> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.snowdoughnut.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Report on results

> How reporting works end to end: one flat file feeding every report, one definition per metric, and a fixed cadence from weekly through to annual.

Use this to produce a report, or to set reporting up for the first time.

<Note>
  Every report reads from the [flat file](/flat-file-template), not from the ad platforms. If two reports pull from two places, they will eventually disagree and nobody will know which is right.
</Note>

## Setting it up (once)

<Steps>
  <Step title="1. Read the framework">
    [Reporting framework concepts](/reporting-framework-concepts) covers the north star, counter-metrics, and how the layers relate. [Data quality and rollup concepts](/data-quality-and-rollup-concepts) covers what breaks when weekly numbers don't add up to the monthly ones.
  </Step>

  <Step title="2. Define every metric once">
    Fill in the [marketing reporting data dictionary](/marketing-reporting-data-dictionary): one definition, one owner, one grain per metric. Then agree the headline set in [KPI definitions](/kpi-definitions).

    If a starter pack fits, begin there: [ecommerce](/ecommerce-metrics-starter-pack) or [sales-led](/sales-led-metrics-starter-pack).
  </Step>

  <Step title="3. Build the flat file">
    Set up the [flat file](/flat-file-template). Its grain and its column names come from the data dictionary, and its campaign column joins on your [naming conventions](/campaign-naming-conventions) and [UTM values](/utm-standards).
  </Step>

  <Step title="4. Set the cadence and the dashboards">
    Agree who reports what, to whom, how often in [reporting cadence](/reporting-cadence), and how it's presented in [dashboard standards](/dashboard-standards).
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Producing a report

| Cadence   | Template                                                | Process                                                     | Archive                                        |
| :-------- | :------------------------------------------------------ | :---------------------------------------------------------- | :--------------------------------------------- |
| Weekly    | [Weekly report template](/weekly-report-template)       | [Weekly reporting process](/weekly-reporting-process)       | [Weekly archive](/weekly-report-archive)       |
| Monthly   | [Monthly report template](/monthly-report-template)     | [Monthly reporting process](/monthly-reporting-process)     | [Monthly archive](/monthly-report-archive)     |
| Quarterly | [Quarterly report template](/quarterly-report-template) | [Quarterly reporting process](/quarterly-reporting-process) | [Quarterly archive](/quarterly-report-archive) |
| Annual    | [Annual report template](/annual-report-template)       | [Yearly reporting process](/yearly-reporting-process)       | [Annual archive](/annual-report-archive)       |

Each period rolls up into the next. A monthly report is not written from scratch; it's assembled from weeks that already reconciled.

<Steps>
  <Step title="1. Load and check the rows">
    Add the period's rows to the flat file and check them against the rules in [data quality and rollup concepts](/data-quality-and-rollup-concepts). Catch the gaps before writing, not after someone questions a number.
  </Step>

  <Step title="2. Check the change log">
    Anything that changed mid-period (a budget shift, a tracking fix, a naming correction) explains a movement that otherwise looks like performance.
  </Step>

  <Step title="3. Write it">
    Use the template for the period. [Report writing concepts](/report-writing-concepts) covers how to say what happened without overclaiming a cause.
  </Step>

  <Step title="4. File it">
    Save to the archive for that period. The archive is what makes a quarterly report possible without re-deriving three months of numbers.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Related resources

* [**Marketing reporting data dictionary**](/marketing-reporting-data-dictionary) One definition per metric.
* [**Flat file**](/flat-file-template) The single source every report reads.
* [**Reporting framework concepts**](/reporting-framework-concepts) The reasoning behind the structure.
* [**Report writing concepts**](/report-writing-concepts) How to write the narrative.
* [**Set up tracking**](/set-up-tracking) What has to be right upstream for any of this to work.
* [**Reporting best practices**](/reporting-best-practices) How to produce reports people trust.