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Analysing Costs Where money goes.WHAT TO CATEGORISEEvery cost, consistently.WHAT TO SEPARATEDirect costs, tied to... Analysing Customers Who your business actually serves.WHAT TO ANALYSERevenue by customer Margin by customer Frequency... Analysing Marketing and Channel Performance Where effort pays.WHAT TO MEASURE PER CHANNELEnquiries produced Customers produced Cost Cost per... Analysing Profitability by Product or Service Where money is actually made.WHAT TO CALCULATE PER ITEMRevenue Direct cost Gross profit Gross... Analysing Sales Patterns When and how business arrives.WHAT TO LOOK ATSales by month, week and day Sales by hour, for... Analysing Seasonality Understanding your year.WHY IT MATTERSMost businesses are seasonal, and many owners underestimate... Analysing and Interpreting: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.COMPARE LIKE WITH LIKEAgainst the same period last year, not just last month.... Analytics for Businesses Without a Data Person Realistic capability.WHAT YOU ACTUALLY NEEDRecords that are complete and consistent A spreadsheet... Automating Data Collection Reducing manual work.WHAT TO AUTOMATEExports from systems Combining routine sources Recalculating... Avoiding Spreadsheet Errors Where mistakes hide.THE MOST COMMON ERRORSRanges that do not include all the data Formulas copied... Building Analytics Skills in Your Team Capability.WHAT TO LEARN FIRSTSpreadsheet structure and pivot summaries Conditional totals and... Building a Simple Data Model for Your Business Connecting your records.WHAT A DATA MODEL ISHow your records relate to each other.WHAT A SMALL... Building a Simple Reporting Spreadsheet A monthly template.WHAT IT SHOULD CONTAINA data sheet you paste new exports into Calculations... Building a Small Set of Business Metrics Your own scorecard.WHAT TO INCLUDEFive to eight figures covering income, profitability, cash,... Building a Useful Dashboard A summary people read.WHAT A DASHBOARD IS FORShowing current state at a glance.WHAT IT IS NOT... Building an Analytics Habit Making it routine.WHY A HABITOccasional analysis produces occasional insight and no trend.WHAT TO... Checklist: Before You Trust an Analysis Verification.THE DATAWhere did it come from? What period does it cover? Does the total match the... Checklist: Monthly Analysis Routine An hour a month.PREPAREExport the period's data from each source Check totals against each system... Checklist: Setting Up Analysis for a New Business From the start.DECIDE WHAT TO RECORDSales, with date, customer, item, price and cost Enquiries,... Choosing Analytics Tools What to use.WHAT MOST SMALL BUSINESSES NEEDA spreadsheet, and the reporting built into systems... Choosing Which Numbers to Track Selecting metrics.THE TESTWould you act differently if this changed?If not, do not track it.WHAT... Choosing the Right Chart Matching form to content.FOR CHANGE OVER TIMEA line chart.Nothing else shows direction as... Cleaning Data Before Analysis Preparation.WHAT TO CHECK FIRSTDuplicates Missing values Obvious errors Inconsistent categories... Cohort Analysis Explained Simply Grouping by when they started.WHAT A COHORT ISCustomers grouped by when they first bought.WHY IT... Collecting and Organising Data: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.THE MOST VALUABLE FIELD YOU CAN ADDHow each enquiry or customer found you.It answers... Combining Data From Different Sources Joining records.WHEN THIS ARISESSales in one system, customers in another Costs in accounting,... Common Analytical Mistakes Errors that produce wrong conclusions.CONFUSING CORRELATION WITH CAUSETwo things moving together... Common Reporting Mistakes What goes wrong.TOO MUCHEvery number, so nothing stands out.NO COMPARISONA figure with nothing to... Comparing Periods Properly Like against like.WHAT TO COMPAREThis month against last month This month against the same month... Data Analytics and Your Obligations Handling data responsibly.WHAT ANALYSIS FREQUENTLY INVOLVESPersonal data about customers and... Data Analytics: Everything That Matters, Briefly The whole category in one page.START WITH A QUESTION YOU WOULD ACT ONIf the answer changes... Data Quality and Why It Decides Everything The foundation.THE PRINCIPLEAnalysis is only as good as the records beneath it.WHAT POOR DATA... Deciding What to Record Collection with purpose.THE PRINCIPLERecord what you will use.WHAT TO RECORD FOR EVERY