# weekly report workflow kit

ToolFlowKit original kit | v0.1 | Prepared 2026-10-20

Friday arrives and the numbers are scattered across store exports, traffic reports, and last week's spreadsheet. If preparing the update means rebuilding the same totals and explaining differences you cannot yet verify, start with a checked reporting routine.

Use two complete, comparable date windows, reconcile the source exports, and prepare a short report with observed changes, unresolved questions, and a next action. Start manually in Grist; add automation after the checks work.

Save this file with the accompanying practice inputs and references. Use your local ToolFlowKit address while the public site is being prepared. Examples are fictional teaching material, not actual software-run outputs.

## Prepare two complete reporting windows

This workflow is for a small-business operator preparing a weekly update. Record the timezone, reporting dates, currency, source system, and meaning of each metric. Keep the exports unchanged beside your working file.

The practice data is fictional. It covers October 5–11 and October 12–18, 2026, in America/Los_Angeles. It is not ToolFlowKit analytics or a merchant report. Ad spend is blank throughout and must stay unknown.

- Download 14 practice daily rows: weekly-business-sample.csv
- Download the reference report: weekly-business-reference.md
- Download the complete reporting kit: weekly-business-report-kit.md


## Import and inspect the file in Grist

1. Open your Grist workspace and create a document by importing weekly-business-sample.csv. Follow the official import guide for your chosen hosted or self-hosted setup.
2. Check that 14 dates arrived once each, the timezone is consistent, and the numeric columns have the intended types. Preserve the blank ad_spend_usd cells.
3. Separate the two seven-day periods and total sessions, orders, gross sales, and refunds for each. Use the column/formula helper if adding net sales: gross sales minus refunds.
4. Compare the working totals with the reference report before asking AI to explain anything.

- Grist setup and first import: https://toolflowkit.com/tools/grist
- Official Grist import instructions: https://support.getgrist.com/imports/

## Check the totals and the limits of the comparison

- [ ] Compare each date and source total, not only the final grand total.
- [ ] Calculate percentage change as (current − previous) ÷ previous. A previous value of zero needs a different explanation, not an infinite percentage.
- [ ] Keep refunds visible even when gross sales rise.
- [ ] Separate missing data from an observed zero.

### Recorded sessions: 800 → 960

+20%. This is a reported traffic total, not proof that a particular channel produced the orders.

### Reported orders: 32 → 40

+25%. Gross sales go from USD 1,600 to 2,000. Refunds go from USD 50 to 100.

### Net sales: USD 1,550 → 1,900

Gross minus refunds, +22.58% after rounding. More net sales does not explain why the increase happened.

### Advertising performance: unknown

No ad-spend export or channel-level order allocation was supplied. Keep ad return and channel conversion conclusions out of the report.


## Give AI the checked figures and ask for a bounded draft

Paste the approved totals, dates, metric definitions, and missing fields into your own AI service. Keep customer-level and order-level personal information out of the prompt.

```text
TASK: Draft a weekly business update from these checked aggregate figures.
WINDOWS AND TIMEZONE: [Complete current and previous dates]
SOURCES AND DEFINITIONS: [Where each metric came from]
CHECKED TOTALS: [Paste approved table]
MISSING DATA: [Fields unavailable; keep them unknown]

Return: observed changes; checks or unresolved discrepancies; up to two plausible explanations clearly labeled as hypotheses; the evidence needed to test them; one or two practical next actions. Check percentage calculations. Do not attribute orders to a channel or query without supporting attribution data. Do not treat missing values as zero or publish the report.
```


## Save the repeatable steps before adding automation

Keep a dated input folder, field definitions, the checked totals, prompt, draft, and reviewer decision. On the next run, replace the inputs and check that headers, dates, and source definitions still match.

If using Activepieces, begin with a test flow: choose a trigger, read sample data through the relevant connection, validate required fields, and prepare a draft. Confirm which connectors and review features your account supports. Add an external sharing action only after the review process is explicit.

- Activepieces: prepare a test flow: https://toolflowkit.com/tools/activepieces
- Official trigger and action model: https://www.activepieces.com/docs/flows/building-flows

## What should you do when the figures disagree?

- [ ] A person approves the source totals and the final draft.
- [ ] The report identifies what is known, unknown, and inferred.
- [ ] The next action requests the missing evidence rather than guessing a cause.

### The two exports use different date boundaries

Align complete days and timezones before comparing them. A partial current week stays provisional.

### Rows are missing or repeated

Check the source export, filters, pagination, and date/key uniqueness before editing the report's explanation.

### Sessions and orders seem inconsistent

Check their different definitions and sources. Keep them separate until the data supports an attribution relationship.


## Run your next update from the kit

- Save the weekly business reporting kit: https://toolflowkit.com/resources/weekly-business-report
- Review an AI result against its original evidence: https://toolflowkit.com/guides/review-output

## Sources and reuse

Official documentation checked 2026-10-20. Follow the instructions for your chosen version and environment.

- Grist: importing data: https://support.getgrist.com/imports/
- Grist: formulas: https://support.getgrist.com/formulas/
- Activepieces: building flows: https://www.activepieces.com/docs/flows/building-flows

Keep your run date, tool/model version, source file names, checks, unresolved items, and human review decision with each run.

License for ToolFlowKit original kit and practice material: CC0 1.0 Universal. https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/