DataFlowr
Everyday use

What to ask Claire

Claire opens up nearly every part of Exact Online. This page gives example questions per topic that you can copy word for word, with what happens next.

How a question works

Ask in plain language and name the period when it matters; Claire picks the right data herself and shows what she fetched. For common analyses she follows a fixed playbook, so the approach is the same every time. She only presents figures once the data is complete: no indications, the real position.

Figures and reports

Balance sheet, profit and loss and cash flow, with a comparison against last year, a previous period or year-end. Drilling down works per rubric, right to the ledger account. Ask for a chart and you get one in the conversation: bar, line, area, pie or waterfall.

  • "Show the P&L through July, compared with last year."
  • "Chart revenue by month."
  • "What is inside Other operating expenses? Drill down to the ledger accounts."
  • "Give me the July summary: revenue, costs, margin and result."
  • "How are the KPIs doing: gross margin, current ratio, DSO?"
A conversation with Claire showing revenue by month as a bar chart
One question, one chart: revenue by month, drawn right in the conversation.

Receivables and payables

Open items on both sides, with ageing and per customer or supplier.

  • "Which sales invoices are open, sorted by age?"
  • "Build an ageing analysis of the receivables."
  • "Which purchase invoices fall due this week?"
  • "Which suppliers do we spend the most with?"

For a steady routine around open items there is a worked-out approach in Receivables management with Claire.

Sales and customers

  • "Look up customer Helder BV and show the open items."
  • "Who are our ten largest customers this year, and how is their revenue developing?"
  • "Draft an invoice for Acme Group: 12 consulting hours at €95."

Creating an invoice is a change: Claire prepares it and posts only after your approval. What that looks like is in Working with Claire.

VAT

  • "Estimate the VAT payable for this quarter from the general ledger."
  • "Which July entries carry no VAT code?"
  • "Which VAT codes do we use, and what for?"

Projects and hours

  • "Which projects are running over budget?"
  • "How many unbilled hours sit on each project, and what is the estimated revenue?"

Inventory

  • "Which items are running low on stock?"
  • "What is the inventory value per warehouse?"
  • "Which items have not moved for months?"

A file next to your administration

Upload a text file, a bank statement as CSV for example, and have Claire put it next to your administration: which lines reconcile and which do not.

  • "Analyse this bank statement and put the lines next to the ledger."
  • "Here is our webshop export; does the revenue tie to the sales entries?"

Make it recurring

Any question you ask more than once can become a schedule: daily, weekly or monthly, with an email when something stands out. A weekly exception report on your KPIs is one; the month-end close is the biggest. See The month-end close and schedules.