Define the report before generating it
Start with the decision you need to make. 'How are sales going?' is broad; 'Which open opportunities need an activity this week?' defines the data, period and outcome. Specify filters, units, audience and desired format.
Ask for three parts: facts from accessible records, interpretation and missing data. For comparisons between periods, use consistent definitions. A model can organize an analysis that has no prebuilt dashboard, but a new metric is useful only when the data required to calculate it is available.
A new analysis does not always need a new feature
When the software stores the necessary data, an assistant can combine it into a different analysis: newly acquired contacts and linked opportunities, search progress by client, or approved hours by project. Specify relationships and ask how the results were obtained.
This expands possible analyses without promising that AI can create any app feature. A new workflow may require unexposed operations, permissions or missing data. First ask which operations are available, then build the sequence. If a capability is absent, state the manual step rather than hiding it.
Read the pipeline without inventing a forecast
To analyze a pipeline, define the period, included stages and inactivity criterion. A concrete request is: 'Show open opportunities with no activity in the last thirty days and identify their owners.' Do not silently total different currencies or missing values.
A forecast needs further rules: probabilities, expected dates and calculation basis. Ask the assistant to expose these assumptions and distinguish nominal total from weighted value. A model-generated analysis is not a certified forecast; verify the records that most affect the commercial decision.
Hours, costs and margins: check the calculation basis
Recorded hours are not necessarily approved, billable or invoiced hours. For a project report, specify included statuses, period and the source of rates. Before calculating a margin, verify that costs and revenue use the same time basis and currency.
Request a readable formula and a list of missing data. If a consultant's cost is absent, the model should not replace it with an undisclosed estimate. Use the analysis to identify what to verify in the app; then compare periods or projects using consistent criteria.
Chat reports and exports are different workflows
A table created in conversation is a model's analysis. A file exported by the software follows a supported operation and format. Hice has specific exports, including timesheets and quote documents: check which are available to your user and AI client.
Do not assume that an answer naming a file means the document was delivered. Check that downloading works, that the contents match the requested period and that the recipient can open it. If the client cannot handle the file, use the app's supported export flow.
