Data falls into two categories, detail data and group data. Detail data is limited to a single entity or transaction. A customer, invoice, and payment would all be considered detail data. Group data is an aggregate of the detailed data. For the most part, any report shows group data. Examples would be sales, accounts receivable, and inventory level reports. Group data is dependent on detail data points. If the detail data points are not set correctly, you cannot derive the group data. Here’s an example:
“Moe Autos” sells cars. Here are the data points the software solution uses:
Moe has three cars for sale: a white 2004 Dodge Durango, a red 2003 Ford Explorer, and a green 2005 Chevy Suburban. They each have 14,000 miles on them and are automatic. So far, this fits the data model fine. The Durango seats 7 people, the Explorer seats 5 people, and the Suburban seats 9 and is a four-wheel drive. Since there are no data points to store the number of people and drive (4WD or 2WD), this information is lumped into the description field.
A customer calls, and wants a list of all vehicles that seat more than 5 people. Another customer calls, and wants a list of all four-wheel drive SUV’s. With three cars, it’s pretty easy to scroll thru inventory, or stroll across the lot. Let’s say we bump his inventory levels up to 50 cars. What about 100? 200? Now what happens? You have the data, you’ve taken the time to enter it, but you can’t quickly access it. You need to know what models are selling, to know how to replenish your inventory, but your Sales By Item report is omitting important information.
When you are choosing a software solution, make sure it can track all the data points you need to run your business. Also, make sure the provided reports can operate on the data points you need.
Contact us to learn more about what data points can do for your business.
Stephen Tuttle
DS Technologies, Inc