Why You Should Stop Sending Reports via Email from Your CRM/ERP

For many companies, sending reports via email has become a standard practice. It’s simple, it’s familiar, and it seems efficient. But is it really the best way to keep your team informed and your business on track? At Spud Software, we believe that sending reports through email is not only outdated but also ineffective and potentially harmful to your business operations. Here’s why it’s time to move on from emailed reports and adopt a better, more efficient approach.

1. Good Reports Drive Action

The purpose of a report should always be to inspire action. Whether it’s addressing a problem, seizing an opportunity, or making data-driven decisions, a well-crafted report is your roadmap to action. However, when you send a report via email, you limit its effectiveness. Why? Because often, to act on a report, you’ll need more than just the information it contains.

When a report is sent from your CRM or ERP via email, you can't easily drill down into specific data points or run additional reports to investigate further. You may need to look something up, make updates, or cross-reference other data in your system. If the report is housed within your CRM or ERP, it’s much easier to do all of this in one place. Plus, once you’ve made changes, you can refresh the report to get the most up-to-date information. Sending reports via email strips away this critical functionality, turning a dynamic resource into a static document.

2. Security Concerns

Email is convenient, but it’s also one of the least secure ways to share sensitive information. Once a report lands in an inbox, it’s nearly impossible to control who sees it. Emails can easily be forwarded, left open on a shared computer, or accessed by unauthorized users. This creates a significant risk for your business, especially if the reports contain confidential or sensitive data.

By keeping reports within your CRM or ERP system, you maintain control over who has access to the data. Good systems offer advanced user permissions, ensuring that only authorized individuals can view or manipulate reports. When security is a top concern, it’s essential to limit the exposure of your business-critical data, and email simply doesn’t offer the protection you need.

3. Outdated Data

Business data is constantly changing. Every minute, new information is added to your CRM or ERP, whether it’s new sales, updates to customer accounts, or changes in inventory levels. By the time a report is generated, attached to an email, and opened by the recipient, the data in that report may already be outdated.

When reports are viewed directly in your CRM or ERP, however, you’re always working with the most current information. If something changes while you’re reviewing the data, a quick refresh can pull in the latest updates. Why rely on static, potentially outdated data when your CRM or ERP can provide real-time insights?

4. Email Overload

Let’s face it—most of us are already drowning in emails. Adding yet another email to the inbox, especially one that arrives on a regular basis, can quickly lead to it being ignored or overlooked. Many people set up rules to automatically sort or filter emails, meaning your important report may never get read.

Even worse, sending reports via email contributes to the clutter that we’re all trying to avoid. When your reports get lost in a sea of unread messages, they fail to serve their purpose. By delivering reports directly through your CRM or ERP, you eliminate the risk of them being buried in an overflowing inbox.

The Spud Solution: Links, Not Attachments

At Spud Software, we’ve found a better way to handle report delivery. For users who need notifications or updates, we don’t send the report as an email attachment. Instead, we send an email with a secure link. When the user clicks the link, they are prompted to sign into our software, where the report is generated in real time. This approach offers the best of both worlds: convenience for the user and control for the business.

With this method, users can still receive notifications when needed, but they view the report in a secure environment where they can take action. They can drill down into the data, run additional reports, and update information—all without ever leaving the system. This keeps your data safe, up-to-date, and always actionable.

Conclusion

The way we handle business data is evolving, and your report delivery methods should evolve too. Stop sending reports via email and start viewing them directly in your CRM or ERP, where they can truly drive the action they’re meant to. At Spud Software, we’re here to help you implement more secure, efficient, and effective ways to manage and act on your business data. Ready to upgrade your reporting process? Contact us today!