Set up automated analytics reports in 5 minutes

Why automation matters more than you think

Manual analytics checking: Login (30 sec), navigate (60 sec), select dates (45 sec), scan metrics (2 min), calculate comparisons (90 sec). Total: 6+ minutes daily. 365 days = 36+ hours yearly.

Automated analytics: Open email (5 sec), scan report with pre-calculated comparisons (90 sec). Total: 95 seconds daily. 365 days = 10 hours yearly.

Difference: 26 hours yearly saved. That’s three full workdays reclaimed through 5-minute setup.

The 5-minute setup (Peasy method)

Minute 1: Sign up and connect store

Visit peasy.nu. Click “Try free for 14 days.” Enter email. Choose Shopify, WooCommerce, or GA4. Click connect. Authorize access. Store connected.

Peasy pulls yesterday’s data immediately. Revenue, orders, conversion, traffic, sources visible within 30 seconds of connecting.

Minute 2: Add team email addresses

Settings → Team. Add email addresses for everyone needing daily reports. Founder, operations manager, marketing lead. Up to 10 addresses on starter plan.

Everyone receives identical report simultaneously. Shared awareness, zero coordination overhead.

Minute 3: Set delivery time

Settings → Delivery. Choose time: 6am, 6:30am, 7am, or custom. Most founders choose 6:30am or 7am (report arrives before they wake or during first email check).

Delivery happens automatically every morning including weekends. Zero manual triggering needed.

Minute 4: Configure comparisons (optional)

Default: Yesterday vs day before and vs same day last week. Most stores keep defaults (sufficient for 90% of needs).

Optional adjustments: Add month-over-month comparison. Add year-over-year for seasonal businesses. Choose primary comparison to highlight (week-over-week recommended).

Minute 5: Test delivery

Settings → Send test report. Report arrives via email within 30 seconds. Open. Verify format, metrics, comparisons. Looks good? Setup complete.

Tomorrow morning at chosen time, first automated report arrives. Every morning after, same report delivers automatically.

Alternative: Free Shopify automated emails (10-minute setup)

What you get

Basic daily summary email from Shopify. Free. Includes yesterday’s revenue, orders, top products. Limited comparisons (day-over-day only, no week-over-week). No team sharing (goes to store owner email only).

Setup steps

Step 1 (2 min): Shopify admin → Settings → Notifications → Staff order notifications. Enable “Daily summary.” Set delivery time.

Step 2 (3 min): Verify email format. Send test. Arrives within minutes. Shows revenue, orders, top products. Basic comparisons included.

Step 3 (5 min): Forward test to team members. Create email rule to auto-forward daily (if team sharing needed). Or accept that only you receive summary.

Limitations: No conversion rate, no traffic breakdown, no source performance, no custom comparisons. Sufficient for basic awareness, insufficient for operational insights requiring conversion and traffic data.

Alternative: GA4 scheduled reports (15-minute setup)

What you get

Custom reports from GA4 delivered via email. Free. Fully customizable metrics and comparisons. PDF format (less mobile-friendly than HTML email). Requires more setup complexity.

Setup steps

Step 1 (5 min): GA4 → Reports → Library → Create new report. Choose metrics: sessions, users, conversions, revenue. Add dimensions: source, device, page. Configure layout.

Step 2 (5 min): Share → Schedule email delivery. Add email addresses. Choose frequency (daily). Choose time. Select comparison period (previous day, previous week).

Step 3 (5 min): Send test report. Arrives as PDF. Open on mobile to verify readability. Adjust layout if needed (PDFs often poorly formatted on phone screens). Save schedule.

Limitations: Setup complexity high. PDF format clunky on mobile. Must manually create comparison calculations. No e-commerce specific insights (revenue per product, conversion funnel). Better for general analytics, weaker for e-commerce operations.

What good automated reports include

Essential metrics (must have)

Revenue (yesterday’s total). Orders (count). Conversion rate (percentage). Traffic (sessions or users). Top sources (top 3 with percentages). Top products (top 3 by revenue).

