You’ve sent the monthly pack to your board or client. Then a message lands. “Group revenue is up. Why is gross profit down?”
You can ask AI to look into it. But before you reply, you still need to know which companies it looked at, what it compared and whether the figures agree with the pack you sent. Otherwise you’ve got another answer to check alongside the original question.
Start with the figures you shared
If one company keeps its books in Xero and another uses QuickBooks or Sage, Joiin can bring those figures into the same group P&L. That gives you a place to check the group total and see how much each company contributed. See which accounting platforms connect to Joiin.
Put the reporting period, the group and the comparison into your question. For example, “Which entities contributed most to the fall in group gross profit in October compared with September? Show the change in revenue and cost of sales for each.”
Then open the corresponding report and check where the movement sits. A drop in one entity could be partly offset by a rise in another. And if one cost line accounts for much of the movement, that gives you somewhere specific to look before you write back.
Check the numbers before you explain the reason
Joiin Intelligence can query your connected financial data and take follow-up questions in the same conversation. If your team already uses Claude, you can connect it to Joiin to query your financial data there too using the Joiin MCP. See how to connect Joiin to Claude.
And if your team does its variance analysis in Excel, you can pull the group or company figures into your workbook with the Joiin Excel Add-in and use your usual checks before writing back.
Say the report shows that higher subcontractor costs in one company account for most of the fall. You now know where to look. Whether that reflects a change in rates, more work going to subcontractors or the timing of an invoice is a question for the team that knows the business. That last check is what turns a figure from the pack into an answer you’re happy to share.
Build a follow-up pack with Joiin Intelligence
If your board or client wants to see the numbers behind your explanation, open Build Report in Joiin Intelligence. Tell the agent which entities and periods to include and what you’d like in the pack.
Build a Report Pack for the October gross profit review. Include a group P&L comparing October with September and show revenue and cost of sales by company.
Open the draft, check it against the pack you sent and add your explanation before sharing it. See how to use the Build Report agent.
Two more questions your board or client might ask
“We’re over budget. Which costs drove it?” Compare actual operating costs with budget for the month and ask which companies and cost lines account for the biggest gaps. If one company’s software costs stand out, check whether an annual renewal landed earlier than budgeted or the cost itself went up. That helps you explain whether to expect the same gap next month.
“Which overdue invoices are we still waiting to collect?” Start with the group’s aged receivables report and ask which customers have the largest balances more than 60 days overdue. Then check with the team chasing payment. A customer who’s agreed to pay on Friday is a different conversation from one who’s disputing the invoice.
Got a question from your board or a client that took longer to answer than you’d have liked? Start your 14-day free trial of Joiin and try it with your own figures.
