Why Manual Reporting Is Killing Your Team
Every Monday: pull data from 5 sources, paste into slides, write commentary, send to leadership. 8 hours of work that an AI pipeline handles in 8 minutes.
The Three-Stage Pipeline
Stage 1: Data Collection
- Databases: SQL queries on schedule
- SaaS APIs: Stripe, HubSpot, GA via REST
- Spreadsheets: Google Sheets API for manual-entry data
Stage 2: AI Processing
const prompt = `You are a senior business analyst.
Given this week's metrics vs last week:
${JSON.stringify(weeklyDelta)}
Write a 3-paragraph executive summary covering:
1. Top wins and growth areas
2. Metrics that need attention
3. Recommended actions`;
Stage 3: Delivery
| Format | Best For | Tool |
|---|
| PDF | Board meetings | Puppeteer |
| Slack | Daily standups | Slack API |
| Email | Weekly leadership | Resend |
Cost Breakdown
- OpenAI API: ~$15/month
- n8n: Free self-hosted
- Hosting: $0 on Vercel
Total: Under $20/month to replace 30+ hours of manual work. Start with the weekly CEO summary — highest ROI starting point.