Start with the control total and the definition of the number you are comparing. Then isolate the stage where the output changes. These guides provide reproducible examples and practical records you can use without an email gate.
Before the numbers become artwork
A short handoff checklist for annual-report designers: source cells, report pages, windows, counting rules and approvals.
Open resource ↗02 / GUIDEBefore marketing and finance compare revenue
A forwardable checklist for agency advisors: source, dates, definitions, comparability and missing evidence.
Open resource ↗03 / GUIDEMore conversions can mean a lower rate
A labelled synthetic example separates conversion count, relative rate change and percentage points. Keep the denominator beside every claim.
Open resource ↗04 / GUIDEReconcile source totals with a client report
A worked 1,000 versus 1,250 example, an investigation sequence, and a downloadable reconciliation worksheet for agency report owners.
Open resource ↗05 / GUIDEFind duplicate spend in a blended report
See how a one-to-many join turns $1,000 into $1,600, and use row counts and key checks to find the stage responsible.
Open resource ↗06 / GUIDEAlign reporting dates and time zones
Test midnight boundaries, daylight saving changes, half-open reporting periods, and refresh cutoffs with named IANA time zones.
Open resource ↗07 / GUIDEKeep dashboard and exported reports consistent
A source-to-output map and practical checks for dashboard, PDF, slide, and spreadsheet refreshes, filters, rounding, and completeness.
Open resource ↗08 / GUIDEDefine reporting metrics and their approvers
A reusable metric dictionary with formula, grain, attribution, window, exclusions, source, approval owner, and two synthetic examples.
Open resource ↗09 / SYNTHETIC EVIDENCEA synthetic report review you can reproduce
Download source rows, a flawed transformation, corrected controls, a source map, and an acceptance record. All examples are synthetic.
Open resource ↗07 / WORKSHEETAccept, revise, or hold the report
Run the browser-local sign-off worksheet and keep a record of the evidence, unresolved risks, and approver.
Open the worksheet ↗Need a bounded independent review?
See the $500 one-report review for scope, inputs, six deliverables, timing conditions, exclusions, and the fit-check process.