Source: [Original HTML page](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/)

Language: English

FREE TEMPLATE · FILL IN, DOWNLOAD, REUSE

# Business reporting brief

Start with the decision a report should support. Define calculations before narrative: persuasive commentary does not make incomplete comparisons or incorrect data reliable.

[By Stolen Orbit](https://stolenorbit.com/en/about/) Revision 2026-09-24

## When to use it and what to produce

[Source for this section](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/#template-purpose)

Before automating sales, operations or service reports and when adding AI summaries to business data.

A report contract covering audience, metric definitions, sources, checks, reviewer and distribution conditions.

Fill in the fields below and download your document. The website does not send or save answers: closing the page may lose them. Examples are illustrative and should be replaced with your process data.

[Download the complete blank template (.md)](https://stolenorbit.com/downloads/reporting-brief-en.md)

Without JavaScript, download the full template above and complete it in your editor.

## 1\. Define the decision

[Source for this section](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/#decision)

Choose an operational question and an audience. A report intended for every department can mix meanings, reporting frequencies and access levels.

**See a worked example**

Illustrative example: a weekly report helps support redistribute open tickets. Its question concerns workload and ticket age, rather than automatically assessing employees.

**Question and possible action**

State which decision the reader should make and what information they currently lack.

**Recipients and responsibilities**

Record roles, necessary level of detail and who owns the next action.

**Period, frequency and data cutoff**

Define interval, time zone, extraction time and treatment of records arriving late.

## 2\. Establish metrics and checks

[Source for this section](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/#metrics)

Define formulas and populations before generating commentary. Calculations must be reproducible, and missing information must remain distinguishable from a real zero.

**See a worked example**

Illustrative example: open tickets are those not closed at extraction time. If one intake channel is missing, flag incomplete coverage instead of describing lower volume as an improvement.

**Metrics, formulas and inclusions**

Describe numerator, denominator, units, exclusions and the difference between absolute and percentage change.

**Sources and transformations**

Link an identifiable query or extract, authoritative systems and aggregation steps.

**Checks and incomplete data**

Plan counts, source comparisons, anomaly checks and behaviour when a system supplies no data.

## 3\. Govern commentary and distribution

[Source for this section](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/#narrative)

Keep interpretation within available evidence. A change in numbers may justify investigation but does not establish its cause by itself.

**See a worked example**

Illustrative example: a summary flags increased ticket volume but does not blame a campaign without evidence. The owner checks the context before distributing that interpretation.

**Allowed interpretation and limits**

Specify permitted comparisons, sources to cite and claims requiring confirmation from an owner.

**Reviewer and sending conditions**

Define checks on numbers, wording and recipients, including when distribution should be paused.

**Report version and feedback**

Preserve data reference, version, generation time and a channel to correct errors or unhelpful metrics.

## Pitfalls to avoid

[Source for this section](https://stolenorbit.com/en/templates/business-reporting-brief/#template-pitfalls)

-   Allowing the model to invent a formula or fill in missing figures.
-   Comparing periods with different coverage without saying so.
-   Turning a correlation or change into a claim of proven causation.

[Readable reports built on numbers you can verify.](https://stolenorbit.com/en/services/controlled-ai-reporting/)

[Measure automation from saved effort through to an operational outcome.](https://stolenorbit.com/en/resources/measuring-automation-outcomes/)

[All templates and tools](https://stolenorbit.com/en/tools/)

[All guides](https://stolenorbit.com/en/resources/)

## Take the next step together.

Use this document to start a discussion about scope, evaluation and project ownership.

Review the text before sending. Only your email is needed alongside the message; other details are optional.

[Contact us](/en/contact/)

## Turn the question into a next step.

-   [AI implementation costs](https://stolenorbit.com/en/resources/ai-implementation-costs/)
-   [How much time could automation release?](https://stolenorbit.com/en/tools/automation-roi-calculator/)
-   [Measuring automation outcomes](https://stolenorbit.com/en/resources/measuring-automation-outcomes/)