Reporting Automation Readiness Checklist

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Report name, owner and due time

Know the source

Name the decision this report supports.Record who uses it, the period it covers and when it needs to be ready.
List every source and its owner.Include systems, exports and files. Confirm that the business can access and use each one.
Time the work that happens now.Include collecting, checking, fixing and reviewing the report. Record the workload alongside the time.
Confirm when the source data is refreshed.A successful download can still contain yesterday’s information. Agree the latest acceptable source date.

Check the dates and reporting period.Agree the date range, time zone and cutoff so that two runs describe the same work.
Decide how to detect missing information.Check required columns, expected files and totals where a suitable control total exists.
Decide what happens on a repeat run.Make sure rerunning a job does not count the same records twice or replace a good file with a bad one.
Keep the output traceable to its source.Retain the source reference and collection time so someone can explain an unexpected figure.

Choose an owner for failed checks.Agree who receives the alert and where incomplete or uncertain work waits for review.
Write down the recovery route.Explain how to rerun, correct or prepare the report manually if a source is unavailable.
Test a failure as well as a successful run.Use fictional or authorised test data. Try an old file, a missing input and a duplicate before relying on the output.
Count the work that remains.Compare like-for-like runs, including review and exception handling. Do not call an estimate a measured saving.

This is a planning aid. A completed checklist does not certify a report or replace testing and the owner’s review.