These six reveal 80% of operational health. Missing any significantly reduces report usefulness.

Pre-calculated comparisons (critical)

Day-over-day: Yesterday vs day before. Shows immediate momentum.

Week-over-week: Yesterday vs same day last week. Shows genuine trend through variance.

Both comparisons shown as percentages, not just absolute numbers. $4,200 (+8% vs yesterday, +12% vs last Monday) = actionable. $4,200 alone = not actionable.

Mobile-friendly format (important)

Most founders check analytics on phone during morning coffee or commute. Reports must display clearly on phone screens without zooming, scrolling horizontally, or opening attachments.

HTML email format wins. Plain text with clear hierarchy works. PDF attachments fail on mobile.

Team delivery (valuable for growing businesses)

Everyone gets identical report simultaneously. Founder, operations manager, marketing lead all see same numbers at same time. Creates shared operational awareness without meetings or forwarding.

Common setup mistakes and fixes

Mistake: Including too many metrics

Symptom: Report shows 20+ metrics. Takes 8 minutes to read. Information overload. Can’t remember what you read 2 hours later.

Fix: Cut to essential 6-8 only. Revenue, orders, conversion, traffic, sources, products. Everything else belongs in weekly deep-dive sessions, not daily reports.

Mistake: No comparisons or wrong comparisons

Symptom: Report shows yesterday’s revenue ($4,200) without context. Can’t tell if good or bad. Or shows only month-over-month comparison (too slow-moving for daily actionability).

Fix: Include both day-over-day and week-over-week comparisons. Week-over-week primary (most actionable), day-over-day secondary (shows immediate momentum).

Mistake: Delivery timing misalignment

Symptom: Report delivers 7am but you don’t check email until 9am. Defeating purpose of early awareness. Or delivers 5am while you’re asleep, gets buried under other emails by time you wake.

Fix: Set delivery 15-30 minutes before your typical first email check. Wake at 7am, check email 7:15am? Set delivery 6:45am or 7am. Report waits in inbox when you open email.

What happens after setup

Day 1: First automated report arrives

Morning of day after setup. Report appears in inbox at scheduled time. Open. Scan metrics. Note any concerns. Close. Two minutes consumed. First automation benefit realized.

Week 1: Pattern recognition begins

After 7 consecutive daily reports, you start recognizing what’s normal for your business. 2.8% conversion feels familiar (it’s your average). 1,400 sessions feels typical (it’s your baseline). Pattern recognition accelerates comprehension.

Week 3: Habit solidified

Checking automated report feels automatic now. Morning routine includes: wake, coffee, email, analytics scan, shower, work. No conscious decision needed. Just natural flow.

Month 3: Cumulative benefit apparent

Three months of 2-minute daily checks versus previous 10-15 minute manual checks. Savings: 24-39 hours over three months. That’s three to five full workdays reclaimed. Plus: consistency of daily checking (no skipped days) improved business awareness significantly.

Frequently asked questions

Can I customize which metrics appear in automated reports?

Depends on tool. Peasy: Limited customization (choose primary metrics from essential set). Shopify automated emails: No customization (fixed format). GA4 scheduled reports: Full customization (any metric GA4 tracks). Trade-off: More customization = more setup complexity. Most founders find essential metrics set (revenue, orders, conversion, traffic, sources, products) sufficient without customization.

What if I want to stop receiving reports temporarily (vacation)?

Pause delivery in settings. Most tools: Settings → Pause delivery → Choose resume date. Reports stop, resume automatically on chosen date. Or: Create email filter moving reports to specific folder during vacation. Reports still arrive but don’t clutter inbox. Review folder when vacation ends if desired.

Do automated reports work for multiple stores?

Yes but requires separate setup per store. Connect Store A, configure report. Connect Store B, configure separate report. Both deliver to same email (consolidated view) or different emails (separated by responsibility). Some tools (Peasy) offer multi-store dashboard consolidating all stores into single report. Useful for founders managing 2-5+ stores.

Peasy automatically emails your key metrics every morning to your entire team—no dashboard checking required. Starting at $49/month. Try free for 14 days.