Sift updates analytics platform with live client reports

Sift has outlined a broad update to how accounting firms can configure, analyse and share client reporting on its analytics platform. The system now spans connected accounting data, custom metrics, live dashboards, report packs and short-term cash prediction.

The platform is aimed at firms that want a single reporting environment across financial statements, operational measures and client-facing outputs. It pulls data from accounting systems, spreadsheets and selected third-party sources, and lets users publish reports through browser-based live links rather than static files.

A central part of the product is entity management. Users begin on a home screen that lists connected entities, currencies and data sources. The same area includes settings for reporting currency, accounting basis, default layouts and tax configuration.

Sift places most emphasis on data ingestion at the start of the process. Direct integrations include Xero, QuickBooks-related sources and selected commerce and payments platforms such as Shopify, Stripe and Square. The product also accepts monthly trial balance imports for systems without a direct link. Spreadsheet connections through Excel or Google Sheets cover operational figures and other non-financial measures.

Direct accounting integrations pull data at the transaction level, allowing users to drill into underlying customer, supplier and invoice information within the platform. Changes made in Sift do not write back to the accounting system.

Consolidation is another part of the product set. Users can combine multiple files and mix source types within a group structure. The system also handles multi-currency and multi-location consolidation. Segmenting is available where firms use tracking categories or classes in the source system, allowing a location, store or other division to be treated as its own reporting entity within Sift.

Layout control

Much of the platform's reporting logic sits in layouts. These determine how rows appear in the profit and loss account and balance sheet. They also control subclassifications that feed into other parts of the system, including cash flow statements and KPI outputs.

Users can start a layout from scratch, import one from another entity or use an industry template. Groupings, headings, spacing, equations and account order can all be changed within the editor. Accounts can be moved between categories, and groups can be collapsed for a summary view or expanded for detail.

The software also includes built-in checks. It flags broken links in equations and identifies empty groups or categories. Users can choose whether to show zero values, inactive accounts and account codes. A layout can then be set as the default for an entity, determining how financial views appear across the wider product.

Sift also provides role-based access controls. Owners, admins, staff and clients have different levels of access. Firms can build custom roles and assign access at the entity and feature levels. Activity logs are available, and branding settings cover firm and client logos for use in reports.

Financial views

The financial section contains pre-built profit and loss, balance sheet and cash flow views. In the profit and loss area, standard reports compare the current month with a prior month, the prior year or a budget. A multi-period view extends that across a wider time frame.

Budgets can come from Xero or from Sift itself. Divisional reporting draws on tracking categories. Users can review a combined total with filters or view categories side by side in a divisional layout.

A build function extends this further. Users can define custom columns, actuals, budgets and equations. Variance columns can be added, dates can be locked, and formatting rules can highlight values that meet chosen thresholds. The same approach applies to the balance sheet.

The cash flow statement is available in both direct and indirect forms. There is also a financial statements tool for formal reporting structures. The builder supports IFRS- and GAAP-ready outputs.

Operational data

Sift also encourages firms to bring non-financial measures into the same environment. Users can create connection fields for data such as employee numbers, service measures or industry-specific indicators. Inputs can be entered manually or uploaded through spreadsheets.

That data then becomes available in KPI scorecards and planning tools. A firm could, for example, define revenue per employee by dividing sales by staff headcount. The scorecard framework then tests the result against a target, a budget, a prior period or another comparator.

KPI scorecards carry their own weighting system. Metrics can be marked as critical, high, medium or low importance. The resulting health score reflects both performance and weighting. Users can also inspect the formula and assumptions behind each KPI and switch to a multi-period view.

Visual reporting

The visual layer is one of the clearest signs of where Sift sees demand. Dashboards can be created from templates or built from scratch. Cards can display financial statement lines, KPIs and connection data. Users can change chart types, periods, colours and comparisons.

The same broad editing model applies across visuals for accounts, profitability, cash, customers, suppliers and products. For a chart of income versus expenses, for example, users can hover over a month to inspect the transactions behind a spike. In customer and supplier views, they can review outstanding balances, debtor days, purchases, and activity trends.

Product reporting includes top-selling items and inventory views. That depends on transaction-level source data, which the platform carries through to the visual layer.

The interface also includes an artificial intelligence feature. It can generate a summary of what is on screen, suggest possible explanations and draft text for email use. Users are still expected to review that output themselves.

Cash manager

The planning section includes a short-term cash tool called Cash Manager. It predicts cash balances over the next three months using the previous three months of bills and invoices. The model uses transaction frequency, contact, amount and description as inputs.

Users can view the result as a graph, table or calendar. They can inspect the forecast for a single day and see the expected invoices and bills behind it. Bank accounts can be included or excluded from the view. Firms can also set balance adjustments and overdraft limits.

Predicted items can be edited or excluded. Users can change amounts and due dates, and create reminders tied to invoices. Manual cash entries cover one-off or recurring items that do not appear in recent history. These are then folded into the overview.

The planning area also includes a forecasting tool for long-term planning. It supports account-level adjustments, formula-based events and scenario modelling. Forecast events then flow through profit and loss, balance sheet, cash flow and KPI outputs within the platform.

Live reports

Sift's final pitch centres on report distribution. The reporting section contains pre-built templates, reusable template reports and entity-specific reports for client-level custom work. Firms can assemble report packs from dashboards, visuals, financial statements, KPI scorecards, cash outputs and uploaded documents.

Reports can be exported to PDF, Excel, or Word and scheduled for automatic email delivery. The more distinctive option is the live view, which creates a browser link for a dashboard or report pack. Firms can password-protect the link and decide whether the content rolls forward automatically on a set day each month.

Clients do not need their own Sift login for that live view. They can inspect charts, drill into detail and leave comments in a side panel linked to specific report sections. Images, video and other documents can also be attached within the live report structure.

The product includes demo entities for testing, including Jay's Cupcake Company, which is used in the training environment as a sample business. Dashboards can also be shared as a live link, which allows for drill-down into a transactional view on some cards.