Why I still love manual reporting

Yes, I know AI exists

Hi there,

I’m slightly embarrassed to admit it: I still do a lot of manual data processing.

In a world where everyone is obsessed with automating dashboards, it sometimes feels like I’m behind the times. But recently, I was reminded that manual isn’t old-school, it’s strategic.

Here’s the thing: automation makes us fast. But sometimes we need to slow down.

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100 hours of manual analysis well spent

Recently, I spent nearly 100 hours on a growth audit for an 8-figure DTC brand.

Fixed rate project. Could I have done it in 50–60 hours with more automation? Probably.

But this audit shaped their entire growth strategy.

I wanted to double-check everything, understand platform nuances, and deliver the best actionable advice. If I’d automated it all, I would have missed critical context.

Manual reporting creates thinking time. It helps build intuition about your numbers, especially for early-stage brands still figuring out which metrics matter.

But I’m not anti-automation. Dashboards shine for consistency, speed, stakeholder communication, and long-term trend tracking.

The smartest teams use both. Dashboards keep you efficient. Manual keeps you sharp.

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Recommendation

Convert, an incredible testing platform for Shopify, sponsors this week’s newsletter. If you’ve got the traffic to run A/B tests, they’re a great platform to use.

Here’s the irony: I’m about to suggest an AI article. Why? Because Iqbal takes a slow-it-down approach to AI to get the best insights.

The takeaway: if you choose to go the AI or automated route, ensure you’re asking the right prompts and thinking critically about how to utilise it to draw meaningful insights, not just churn out numbers.

Best of all, Iqbal is an incredible cartoonist, and the article features some very cool graphics of him.

Credit: Iqbal Ali - Convert Article - Smaller models, smarter prompts, and the lessons learned from “strawberry-gate”

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Call me old school but I think a bit of reporting 2004 style does a lot of good, I was so glad when Anna Tankel, fellow growth consultant, admited on Linkedin doing the same. She’s the inspiration for this article and newsletter.

It shouldn’t be manual vs automated reporting, but rather strategically using both,

Daphne