The month-end pack is assembled by hand.

Reports read the same data the business runs on.

Most reporting tools copy the data out first and report on the copy. STRAX reports read the hub directly, the same database every connected system writes to, so the figures are the ones the business is running on right now. AI writes the insight sections, and a draft becomes a tested, locked production report the same afternoon.

A month-end pack built from the live hub the systems write to Three systems keep writing to the STRAX hub. A query and a report read the hub directly, an AI insight section is written from the report's own numbers, the draft is tested and locked in production the same afternoon, a figure updates as a new record lands, and the pack is sent on schedule. CRM Billing Support desk STRAX hub · live Extract · last Tuesdayspreadsheet copy Query · Orders by region · August Gauteng1 284 Western Cape902 KwaZulu-Natal613 Same data the systems run on Month-end pack · August Orders2 7992 806 Delivered on time2 610 updated 2 s ago Orders by region AI insight KwaZulu-Natal orders rose for a third month; delivery times did not. Worth a look before the regional review on the 4th. Insight · from the numbers above Draft Test run ✓ Promote Locked Draft → production 4 min Every 1st · 06:00 → Finance · 3 recipients month-end.pdf · sent The report reads the record the systems just wrote. The insight is written from the numbers above it. Draft to production in an afternoon, then scheduled. Accurate because it reads the hub, and fast because nothing is copied.

Figures read from the hub itself

Most reporting copies data out of the systems and reports on the copy, so the number on the page was true when the extract ran, and nobody is quite sure when that was. STRAX reports read the hub itself, the same database every connected system writes to and reads from. The figure in the report is the figure the business is running on right now, with its origin on record.

  • There are no extracts to schedule and nothing to reconcile between the report and the systems.
  • Every value carries its provenance: which system wrote it, and when.
  • A saved query is answered from the hub every time it runs, with the same parameters.
Live The figure the business runs on No extracts, no copies, provenance on record
Figures read from the hub itself The stale extract copy is crossed out; the report reads the live hub and each value shows which system wrote it and when. The extract copy true when the extract ran, nobody is quite sure when that was reconciled monthly, argued weekly The hub the same database every system writes to Monthly revenue report reads the hub itself, in the same flow Revenue, this month R 4 812 340 the figure the business runs on, now Where it came from written by Billing · 09:14 today provenance on every value ✓ Saved query "revenue by region", answered from the hub every run, same parameters nothing to reconcile ✓ Most reporting reports on a copy. STRAX reports read the hub itself.
The report reads the same hub the systems write to, so every figure on the page is current.

The smart sections

A report is composed from sections such as tables, charts and KPI tiles, and among them sit AI insight sections that read the numbers above them and write the paragraph a good analyst would: what moved, where, and what is worth looking at. The library of saved, parameterised queries feeds them all, and live diagrams show the estate the numbers came from.

  • AI insight sections written from the report's own figures.
  • A query library with parameters, ownership and versions, so each question has one answer.
  • Live entity diagrams of the systems, tables and mappings behind the report, exported to PNG, SVG or draw.io.
Live The smart sections Tables · charts · KPIs · AI insight
The smart sections A report assembles from table, chart and KPI sections; an AI insight section then writes what moved and where, from the report's own figures. Regional performance, August Table: orders by region Gauteng 2 114 ▲ 12% Western Cape 1 402 ▲ 3% KZN 648 ▼ 9% Chart KPI 96.2% on-time installs AI insight "Gauteng's 12% rise is driven by the new-build estates; KZN's dip follows the outage on the 14th; worth watching the reconnect backlog. Written from the figures above." Tables, charts and KPIs make up the report. AI writes the paragraph an analyst would.
Among the sections sit AI insight sections that read the numbers above them and write what moved, where, and why it matters.

From draft to a locked production report

A report is drafted, run against staging, reviewed and promoted to production, where it is locked so nobody edits what the board reads. It then runs on a schedule, on demand, or from a workflow step that decides a report is needed, and lands as a PDF with the people who asked for it.

  • Staging and production for reports and queries, with a production lock and rollback.
  • Runs on a schedule, on demand or from a workflow step.
  • Delivered as a PDF to the right people every time, with nobody assembling it by hand.
Live Draft → staging → production Locked · scheduled · delivered
From draft to a locked production report A drafted report runs on staging, is promoted and locked in production, then delivers itself as a PDF on schedule. Draft sections + queries Board pack v1 (draft) drafted in an afternoon Staging run · reviewed test run in 3.4 s staging data, staging values Production nobody edits the board's copy Board pack v1, live every Monday 06:00 Delivered board-pack.pdf→ 5 people ✓ put together by STRAX Drafted, then run against staging. Promoted and locked in production. Delivered as a PDF, on schedule, every time.
Draft, test on staging and lock in production, and then it runs on schedule and lands with the people who asked for it.

See it on your own systems.

A demo takes about an hour. Bring a process, a portal or a report you would like to see built on your own data.