How to Build a flexible Connected Reporting Solution for SMEs

1. Create a new base in Airtable called Reporting Warehouse you'll need a paid license - the "Team" plan is fine as long as you don't need more than 50,000 records in your base.

2. Define the tables for the data you want to bring in. Examples:

   • Deals / Opportunities

   • Projects

   • Time Entries

   • Invoices

   • Employees / Resources
     
     

3. Set up the linked fields where you’ll want to join data later (e.g. Projects → Clients, Invoices → Deals)

4. You don't need to set up all the fields you need, it's easier to create them with Data Fetcher as part of the next step.
   
   

💡 Tip: Think of Airtable like a database, not a spreadsheet. Keep tables clean and normalised — one record per deal, project, timesheet, etc.

1. Install the DataFetcher extension in your Airtable base

2. One source at a time, connect to each of the apps (e.g. HubSpot, Harvest, Xero, etc.)

3. Map fields so the data comes in the format you want (e.g. dates, amounts, IDs) and save it to create the fields in your base

4. Schedule automatic syncs to pull in data on a regular basis (e.g. hourly, daily)

💡 The goal here: get clean, structured data into Airtable with minimal manual handling.

Not every system plays nicely with unique IDs. This is where Zapier comes in.

• When a new record is created in one system, use Zapier to capture its ID and store it in Airtable

• When syncing between two apps that don’t share identifiers, Zapier can keep the mapping consistent

💡 You won’t need Zapier for everything, but it’s a handy safety net for stitching systems together.

1. Set up a Coupler.io account

2. Use Coupler’s Airtable → Looker Studio connector

3. For each Airtable table (e.g. Deals, Projects, Time Entries), create a Data Source in Looker Studio

4. Create the imports in Looker Studio and set refresh schedules to match your DataFetcher syncs. You may want to use the "Extract Data" function to  help the data load faster
   
   

Now, your reporting data is live and flowing directly into Looker Studio.

With your data sources connected, it’s time to design your dashboards.

Examples:

• Revenue Dashboard → pipeline, closed revenue, forecast

• Project Performance → utilisation, profitability, burn vs budget

• Finance Overview → invoices, payments, outstanding balances

• HR / Resource View → headcount, timesheet compliance, capacity
  
  

💡 Start simple. Build one or two key dashboards first, then expand once you’ve validated the flow of data.