SALEWhat... Documenting Your Analysis So it can be repeated and trusted.WHAT TO RECORDWhere the data came from, and for what period... Essential Spreadsheet Functions for Business Analysis The few worth knowing.SUM AND AVERAGETotals and means. Obvious and constantly used.CONDITIONAL... Establishing Definitions Everyone Agrees On Shared meaning.THE PROBLEMTwo people reporting the same metric, differently.WHAT CAUSES ITNo... Forecasting Cash The forecast that matters most.WHY CASH RATHER THAN PROFITA profitable business can run out of... Forecasting Demand and Stock Planning what you need.WHAT TO FORECASTUnits expected to sell, by period, by item.WHAT TO BASE IT... Forecasting Without Complicated Methods Practical prediction.WHAT A FORECAST ISAn estimate of what is likely, based on what has... Forecasting and Planning: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.THE SIMPLEST METHOD THAT WORKSLast year's same period, adjusted for known changes.For... Getting Data Out of Your Systems Exports.WHERE DATA LIVESAccounting software Shop platform Payment gateway Website analytics... Governing Data Access for Analysis Who can see what.WHAT ANALYSIS DATA CONTAINSFrequently personal data: customers, staff,... How Much Data Is Enough Sample size, practically.THE QUESTIONHow many records before a conclusion is safe?THE HONEST... Investigating Why Something Changed Finding causes.WHERE TO STARTSegment it.A fall overall is usually a fall in one part.WHAT TO... Keeping Analysis Honest Integrity.THE RISKAnalysis produced to support a decision already made.WHAT THAT LOOKS... Keeping Data Consistent The discipline that makes analysis possible.WHAT INCONSISTENCY LOOKS LIKEThe same customer... Leading and Lagging Indicators Two kinds of measure.LAGGING INDICATORSResults after the fact: revenue, profit, customers... Making Charts Readable Presentation that communicates.WHAT TO INCLUDEA title stating the finding, not the subject... Measuring Acquisition Cost What it costs to win a customer.WHAT TO CALCULATEAll money spent attracting customers in a period... Measuring Customer Value What a customer is worth.WHAT TO CALCULATEAverage purchase value How often they buy How long they... Measuring Marketing and Sales Conversion From enquiry to customer.WHAT TO MEASUREEnquiries received Quotes or proposals issued Customers... Measuring Operational Efficiency Doing the work.WHAT TO MEASURETime taken per job or unit Quoted versus actual Rework and errors... Measuring Retention and Churn Customers staying and leaving.WHAT RETENTION ISThe proportion of customers who continue... Measuring What Matters: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.THE TEST FOR ANY METRICWould you act differently if it changed? If not, do not track... Planning With Scenarios Preparing for different outcomes.WHAT A SCENARIO ISA coherent set of assumptions about the... Presenting Data Honestly Avoiding misleading.WHAT MISLEADS, EVEN UNINTENTIONALLYValue axes not starting at zero, on bar... Presenting and Reporting: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.CHOOSE THE FORM BY THE MESSAGELine for change over time, bar for comparing... Reference: Analytics Terms Explained Vocabulary.METRICA figure being tracked.KPIA metric considered important enough to steer... Reference: Questions Your Data Should Answer A starting list.MONEYWhich products or services produce the most profit? Which lose money? Is our... Reporting Regularly Cadence.WHAT TO REPORT WEEKLYLeading indicators only: enquiries, quotes, bookings, cash.Short,... Reporting to Different Audiences Adapting the message.FOR AN OWNER OR MANAGERThe finding, the implication, the decision... Segmenting Your Data Breaking totals apart.WHY SEGMENTA total hides everything interesting.WHAT TO SEGMENT BYProduct... Setting Targets That Mean Something Goals attached to numbers.WHAT A USEFUL TARGET ISSpecific Based on your own history Achievable... Setting Up a Spreadsheet for Analysis Structure first.WHAT TO SEPARATERaw data, on its own sheet Calculations, on another Output and... Sharing Spreadsheets Safely Collaboration and control.THE PROBLEMSeveral people editing, versions multiplying, nobody knowing... Spotting Trends Rather Than Noise Signal and variation.THE PROBLEMEvery figure varies. Most variation means nothing.WHAT NOISE... Spreadsheet Habits Worth Adopting Discipline that pays.ALWAYS WORK ON A COPYNever on the only version of the source.CHECK A TOTAL... Spreadsheets: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.THE