{"id":1372,"slug":"rule-for-customer-facing-default-to-pdf-or-link-first","title":"R3 — For customer-facing reporting, default to the lightest delivery first: scheduled PDF or shared reporting link; embed only when the four-condition narrow band holds","kind":"rule","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["agency-methodology","customer-facing-tools","dashboards","embedded-analytics"],"reference_body":"**Rule:** For customer-facing reporting, **default to a scheduled PDF / email or a shared reporting link**. Move to embedded only when ALL of: recurring clients, frequently-updating data, real retention/differentiation case, capacity to maintain ([[customer-facing-dashboard-three-conditions-narrow-band]]).\n\nThreshold: **roughly 20+ client tenants or analytics-as-product** → evaluate an embedded-analytics platform (Luzmo / Explo) before a custom build. Reserve custom-and-embedded for when **analytics is core differentiation AND you have ≥1-2 engineers to own it permanently** ([[custom-embedded-3-year-tco-300-630k-vendor]]).\n\n**Why:** [[agencyanalytics-static-reports-still-dominant]] — even agencies, the segment most-likely to deliver real-time analytics, still default to static reports. Live, not-yet-final numbers invite client misinterpretation. Custom-embedded TCO ($300K-$630K + 20-30%/yr) only earns its place when analytics IS the product.\n\n**How to apply:**\n- Start with PDF; progress only when the four-condition gate clearly holds.\n- For embedded vs custom: default to the platform if engineering capacity is uncertain.\n- Mirror calculator brief's [[rule-default-to-directional-range-ungated]] and portal brief's [[rule-default-buy-portal-not-build]] — lightest delivery wins by default.","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"rule-default-to-directional-range-ungated","title":"R2 — Default to a directional range, ungated, with a loud \"this is a ballpark\" — not a precise gated quote","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"rule-default-buy-portal-not-build","title":"R1 — Default to BUY, not build, for client portals; recommend a horizontal platform ($19-79/mo) or the bundled vertical-SaaS portal","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"agencyanalytics-static-reports-still-dominant","title":"AgencyAnalytics benchmark — a majority of agencies still send static reports to clients while relying on live dashboards internally; live unfinal numbers invite client misinterpretation","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"customer-facing-dashboard-three-conditions-narrow-band","title":"Customer-facing embedded dashboard earns its keep in a NARROW BAND: recurring clients + frequently-updating data-rich results + retention/differentiation lever + support deflection","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"luzmo-explo-cube-embedded-pricing","title":"Embedded-analytics platforms (2026): Luzmo $995-3,100/mo embedded plans; Explo $795/Growth, $2,195/Pro; Cube Core open-source + Cube Cloud consumption; Embeddable still in beta","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"custom-embedded-3-year-tco-300-630k-vendor","title":"Custom-embedded 3-year TCO converges on $300K-$630K (multiple, mostly vendor sources) with 20-30% annual maintenance; hidden costs are multi-tenancy/RLS, performance at scale, perpetual maintenance","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-dashboards-smb-june-2026","title":"Research brief: dashboards for SMBs — what's worth showing, and when an embedded one earns its keep (June 2026)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"article-when-is-a-dashboard-worth-it-for-your-business","title":"Article (draft): When is a dashboard worth it for your business? The honest case for internal and embedded dashboards in SMBs","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T18:03:12.202Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T18:03:12.202Z"}