Creating reports with Wink and other business software

Wink works great on its own but it also plays really well with other systems. Call it connecting or integrating, it comes down to this: the possibilities are endless when Wink Reports join forces with other software systems.

When cloud integrators and businesses call on us, curious to understand exactly how Wink Reports can work for them and help their clients, we’re keen to share the benefits of our reporting tools’ capabilities, motivated by enabling our end-users to achieve their particular business goals. We’re specifically asked how we can help a business create custom reports they can access from the cloud, working in conjunction with their existing software. We’ll answer that question in great detail over the coming weeks, outlining the capabilities available in Wink.

How do we create Wink reports?

Let’s break down the fundamental steps we take when a client approaches us with this question - this is how we do it:

Step one

When we receive a service request from a client, we first examine what existing software and databases they have in place. Business data can come from a variety of sources, including databases, spreadsheets, cloud-based accounting applications such as Xero, or service management applications such as ServiceM8.

Step two

Next up, we listen to what their business reporting needs are. Once we’ve determined what they want to report on, we think about their data sources. Depending on the nature of the business, they may use data from multiple sources, for example: Xero and WorkflowMax. We create a mock-up report to show the client what they can expect their reports to look like and what information it will provide.

Step three

Now we check that our connectors are able to access and synchronize with their data sources. Connectors allow Wink Reports to collect data from existing business software and cloud services, in order to integrate it into a custom report. We conduct tests to ensure that our connectors are working as they should. During this time, we continuously liaise with the client to ensure that the correct information is being generated for the report.

Step four

The report finally goes online and we enable the client to use it. The client may choose to make changes to the report as their business grows, or they find that there’s additional information that they want to include in their analysis. We’re usually able to accommodate these requests and always happy to discuss them.

The Wink 3-step

So, technically a Wink report is created in three moves - step four is actually when the report makes its move, helping the user make those important business decisions they created the report for in the first place.

Our next blog post will present some real life examples of how Wink Reports connectors are helping businesses through integration with Xero. Let us know if you've got any suggestions of what connectors we should write about.

If you’re keen to unleash your business potential, take advantage of our 30-day free trial and put Wink Reports to work for your business.

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