve better business outcomes. That means you, as a trusted business advisor, can be the hero of many of your clients if you simply provide the information they need, in the format they need it.
Spotlight’s integrated reporting and forecasting provides insights for better business outcomes. With Spotlight, you can turn your accounting and consulting practice into trusted advising your clients clearly understand.
That’s because Spotlight is more than a reporting tool; it also is a great budgeting and cash-flow forecasting tool. You can easily see the difference between business success and downfall when Spotlight casts the light on your financial trends.
And when it comes to budgetary forecasting accuracy, Spotlight relies on three-way forecasting methodologies, coupled with its all-in-one budget creator to build your base-line numbers. Then Spotlight gives you a what-if scenario builder, providing almost unlimited potential for seeing the future.
Great budgeting and cash flow forecasting can mean the difference between business success and failure. You can use Spotlight Forecasting to predict the future of a business, to build cash-flow strategies and look ahead with confidence.
With access to this kind of cash-flow information, your clients will be able to make smarter decisions, which can mean the difference between success and failure.
And if reporting, budgeting and cash-flow forecasting were not enough for one product to do, you will be happy to know you can create custom dashboards to deliver a high-level overview of the financial position of any business using Spotlight on a single insightful page.
It is easy to customize dashboards with drag-n-drop from a wide selection of pre-configured displays and charts. Spotlight lets you focus on the metrics that matter most to you and your clients by giving you the data you need from all the sources you need.
Some of you may be thinking that Spotlight sounds too good to be true, that it has to be an app so expensive you don’t even need to give it a second thought.
The reality is that Spotlight is relatively inexpensive if you will be using it for multiple clients.
For all that it does, it makes sense to give Spotlight Reporting a thorough look for yourself, and even run a free trial. Put it under a microscope to see if it does what you need, or better yet, cast it in the spotlight of its own product feature set and make certain it adds up to benefits it offers over comparable apps.
I think you will find the results illuminating.
Footnotes and Disclosures:
Portions of this feature, including graphical artwork contained therein, have been adapted from content used from the Spotlight Reporting website. Spotlight Reporting is a privately held, venture capital backed, entity based in Petone, Wellington, New Zealand. All such source materials within this feature by Insightful Accountant were adapted and are furnished solely for educational purposes.
As used herein, QuickBooks and QuickBooks Online refer to one or more registered trademarks of Intuit Inc., a publicly traded corporation headquartered in Mountain View, California.
Any trade names used herein, including those of the sponsor (vendor) featured within this article, refer to products that may be registered, trademarked, or otherwise held by their respective owners; they are referenced for informational and educational purposes only.
This is an editorial feature, not sponsored content. None of the vendors within this article have paid Insightful Accountant or the author any form of remuneration to be included within this feature. The article is provided solely for informational and educational purposes.
The publication of this article, nor the inclusion of this product within the related series, does not represent any endorsement by either the author or Insightful Accountant.
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