Example: Automate Monthly Sales Reports

A real-world example of automating the monthly sales data organization and report writing using Gridie’s agent and workflows.

Scenario

The sales team sends monthly raw sales data as an Excel file. This example automates receiving that data, summing it by team, calculating month-over-month changes, and creating an executive summary sheet.

Before: 2–3 hours of manual work every month After: Done in under 5 minutes with a single workflow run

Step 1: Set Up the Workbook and Sheet Structure

Start by creating a workbook with the following structure:

Step 2: Write the AI Note

Write an AI Note so the agent understands this workbook’s structure.

## Workbook Purpose
Receive monthly sales data from the sales team, aggregate by team, and report to executives.

## Sheet Structure
- RawData: Raw sales team data. Do not modify. Columns: Date, Team, Rep, Sales ($)
- Aggregation: Monthly totals by team. B2:D6 contains team totals (Column A: Team name, Columns B–D: Monthly totals)
- Summary: Executive report. Includes grand total, team share, and month-over-month change

## Rules
- The Sales ($) column includes VAT
- Negative values represent returns
- Display in dollars without decimal places

→ How to write AI Notes

Step 3: Request the First Tasks from the Agent

After pasting this month’s data into the RawData sheet, ask the agent:

"Sum this month's data from the RawData sheet by team
and enter it into B2:B6 of the Aggregation sheet. Use column A for team order."

"In the Aggregation sheet, compare this month's sales (column B) with last month's (column C)
and calculate the change rate in column D as a percentage."

"Organize this month's total sales, team shares, and month-over-month changes
in the Summary sheet in an executive report format. Also create a table and a simple chart."

"Based on the summary data, create an executive report page.
Lay it out in sections: a total sales summary, a team share chart, and a month-over-month change table."

Step 4: Save as a Workflow to Use Again Next Month

Once this process is working well, next month you just paste the data and run the workflow.

Ask the agent:

"Save the work we just did (aggregation → change rate calculation → summary organization)
as a workflow. Name it 'Monthly Sales Aggregation'."

From then on, paste the raw data each month and run the Monthly Sales Aggregation workflow — it automatically completes everything from aggregation to report creation.

→ Create a workflow

Step 5: Run It Automatically Every Month with a Schedule

If your data source fills in automatically (for example, sales data pulled in via a connector), you can set a schedule so the workflow runs on its own at a set date and time each month. No more pressing the run button yourself.

"Schedule the 'Monthly Sales Aggregation' workflow to run automatically
on the 1st of every month at 9 AM."

→ Schedule automated runs