STRUCTURE THAT MAKES EVERYTHING WORKRaw data on one sheet, calculations on... Starting With a Question, Not a Tool The right sequence.WHAT PEOPLE DOBuy a tool, connect data, build a dashboard, and look at it... Statistics Without the Mathematics: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.SMALL NUMBERS SHOW PATTERNS THAT ARE COINCIDENCETen records will always show... Storing and Organising Your Analysis Files File discipline.WHAT ACCUMULATESExports Working copies Versions Final outputsWHAT GOES... Storytelling With Business Data Making findings land.WHY IT MATTERSNumbers alone rarely change behaviour.WHAT A FINDING... Structuring Data So It Can Be Analysed Format matters.THE RULEOne row per record, one column per attribute, one value per cell.WHAT THAT... Summarising Data With Pivot Summaries The most useful feature.WHAT THEY DOGroup records and summarise them without writing... Testing Whether a Change Actually Worked Knowing whether something worked.WHAT TO DO BEFORE CHANGING ANYTHINGRecord the current... The Difference Between Data, Information and Insight Why the distinction matters.DATARaw records. Transactions, timestamps, entries.Meaningless on its... Tools and Governance: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.WHAT MOST SMALL BUSINESSES NEEDA spreadsheet and the reporting already built into... Turning Analysis Into Decisions Closing the loop.THE PROBLEMAnalysis produced, read, and nothing changes.WHAT MAKES ANALYSIS... Understanding Averages and What They Hide Beyond the mean.WHAT AN AVERAGE DOESSummarises many values into one.WHAT IT HIDESThe spread... Understanding Bias in Data Systematic error.WHAT BIAS ISA consistent distortion, rather than random error.WHY IT IS WORSE... Understanding Confidence and Uncertainty Knowing how sure to be.WHAT UNCERTAINTY MEANSThe finding could be wrong, and by how much.WHAT... Understanding Correlation and Cause The distinction that matters most.WHAT CORRELATION MEANSTwo things moving together.WHAT IT DOES... Understanding Data Analytics: Everything That Matters, Briefly The summary.WHAT IT ACTUALLY ISUsing the information your business already produces to answer... Understanding Distributions How values are spread.WHAT A DISTRIBUTION ISHow values are spread across a range.WHY IT... Understanding Outliers Unusual values.WHAT AN OUTLIER ISA value far from the rest.WHAT IT MIGHT BEAn error A genuine... Understanding Percentages and Rates Getting proportions right.WHAT A PERCENTAGE NEEDSA base. Percentage of what.WHAT GOES WRONG... Understanding Revenue, Profit and Margin The figures people confuse.REVENUETotal sales value.The number people quote and the least useful... Understanding Uncertainty in Forecasts Being honest about what you do not know.WHY FORECASTS ARE WRONGThey assume the future resembles... Understanding Variation Why numbers move.WHAT VARIATION ISNatural fluctuation in any measure.WHY IT MATTERSMost movement... Using AI Tools for Analysis Care and limits.WHAT THEY CAN HELP WITHExplaining a function or method Suggesting how to... Using Data for Capacity and Staffing Matching resources to demand.WHAT TO ANALYSEDemand by day, week and hour Time taken per unit of... Using Data for Pricing Decisions Evidence behind prices.WHAT TO ESTABLISH FIRSTActual cost per item or service, including your... Using Ranking and Contribution Analysis Finding what matters most.WHAT IT ISRanking items by contribution, and seeing how much comes from... What Data Analytics Means for a Small Business Scope and purpose.WHAT IT ISUsing the information your business already produces to answer... What Data Your Business Already Produces Taking stock.FROM SALESWhat was sold, when, to whom, at what price Discounts given Returns and... What You Cannot Learn From Data Honest limits.WHY SOMETHING HAPPENEDData shows what happened. It rarely shows why.WHAT CUSTOMERS... When to Move Beyond Spreadsheets Recognising the limit.WHAT SPREADSHEETS DO WELLAd hoc analysis Modest volumes One person working... Why Businesses Analyse Their Data The reasons that matter.TO ANSWER QUESTIONSWhich of my products is most profitable? Why did sales... Working With Dates and Periods Time in spreadsheets.WHY DATES CAUSE PROBLEMSThey are stored as numbers and displayed as text,... Writing a Report People Read Communicating findings.WHAT TO LEAD WITHThe finding and the recommendation.Not the method.THE...
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